Vietnam’s poverty rate dropped to 35 percent in 2008 from 47 percent in 2005 thanks to the national programme for socio-economic development in poor mountainous communes inhabited by ethnic minority people (Programme 135).
Speaking at a conference in Hanoi on April 21 to review the implementation of the programme’s second phase, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said that Programme 135 represents the Party and State’s determination to target vulnerable groups in society, including nearly 10 million people who live in poor or remote communes.
The Deputy PM called for a concerted effort by all ministries, agencies and localities to speed up the improvement of people’s lives in underprivileged communes, helping to ensure equality among the country’s regions and areas.
Head of the Irish Embassy’s Development Board Sean Hoy, who is also the co-head of Programme 135’s development partner group, pledged a continued partnership with the Vietnamese government during this phase. He said that the next phase of the programme will focus on post-infrastructure investment.
Participants at the conference admitted that the programme’s objectives providing housing and land for cultivation has only achieved a low rate of success due to limited land funds.
They also discussed measures to speed up the implementation of the two programmes for poor people in underprivileged areas and reduce the poverty rate.
Minister and Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, Giang Seo Phu, said that by using more than VND7 trillion from the State budget, the programme has enabled a number of basic infrastructure works, including electric works, roads, schools and clinics to be built for nearly 94 percent of the communes in need.
Through the programme, over 1 million farming households were provided with seeds and animals for breeding and received training in more effective ways to farm, which has increased their awareness of modern farming techniques.
According to statistics, by the end of 2008, 110 out of 1,946 disadvantaged communes has fulfilled the programme’s objectives.
Programme 135 has received support from both Vietnamese people and applause from international organisations. International donors pledged to provide US$300 million for the programme, of which US$118 million has been transferred to its account.
Source: VOV