Vietnam Government Keeps Funds for Poor Families Unchanged for 2009-2010

The Vietnamese government has decided to keep the funding for poor households of ethnic minorities under the socioeconomic development program for 2009-2010 according the 30a/2008/NQ-CP Decree. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung assigned the government committee for ethnic minorities to make amendments for the program for 2011-2015. Earlier in August, the government issued the decision 101/2009/QD-Ttg to raise the funds for infrastructure development and production promotion for each hamlet in disadvantaged communes to VND250 million a year, up from VND180 million each. For communes under the program 135, the funding for infrastructure development was raised to VND1 billion/year each, up from VND800 million while the funding for production supports was hiked to VND300 million/year each, up from VND200 million/year each. Last year, the government of Vietnam spent VND3.8 trillion for the second phase of program 135 to build 500 educational, healthcare, and transport infrastructure development for ethnic minorities.