HA NOI - The number of poor urban households, especially in Ha Noi and HCM City, have tended to rise and those in rural Viet Nam fall with the introduction of the Government's new poverty standards, reports Oxfam and ActionAids.
The findings are the result of a survey to see how city poor cope without proper employment and social security.
The report says the fall in the number of poor averaged 3.6 per cent for the years 2006-07 as the result of the national poverty reduction programme.
But it fell just 1.3 per cent against 2007 to 13 per cent in 2008.
The report attributes some of the rise to natural disasters, higher prices and the global financial crisis.
These factors had put low-income jobs at risk while the price for food and other necessities remained high.
Increased immigration to the two major cities has also contributed to the rise of poor urban households.
Immigrants are the major victims of city poverty, especially in urbanised suburbs, says the report.
Most of the immigrants think themselves temporary and do not register for social security.
ActionAids, Viet Nam, representative Hoang Phuong Thao said registered households are given priority in education, healthcare and credit.
The lack of registration made it difficult to have immigrant children apply for enrolment at State schools, she said.
They were also ineligible for tuition fee exemption and healthcare insurance cards. - VNS
