The MoLISA said on January 20that the fourth wave of COVID-19 has driven a number of people into difficultiessuch as job losses, furlough, and income reduction. Meanwhile, abnormal weatherconditions like hailstorms, floods, and drought have also resulted in hardshipsfor many, particularly ethnic minority people, poor and near-poor families.
Facing that fact, sevenprovinces hit hard by the pandemic and natural disasters, namely Tay Ninh, CaoBang, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan, Nghe An, Gia Lai, and Quang Binh, asked the PM formore than 11,448 tonnes of rice aid for 197,952 households, with 658,525people, during Tet and the between-crop period.
In the initial phase, theMoLISA proposed over 9,877 tonnes of rice be delivered free of charge to theseven provinces. That includes about 6,902 tonnes for 141,659 households with460,147 people during Tet, and 2,975 tonnes for 56,293 households with 198,378people to survive the between-crop period./.