Localities urged to reduce poverty rate in ethnic minority regions

Hanoi (VNA) – Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Do Van Chien has asked localities to reduce the proportion of poor households in the ethnic minority and mountainous regions by 3-4 percent per year from now to 2020.

Speaking at a conference of the committee in Hanoi on January 11, Chien requested local authorities to continuously work to ensure rapid and sustainable socio-economic development in these areas, especially regarding farmland and water shortage settlement, and jobs change for over 80 percent of needy families.

He told local ethnic minority affairs departments to further improve the quality of human resources, and boost social and cultural development as well as strengthen the grassroots-level political system, ensure the great national unity and defense-security, and reinforce trust of people in the Party and State.

In 2016, the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs spent over 7 trillion VND (315 million USD) building nearly 6,000 infrastructural facilities and 90 water supply works for over 140,000 households in the ethnic minority and mountainous regions.

The money was also used to support more than 400,000 poor and near-poor families to buy crops, fertilizer, equipment, and develop some effective production models.

Nearly 29,000 households living under the poverty line were provided with loans to develop production, while 700 capacity-building classes were opened for officials and residents.-VNA