(VOVworld) – Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Pham Thi Hai Chuyen explained Party and state policies to support poor people in Sunday’s TV program “People ask, minister answers”. She said that Vietnam is one of 6 countries who have achieved the Millennium Development Goal of poverty reduction two years ahead of schedule. That result is thanks to Party policies on social security with a focus on poverty reduction. Minister Chuyen said: “The government has implemented a number of policies to support the poor by providing them with farming land and loans. Poor households have been supported in medical insurance, education, housing, and clean water. A program has been put in place to help 64 poor districts build essential infrastructure in ethnic areas.”

Minister Chuyen said a new poverty line is expected to be applied from January 1^st, 2016. The government has decided to downsize 16 national target programs to 2 focusing on new rural development and sustainable poverty reduction.