KATHMANDU, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 400,000 people are reeling under the poverty line across 25 districts in Nepal, according to a report unveiled by the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation on Tuesday.
The report was launched on the occasion of the 25th International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which falls on Oct. 17 every year. This is the first of its kind survey which identifies poor households in 25 districts covering regions including Himalayas, hills and Terai plains.
According to the survey, out of the total 1.24 million households in those 25 districts, 31.5 percent are poor.
The United Nations defines the poverty being based on 10 indicators of daily life, including education and health, as per which an individual earning less than a dollar in a day as poor.
Nepal has categorized the poor people into three categories, namely extreme poor, medium poor and general poor.
With the latest report, Nepal aims to design effective interventions to tackle poverty. Unveiling the report, Minister for Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Ambika Basnet stressed the need of economic transformation and more efforts to reduce poverty.
According to the ministry, the government is preparing to distribute special identity cards to poor people under the Poor House Identification Program.
The government has set a target of reducing the proportion of poverty by the end of fiscal year 2018-19.
