After three years of implementation, the Japanese-funded project "Reducing Income- and Health-related Vulnerability of Older Persons” (Project VIE071 ) has shown efficiency in Hoa Binh province, one of its six target localities. Thirty inter-generational self-help clubs (ISHC) were established under the project, helping local elderly well adapt to an aging society.
Dinh
Thi Chien (first left), a member of the inter-generational self-help club in
Hanh Phuc village, Hoa Son commune, Luong Son district, introducing her
family’s model to improve income.
Welcoming a delegation from the Japanese Embassy
and sponsors of the Project VIE071, Dinh Thi Chien, a member of the
inter-generational self-help club in Hanh Phuc village, Hoa Son commune, Luong
Son district, said thanks to the soft loan provided by the club, she has been
able to expand her vegetable farm and earn stable income of 4 million VND (over
157 USD) a month.
President of the Hoa Binh Elderly Association
Bui Tuan Hai described the clubs as a useful playground where old people have
opportunities to take part in various practical events to improve their health
and income.
To date, 103 ISHC have been set up in 79 out of
the 151 communes, wards and towns, attracting the participation of over 5,200
members, with more than 2,000 of whom able to access concessional loans, he
said, adding all of the clubs have built their own funds.
Nguyen Thi Nga, a social support specialist from
the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam, said the project was carried out in Hoa Binh, a
fast-aging locality, aiming to equip the elderly with necessary self-care
skills and those to increase income.
It has provided lessons to expand the model
across the province as well as others in the vicinity, she said, adding the WB
will continue seeking opportunities and mobilising resources for activities to
care for and promote the elderly’s roles.
The World Bank and partners
launchedproject earlier this year, aiming to reduce economic and health
vulnerability of older persons in Vietnam, under a 2.75-million-USD grant,
funded by the Government of Japan throughthe Japan Social Development
Fund, administered by the World Bank. Implemented by HelpAge International in
collaboration with Association of the Elderly in Vietnam, the project is
supporting the scale up of a community-based model for elderly care that
promotes economically productive, healthy, and active ageing. It is estimated
that 27,000 people in six provinces will benefit from the project’s
interventions, 70% of them elderly.
Covering eight areas, the project has directly
benefited 11,618 people, organising 80 free consultation and health examination
sessions. So far, 96% of the club members have had health insurance cards. The
project has mobilised over 80 million VND (3,142 USD) for social security
activities, and attracted 310 volunteers to provide home care for nearly 200
people so far.
Summer vacation is an opportunity for children to have fun and participate in relaxing and entertaining activities. The library is one of the places many parents choose to take their children to every summer vacation. Grasping that need, in recent times, the Provincial Library has innovated its operating methods, improving the quality of serving the young readers, contributing to forming and nurturing the reading habit for children.
The entrance examination for public high schools has concluded in the province, with the majority of candidates observing that the exam papers closely followed the secondary school curriculum but varied in difficulty level.
Various emulation movements have been rolled out in Mai Chau district of Hoa Binh province over the past years, encouraging local farmers to promote business and production for sustainable poverty alleviation as well as restructuring of crops and livestock for better incomes. The movements have attracted enthusiastic response from members of the district farmers’ union, particularly ethnic people.
Senior women in rural and ethnic minority areas are considered an abundant labour workforce, as people in the working age have often worked far away from home in recent years. Therefore, many units, departments, sectors and cooperatives in Hoa Binh have worked with enterprises inside and outside the province to generate jobs for the local women.
The northern province of Hoa Binh has over 74% of its population belonging to ethnic minority groups, who mainly reside in remote, far-flung, and disadvantaged areas. Therefore, the implementation of Project 2 on planning, arranging, and settling residential areas under the National Target Programme for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas is important in building a better living environment for locals.
The World Environment Day (June 5), launched by the UN Environment Programme, has been celebrated in Vietnam since 1982 and become a nationwide movement, helping raise public awareness of environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and climate change response. This year, the day is themed "Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience”. All-level Party Committees and administrations in Hoa Binh province continue to view improving awareness, restoring land, and fighting drought and desertification as an indispensable part of the socio-economic development plan and an important task during the sustainable development process.
