Livelihood support – key to poverty reduction
With a goal of having no more poor households by 2028, socio-political and mass organizations in Hai Phong are providing livelihood support, helping reduce the risk of falling back into poverty.
Opening the way for household economies
Sustainable poverty reduction is being identified as a core goal in implementing social security policies by socio-political organizations across Hai Phong. Therefore, support is not limited to helping people overcome immediate difficulties, but, more importantly, creating conditions for each family to establish a stable livelihood and gradually become economically self-reliant.
Alongside resources from the budget and poverty reduction programs, livelihood support programs assigned to socio-political and mass organizations by the Party and the State have helped bring policies closer to the people. Support in the form of capital, plant and livestock varieties, means of production, vocational training, job referrals and economic model development is being provided in ways suited to the actual conditions of each locality.
If capital and means of production are necessary conditions, knowledge, skills and the ability to generate income are the sufficient conditions for a family to escape poverty in the long term.
Tang Thi Lieu in Dong Bao residential quarter, Thach Khoi Ward said that her family's economy previously relied on small-scale production, resulting in unstable income and many difficulties in daily life. After receiving guidance and assistance in accessing preferential loans from the Ward Women's Union, in 2019, her family decided to invest in an aquaculture model on an area of 1.3 mau (1 mau = 3.600 m²).
In addition, the family received technical support and market information from mass organizations and continued to expand and improve their fish farming model. The farming area is now divided into ponds for fish fry and commercial fish. On average, the family harvests two crops every 18 months, with each sale yielding more than 10 tons of commercial fish, providing a stable source of income and enabling the family to reinvest, develop and expand production.
Focusing on the long term
Notably, livelihood support activities are increasingly focused on “teaching people how to fish” rather than simply providing money or in-kind assistance. In this approach, the role of organizations in accompanying and supporting beneficiaries is demonstrated in concrete and clear ways.
Pham Van Khiem, Chairman of the An Thanh Commune Red Cross Society, said that last May, the Humanitarian Month, the City Red Cross Society, in coordination with Vinh Bao Resinco Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd., organized a livelihood support program for 10 disadvantaged households in An Thanh Commune.
After the livelihood support was provided, based on surveys of each family's available labor and land area, the Commune Red Cross Society advised them on livestock selection, scale and suitable investment directions to make effective use of the support.
To improve the effectiveness of livelihood support, associations have reviewed each poor and near-poor household and closely examined the causes of poverty. At the same time, support plans for women starting businesses are not implemented across the board but are focused on areas linked to the city's strengths and development orientations, such as logistics, fisheries, food processing, tourism and services.
According to Nguyen Duc Tuan, Member of the Standing Committee of the Hai Phong Party Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the city, socio-political and mass organizations assigned tasks by the Party and the State (within the Vietnam Fatherland Front system of the city) at both city and commune levels are operating in an increasingly substantive and focused manner and making positive contributions to the city's social security activities. Among these efforts, livelihood support is considered a distinctive and effective solution to provide the key to “opening” the door to poverty reduction and sustainable escape from poverty for disadvantaged people who aspire to improve their lives.
HUY DAI