People join hands to build a green - clean - beautiful village

Thanks to the promotion of ethnic policies, focusing on the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, in recent years, the appearance of rural areas and the lives of ethnic minority people in Son La have had many positive changes.

Coming to the mountainous communes and villages of Son La province today, it is easy to see the positive changes in the appearance of the mountainous countryside. These results are thanks to the attention and investment of the Party and the State through the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas (National Target Program 1719).

Many essential infrastructure works such as roads, cultural houses, schools, medical stations, etc. have been invested in, built and upgraded, contributing to improving living, studying and production conditions of the people. Roads that were previously difficult to travel on, especially in the rainy season, have now been concreted, making travel more convenient and agricultural products consumed more quickly.

In Bo Mon village, Chieng Hac commune (Yen Chau district), the 3km long road from Provincial Road 13 to the village was previously just a dirt road, causing many difficulties in transporting agricultural products. Thanks to the capital of 7.6 billion VND from the National Target Program 1719, the road has been solidified with concrete, creating favorable conditions for people to develop their economy.

Mr. Mua A Chinh, a resident of Bo Mon village, shared: "The village has 142 households with more than 700 people, all of whom are Mong ethnic people. Since the concrete road was built, traveling has become easier, cars can go to the village to buy agricultural products, helping people save on transportation costs and have more opportunities to increase their income."

The National Target Program 1719 for the 2021-2025 period in Son La is showing positive results, making an important contribution to the overall socio-economic development of the province, especially in communes in region III, region II and extremely disadvantaged villages in ethnic minority areas.

Spacious village cultural house

The total capital for implementing the Program in the period 2021-2025 in Son La is 5,487,925 million VND. Of which, the allocated capital is 4,920,858 million VND.

According to Ms. Trang Thi Xuan, Permanent Vice Chairwoman of Son La Provincial People's Committee, the National Target Program 1719 has made an important contribution to the implementation of the socio-economic development plan of the whole province. The resources and policies of the program have been focusing on investing in developing essential infrastructure works such as roads, irrigation, domestic water, markets, medical stations, education, and cultural houses. At the same time, the Program also supports vocational training, production and livelihood development, contributing to increasing people's income.

Ms. Xuan emphasized that the material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities has been improved, and health care, education and training have had positive changes. These results show that the National Target Program 1719 is a strong driving force, bringing a new look and a better life to ethnic minorities in Son La.

To continue promoting the effectiveness of the program, Son La province has determined to promote decentralization and empower the grassroots and people to increase initiative and flexibility in implementation. At the same time, the province will diversify investment resources, effectively integrate programs and projects, and prioritize support for communes and villages with special difficulties and areas lacking essential infrastructure.

Clean up village streets and alleys regularly

In particular, Son La province will promote and effectively implement the motto "People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect, people supervise, people benefit", "The State and people work together" in implementing specific projects and models.

Support policies from the National Target Program 1719 have created momentum and "leverage" for socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas, contributing to helping Son La province achieve its 2025 target of reducing the rate of poor and near-poor households in particularly disadvantaged communes by 3-4%, gradually narrowing the development gap between mountainous areas and favorable areas.