Localities funded to help ethnic minority groups settle

Hanoi (VNA) – The Prime Minister decided to allocate 377 billion VND (16.8 million USD) to 16 localities to assist nomadic ethnic minority groups to settle.

Beneficiaries include Cao Bang (21 billion VND), Yen Bai (8 billion VND), Phu Tho (50 billion VND), Son La (18 billion VND), Lai Chau (40 billion VND), Dien Bien (9 billion VND), Quang Tri (30 billion VND), Thua Thien-Hue (16 billion VND), Quang Nam (16 billion VND), Quang Ngai (60 billion VND), Binh Dinh (3 billion VND), Ninh Thuan (3 billion VND), Gia Lai (62 billion VND), Kon Tum (5 billion VND), Binh Phuoc (25 billion VND) and Soc Trang (11 billion VND).

Ethnic minorities in mountainous areas often lead a nomadic life, which triggers infrastructural, social and security problems to localities where they are in. Their livelihoods rely heavily on exploiting forest resources, which cause noticeable damages to the environment.

To change the practice, the Party and Government have adopted a series of policies to help ethnic minorities have sustainable resettlement.

The PM issued Decision 33/2007/QD-TTg dated March 5, 2007 featuring a policy supporting the migrant ethnic minorities to settle from 2007-2010 and Decision 1342/QD-TTg approving a resettlement plan for the migrant ethnic minority groups to 2012.

In 2013, he then issued Decision 33/2013/QD-TTg dated June 6, declaring the continuous implementation of the support policy for the resettlement of ethnic minorities to 2015.

The policy will feature many fields from production, transport, utilities to education, health, with a view to improving the living conditions, stabilising production, and raising educational level for the ethnic minorities residing in remote, mountainous and border areas.-VNA