The National Target Program 1719 has contributed to changing the face of ethnic minority and mountainous regions. (Illustrative image)

New opportunities for growth

With substantial resources (approximately 5,487 billion VND in the 2022-2024 period), Son La province has focused its investments on key projects and sub-projects of the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021-2030; Phase I: from 2021-2025 (National Target Program 1719).

With investment resources from the National Target Program 1719, Son La province has provided housing and production land for 640 households; built 85 centralized water supply projects for over 8,200 households; arranged and stabilized the population at 17 locations for 956 households; renovated and built over 160 rural transport infrastructure projects; and provided vocational training for more than 7,800 poor and near-poor people...

As a result, to date, over 98% of communes in Son La province have concrete roads leading to their centers, 78.3% of villages have hardened roads, 99.5% of households use safe electricity; and 97.5% of the rural population has access to clean drinking water.

Similarly, in Thai Nguyen province, the most outstanding achievement of the National Target Program 1719 is poverty reduction. By the end of 2024, the poverty rate in ethnic minority and mountainous communes of Thai Nguyen province had decreased to 3.16%, an average annual reduction of 2.18%.

Along with achievements in poverty reduction, the income of ethnic minority people in Thai Nguyen province has improved significantly. While in 2020, the average income of ethnic minorities was only over 28 million VND/year, by the end of 2024 it had reached over 51 million VND/person/year.

It can be affirmed that, along with the decisive involvement of Party committees and authorities, and the consensus of the people, the initial success of the National Target Program 1719 is the foundation, opening up new opportunities for the sustainable development of ethnic minority and mountainous regions.

The National Target Program 1719 contributes to promoting socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas of Gia Lai province. (Photo: Ngoc Thu)

Strengthening the deep trust of ethnic minority people in the Party and the State.

Over the past five years of implementation, with the flexibility of local authorities, the integration of ethnic policies and national target programs for the 2021-2025 period has made a significant contribution to poverty eradication, vocational training, healthcare, education, and training, gradually improving the material and spiritual lives of ethnic minority communities.

Furthermore, investment resources from the National Target Program 1719 are actively contributing to the economic restructuring of ethnic minority and mountainous regions. Through production support, vocational training, and livelihood creation, many ethnic minority households have shown interest in and invested in commodity-oriented production, applying scientific and technological advancements, and linking along value chains; at the same time, gradually eliminating the mentality of dependence and reliance; proactively seeking ways out of poverty and aiming for prosperity.

The report of the Central Steering Committee for National Target Programs for the period 2021-2025 clearly indicates that the target for poverty reduction in ethnic minority areas is an average of 3.4%, with a projected target of 3.2% for the entire period (meeting the target of over 3% in the assigned plan). The target for average income of ethnic minorities is an average of 43.4 million VND, a 3.1-fold increase compared to 2020; the projected target for the end of the period is 45.9 million VND, a 3.3-fold increase compared to 2020 (the target is an increase of over 2 times).

According to the assessment of the Central Steering Committee, the national target programs for the period 2021-2025, specifically National Target Program 1719, have effectively addressed several fundamental and urgent issues such as livelihoods, housing support, land use, planning, and population stabilization. This has significantly contributed to changing the face of ethnic minority and mountainous regions; encouraged self-reliance and self-improvement among ethnic minorities; and gradually laid the foundation and unleashed the potential and strengths of these localities. Simultaneously, it has strengthened national unity and consolidated the deep trust of ethnic minorities in the Party and the State.