The government agency entrusted to oversee the affairs of the Orang Asli is the "Jabatan Hal Ehwal Orang Asli" (Department of Orang Asli Affairs) (JHEOA). This body is under the Malaysian Ministry of Rural Development, and it was first set up in 1954. Among its stated objectives are to eradicate poverty among the Orang Asli, improving their health, promoting education, and improving their general livelihood. There is a high incidence of poverty among the Orang Asli. In 1997, 80% of all Orang Asli lived below the poverty line. This ratio was extremely high compared to the national poverty rate of 8.5%. In 2010, according to the Department of Statistics malaysia, 76.9% of the Orang Asli population remained below the poverty line, with 35.2% classified as living in hard-core poverty, compared to 1.4% nationally.