Bac Lieu province supports ethnic minority groups

Bac Lieu (VNA) – The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu has focused resources on poverty reduction and socio-economic development for ethnic minority groups, head of the provincial Department for Ethnic Affairs Tran Hoang Duyen has said.

He said the province has invested in housing, clean water and toilets for households living under or just above poverty line while enabling them to access capital for startup.

It has carried out a preferential credit policy, under which nearly 16.2 billion VND (about 714,000 USD) has been lent to over 1,000 needy families in eight poorest communes.

Apart from building and expanding sustainable livelihood models, local authorities have opened vocational training courses for nearly 800 residents and introduced jobs for rural workers.

More than 28,000 health insurance cards have been granted to poor ethnic minority people so far.

In the coming time, the province will continue assisting ethnic minority groups through investment in socio-economic infrastructure and human resources, said deputy head of the provincial Department of Ethnic Affairs Lam Thi My Kieu.

Other fields such as culture, society, defense and security will also receive attention, she said.

Bac Lieu is home to around 20,000 ethnic minority households with nearly 89,300 people, mainly Khmer and Hoa (Chinese) ethnic groups.

In 2017, the province aims to reduce the proportion of poor ethnic minority households by 3-4 percent, while increasing the rate of ethnic minority children attending primary school at their right age to 96 percent.

The rates of ethnic minority people accessing hygienic water and toilets will be 90 percent and 60 percent respectively.-VNA