World Bank approves 100 mln USD credit for Vietnam’s poverty reduction

The WB Board of Executive Directors has approved an additional 100 million USD loan for an ongoing project to help improve living standards for the poor in six northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam.

The World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors has approved anadditional 100 million USD loan for an ongoing project to help improveliving standards for the poor in six northern mountainous provinces ofVietnam.

The increased financing will bolster thecountry’s poverty reduction efforts in the provinces of Hoa Binh, SonLa, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai where poverty rates areamong the highest in the country.

Victoria Kwakwa,WB Country Director in Vietnam said the WB wished to “share thegovernment of Vietnam’s strong desire to reduce poverty through thecommunity-driven development approach embedded in this project.

She also expressed the willingness to work with the Vietnamesegovernment to scale up the project’s successes, adding that most of itsbeneficiaries are poor ethnic minority people.

Theadditional credit will further contribute to the government’s povertyreduction efforts by improving the capacity of local governments andcommunities, increasing access to investments that boost productivity,strengthening commune investment planning, and bolstering communitylinks to markets and business innovations.-VNA