Vietnam uses Covid vaccine fund to rebuild shabby houses

Chairing a government meeting on Thursday, PM Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the need for state agencies to prepare thoroughly to start a campaign to remove shabby houses and rebuild new ones for poor families right after the Lunar New Year holiday next month.

The campaign will build 130,000 social housing units and remove 35,000 shabby houses across the nation this year.

Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung told the meeting that the goal of constructing one million social housing units by 2030 and removing degraded houses for poor families in 74 poor districts by 2025 was achievable.

The Covid-19 Vaccine Fund is an off-budget financial fund established in May 2021 by the government decision during the Covid-19 outbreak.

It is managed by the Ministry of Finance.

The fund receives, manages, and utilizes donations from various sources, including from outside Vietnam, to purchase Covid-19 vaccines or support domestic vaccine production.

In November 2023, the government reported to the National Assembly that the fund operated effectively and mobilized significant resources in a short time after its establishment.

The fund raised over VND7.96 trillion (US$321 million) in the first month of operation.

By the end of September last year, it accumulated over VND10.84 trillion, including over VND202 billion in bank interest.