Vietnam’s Mekong Delta provinces have invested over VND2 trillion in reducing poverty for Khmer ethnic minority people over the past ten years. The government’s Program 135 on assisting poorest communes benefited locals at 207 communes in the first phase and 181 communes and 162 hamlets in the second phase. Meanwhile, Program 134 provided houses for more than 90,000 poor Khmer households and housing land for 5,235 others. Thanks to these programs, the poverty rate among Khmer people reduced from 41.15% in 2006 to 27.85% in 2009. According to Huynh Thi SoMaLy from the National Assembly Committee for Ethnic Minorities, to achieve long-term poverty reduction results, the State must help farmers have stable lives from farming besides investment in electricity, roads, schools, clinics, clean water and education.
