A meeting in northern Thai Nguyen province on July 31 emphasized the need for livelihood solutions to sustainably reduce poverty in local ethnic minority groups. Nguyen Duc Bach, Director of the institute for environmental science and social issues, said aside from support under the State’s policies and programs, livelihood solutions are important to ensure sustainable poverty elimination. Echoing this, other participants noted communication to raise public awareness is also one of the most important solutions, saying that not only ethnics but also cadres in the political system, especially at the grassroots level, need to improve their awareness in this work. While livelihood support policies should be built basing on ethnics’ demand, the transfer of scientific and technological advances must also match local culture. They suggested Thai Nguyen form a contingent of cadres and prestige persons in each ethnic minority area because issues relating to ethnics’ livelihoods and culture must be decided by themselves and carried out with the help of local prestige people. The province should increase resources for creating sources of livelihood for ethnic minority people, participants said, asking authorities to prioritize preferential loans for residents in remote areas and low-income earners to develop production activities. According to a report at the meeting, over the past years, ethnic minority people in Thai Nguyen have gained access to soft loans and support for agricultural production and received training in farming techniques. The material and spiritual life of the poor in ethnic minority and mountainous areas has also been improved. However, the numbers of poor and near-poor households are still high in some localities with unfavorable natural conditions, scattered population, underdeveloped infrastructure and low educational level. Meanwhile, resources are sometimes not allocated in a timely manner, thus affecting the implementation of poverty reduction policies in ethnic minority communities. According to Thai Nguyen’s board for ethnic minority affairs, in 2016 and 2017, the household poverty rate in 124 ethnic minority and mountainous communes fell 5.72% but the rate of near-poor families rose by 0.12%, as measured by the multidimensional criteria. Thai Nguyen is home to 45 ethnic minority groups accounting for nearly 30% of the province’s population. Tay, Nung, San Diu, San Chay and Dao are the most populous minorities. (Vietnam Plus Aug 1)
