Laos revises poverty line

Source: Xinhua| 2017-07-26 11:07:18|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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VIENTIANE, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Lao government is set to revise the poverty line for rural and urban dwellers to increase well-being of Lao people and the current economic circumstances, a government official has said.

Policy-makers have drafted a governmental decree revising poverty lines that are expected to replace the current poverty line published in 2013.

According to Head of Office at the National Leading Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication Kongkeo Vongpaseuth, the draft has set criteria to graduate from poverty. To stay above the poverty line, a person must have food that provides at least 2,100 kilocalories a day, clothes and permanent residential shelter. The person must also be able to afford his or her own healthcare during illness, access basic education and other basic public services.

"The newly drafted poverty line place attention on the security of life of the people, their food security, their access to basic public services and other such issues," Kongkeo was quoted by local daily Vientiane Times as saying on Wednesday.

The draft was submitted to the government for consideration and approval.

The poverty lines set in the 2013 Prime Ministerial Decree placed focus only on the income of a person, regardless of age and gender. On an average, a person earning 192,000 Lao kip (23 U.S. dollars) a month stays above the poverty line. In rural areas, 180,000 Lao kip (nearly 22 U.S. dollars) a month per person is considered to be living above the poverty line, while a person residing in a city should have 240,000 Lao kip (around 29 U.S. dollars) a month in order to stay above the poverty line, according to the 2013 decree.

In 2016, the rate of poor families in Laos went down from 6.59 percent to 6.3 percent of the families in the country.

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