NGO Projects Boost Economy in Thai Nguyen Province

Projects run by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the northern province of Thai Nguyen are making active contributions to local socio-economic development, especially poverty reduction efforts. So far, the province has granted 72 operational licenses to NGOs, of which 29 are still valid, as heard at a working session between local authorities and a delegation of the Committee for Foreign NGO Affairs on July 20. Thai Nguyen is carrying out the national program on promoting aid from NGOs between 2013 and 2017. In the first two years of implementing the program, the province enabled NGOs to tour and build plans to activate a number of projects on clean water supplies, environmental sanitation and solid waste management. The EAST Vietnam, an NGO for international solidarity, is implementing a waste treatment project in the Ky Phu and Van Tho communes of Dai Tu district while the US-based Oxfam is running a project to empower small-scale Vietnamese farmers. Local authorities called for more assistance from the Government’s ministries, departments and sectors to support NGO activities, particularly in education, health, rural development and climate change adaptation. On the occasion, the delegation led by Deputy Head of the People’s Aid Coordinating Committee Nguyen Trung Dung scrutinized the implementation of NGO projects in the province. (vietnamplus.vn July 20)