Northern province carries out support program for disadvantaged communes

The northern province of Quang Ninh has recently carried out a program aimed at boosting socio-economic development in extremely disadvantaged communes in mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited regions (Program 135) in the province. 

(Photo: QTV)

Accordingly, the provincial People’s Committee has assigned tasks for departments, sectors and localities to check on extremely disadvantaged communes and villages, make investment plans and estimate the amount of the loans needed for investment.

Thanks to the program, the poverty rate in extremely disadvantaged communes has been reduced from 64.03% in 2006 to 39.9% in 2009. Accordingly, nine of the 30 communes no longer need the assistance of the program.

However, as extremely disadvantaged communes are situated in mountainous, border and island regions where there is high rate of ethnic minority peoples, the poverty rate remains high at 20.93% at present.

The program, launched and carried out across the country since 1998 by the State, is one of several large poverty reduction programs in Vietnam. Divided into different phases, it aims to develop production and increase the living standard for ethnic minority families; improve the infrastructure; expand public services and raise the cultural lives of people in extremely disadvantaged communes in mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited regions./.