VIENTIANE, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Laos is likely to see slower pace in poverty reduction as the government told legislators on Monday that it will strive to reduce the number of poor families from 6.56 percent in 2016 down to 6.09 percent by 2017.
There are four main reasons for the slower rate of poverty reduction, Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Souphanh Keomixay told the ongoing ordinary session of parliament when he presented a report that concluded the implementation of socio-economic development plan for 2016 and the plan for 2017.
Explaining the reasons, the minister said the remaining poor families were located in remote hardship areas. Meanwhile, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered smaller growth of 6.9 percent in the 2015-2016 fiscal year, a decrease from the 7.5 percent recorded in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
Although the economy has enjoyed high growth in recent years, it has been driven by the high-cost natural resource sector which has created only a small number of jobs so the benefits did not trickle down to the poor, Souphanh was quoted by local Vientiane Times as saying.
In addition, families that have just been lifted above the poverty line remain vulnerable to dropping below it again when they are affected by events such as extreme weather, he told the legislators.
In an attempt to alleviate poverty, the government plans to spend more than 1.375 trillion Lao kip (nearly 169.3 million U.S. dollars) on poverty reduction programs in 91 focal locations in 70 districts. The government will focus on stabilizing settlements and livelihoods for villagers in targeted focal areas.
Through the programs, the government aims to bring 5,580 poor families out of poverty by 2017, lowering the number of poor families from 76,318 or 6.56 percent in 2016 to less than 70,924 families or 6.09 percent in 2017.
Another target is for the number of poor villages to be reduced from 1,689 villages in 2016 to not more than 1,511 villages or 17.85 percent in 2017. The government will also strive to increase the number of developed villages.
Over the past year, the government has placed great importance on poverty reduction. A number of programs have been carried out to improve and develop infrastructure such as schools, dispensaries, clean water supply systems, rural roads, small-scale irrigation systems, and electricity networks, said Vientiane Times.
The number of poor families fell from 83,856 in 2015 to 76,318 in 2016, but failed to meet the target of 6.11 percent as approved by the National Assembly.
