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Rich and poor income gap tops Government agenda (14/09)
06/08/2010 - 142 Lượt xem
Poverty reduction programmes have been remarkably successful in recent years, but reducing the income gap between rural and urban residents will be a priority in the next five years, experts have said.
Nguyen Hai Huu, head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ Department of Social Assistance, said funding from foreign and domestic sources had contributed to the sharp drop in poverty in the last five years from 30 per cent in 1992 to less than 7 per cent in 2005.
Each year, the number of poor households drops by an average of 340,000 households, he said.
But the gap between incomes in urban areas and rural areas is widening, increasing 12.5 times in 2002 to 13.5 in 2004.
Huu said external factors such as global integration and WTO membership, natural calamities, epidemics and macro-economic policies may worsen the gap.
The resettlement of poor households in new urban areas and the increasing inflow of migrants from local provinces to big cities are making the problem worse.
Rising unemployment may occur as a result of scientific and technical reform programmes, and unequal economic development investments in different regions, he said.
Quality of life
In the past five years, the quality of life in poor households, especially those of ethnic minority groups and women, has greatly improved, with the average monthly income of the poorest households rising in 2001 from VND107,000 per capita a month to VND155,000 in 2005.
Domestic and international funds have also been used to provide free medical check-ups and treatment and build homes for the poor.
The major problem in the future, especially for ethnic minority groups, will be food shortages.
Huu said unfavourable natural conditions, rugged terrain, poor transport infrastructure and flooding have all contributed to continued poverty, as well as a lack of capital and education.
Large family size, poor medical care and traditional customs harmful to health and prosperity are also to blame, he said, adding that poorly trained administrative staff and inadequate social welfare policy exacerbate the problemSource: VietnamNews
