The Day for the Poor campaign raised 461 billion VND (20.9 million USD) in the first nine months of the year, participants at a conference in Hanoi heard on October 12. Of the total, 452 billion VND (20.5 billion USD) came from localities and the remaining from central authorities. Forty of 63 cities and provinces helped build and repair about 14,000 houses during the period. They also helped nearly 40,000 poor households build production facilities. Up to 651,000 disadvantaged individuals underwent health care and treatment, around 148,000 students received schooling and 834 civil buildings were constructed. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee’s standing board presented certificates of merit to four communes, two townships, one district and one city in the central province of Binh Thuan, and Kien Giang and Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta region in honour of their efforts to eliminate dilapidated houses. They raised the total number of localities joining the housing construction programme for the poor to 18. Addressing the conference, VFF Central Committee Vice Chairwoman Truong Thi Ngoc Anh requested more support for the nearly 1.5 million low-income families across the nation. Between now and the year’s end, the Day for the Poor fundraising board was asked to continue raising public awareness about the campaign and social welfare programmes, making it easier for the needy to lift themselves out of poverty. The month “For the Poor” will take place from October 17 to November 18. Anh took the occasion to call for effective and transparent use of funding for low-income citizens.-VNA