Vietnam Cuts Poverty Rate among Ethnic Groups to 26.7%

Vietnam reduced the poverty rate among ethnic minority groups to 26.7% in 2009 as a result of effective projects known as Decision 134 and Program 135. At a conference in Hanoi Jan. 20, the Committee for Ethnic Affairs reported that under Decision 134, more than 87,820 ethnic households received land for housing and 237,715 others received land for production last year. The government of Vietnam had built houses for nearly 337,600 households and 6,040 clean water supply works for hundreds of thousands of families in disadvantaged areas. 
Under the second phase of the socioeconomic development program for ethnic minorities and mountainous commune or Program 135, Vietnam poured more than VND3.7 trillion into infrastructure development projects in 3,149 poor villages. Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung emphasized the need to increase the officials’ capacity for working on ethnic affairs in line with the Party’s policies