The material and spiritual lives of residents in the northern province of Phu Tho, especially those from ethnic minorities, have improved in recent years thanks to efforts from local authorities to reduce poverty. Phu Tho is home to 34 ethnic groups, including more than 200,000 ethnic minority people, accounting for 16% of the province’s population. Ethnic minority communities mainly concentrate in districts of Tan Son, Thanh Son and Yen Lap. To reduce poverty in ethnic minority-inhabited areas, the provincial authority has used various policies and measures to tap the strengths of each area, focusing on building infrastructure for socio-economic development. Head of the provincial Ethnic Affairs Committee Dinh Ngoc Thanh said the locality has invested in developing infrastructure and supported production in disadvantaged communes, villages and hamlets. Since 2011, the province has spent more than VND600 billion ($26.3 million) on ethnic minority policies, with nearly 500 billion VND (nearly $22 million) for building infrastructure facilities for transport, education, irrigation and health care. With tireless efforts by the locality, the rate of poor households has fallen by between 4%-5% each year. All communes in the locality have medical stations and usable roads and more than 90% of hamlets have community houses. Thanh said local authorities need to continue investing in infrastructure development in mountainous and ethnic minority areas and promote production through specific policies, towards sustainable poverty reduction. (en.vietnamplus.vn July 14)
