Ban Chieu village art troupe, Muong Coi commune, Son La

The National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2025 period has contributed to dramatically changing the face of ethnic minority areas in Son La province. From infrastructure to the material and spiritual life of the people has been significantly improved.

In the 2021-2025 period, Son La province has been allocated more than VND 5,650 billion from the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas (Program 1719) to implement development projects for ethnic minority and mountainous areas. From this source of capital, Son La province focuses on solving the shortage of land, housing, production land, and domestic water; arranging and stabilizing the population; protecting special-use forests; developing production according to the value chain; investing in electricity and essential infrastructure; improving education and health care; preserving culture; promoting gender equality and supporting ethnic minority groups with very few people.

As the standing agency of Program 1719, the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions of Son La province has advised the Provincial People's Committee to allocate capital, issue instructions, inspect and coordinate to remove difficulties, and speed up the progress of projects. By August 2025, the whole province's disbursement reached over 75% of the plan, higher than the national average. After nearly 5 years of implementation, the whole province has resolved residential land and production land for 640 households; built 85 water supply works for more than 8,200 households; arranged stable residents at 17 locations for nearly 1,000 households; upgraded and built more than 160 new traffic works, 190 community houses and over 140 other infrastructure works.

Members of the agricultural cooperative in Mai Son commune harvest chili peppers.

Thanks to that, the Program not only improves people's lives but also changes their thinking, mindset and way of doing things. Thanks to support for production and livelihood models, many households have boldly invested in commodity economy, applied techniques, and linked value chains. Ethnic minorities have gradually taken the initiative to earn a living, escape poverty sustainably, and no longer rely on subsidies. From 2021 to present, Son La province has connected jobs, converted jobs for more than 70,600 workers and provided vocational training for more than 7,800 poor and near-poor people.

Traditional cultural values ​​are preserved, many ethnic festivals are restored; nearly 200 cultural and sports institutions in villages are built; hundreds of folk art troupes are maintained. The program contributes to promoting gender equality, protecting women and children through communication, training, building more than 300 models of "Community Communication Teams" and "Community Trust Addresses", helping ethnic minorities access the law, protect their rights and enhance their role in the community.

Women's Union, Youth Union and civil servants of Muong Coi commune launched a campaign to clean up the environment.

Ms. Dinh Thi Bac, in Ban Chieu village, Muong Coi commune, said: "Thanks to the National Target Program, my village, which is located in a remote area, now has a car road leading to the village, helping people develop community tourism, creating jobs and income right on their homeland, with many types of services from performing arts, producing traditional handicrafts, and providing homestay services very effectively."

Thanks to the effective implementation of Program 1719, the average income of ethnic minorities in Son La province by the end of 2024 will reach 39.2 million VND/person/year, double that of 2020; the poverty rate will decrease to 14.2%. Investment in transport infrastructure, electricity, water, schools, and medical stations will help develop the economy and improve access to essential services. Currently, 98% of communes and 78.3% of villages have car roads to the center; 100% of schools and medical stations are solid; 98% of ethnic minority households have electricity and clean water.

Program 1719 not only invests in infrastructure but also changes people's thinking and raises their awareness of economic development and new rural construction. This strengthens the trust of ethnic minorities in the Party and the State for always paying attention to caring for ethnic minority mountainous areas, with the motto "no one is left behind". This is demonstrated through many policies and action programs to develop the economy, culture, society, education, health, and ensure social security for people in these areas.