Dien Bien stands alongside women in border areas.

The "Supporting Women in Border Areas" program in Dien Bien is empowering women in border regions by boosting their livelihoods, improving their living standards, and fostering a spirit of self-reliance.

Over the years, the "Accompanying Women in Border Areas" program has become a practical support system for women members in the border areas of Dien Bien province. Beyond supporting livelihoods, the program has also contributed to raising awareness, improving living conditions, maintaining border security, and building new rural areas in particularly difficult mountainous communes.

Dien Bien currently has 29 border communes (during the period 2021 - June 2025) with over 136,000 inhabitants, mainly ethnic minorities. The poverty rate in the border area in 2024 remained above 26.6%, and people's lives were still difficult, lacking jobs and heavily affected by natural disasters and epidemics.

In light of this situation, during the period 2021-2025, the Dien Bien Provincial Women's Union, in coordination with the Provincial Border Guard Command and the Women's Unions of other provinces and units assigned by the Vietnam Women's Union, has implemented many practical activities aimed at supporting women in border areas. The various levels of the Women's Union have organized over 160 awareness sessions for more than 8,000 cadres and female members on economic development, border sovereignty protection, prevention of child marriage and human trafficking, and building "5 no, 3 clean" families.

Women delegates from Dien Bien province attend the conference summarizing the "Accompanying Women in Border Areas" program for the period 2021-2025. Photo: Hoang Chau.

The highlight of the program is supporting livelihoods tailored to the specific conditions of each locality. In Muong Nha commune, from 2019 to the present, the program has implemented 8 models of breeding cattle, pigs, and poultry with a total budget of 264 million VND, supporting 56 poor and near-poor women's households in border villages. These models are implemented on a rotational basis, helping nearly 200 members to develop their economy and gradually escape poverty sustainably.

In Sin Thau commune, the program has supported 12 livelihood models with a total budget of nearly 790 million VND; built 16 shelters for the needy, provided support for sanitary toilets, water filters, seedlings, school facilities, and boarding kitchens for students in the mountainous region. These models not only help people stabilize their lives but also contribute to changing the face of rural border areas.

Officials from the Women's Union of Muong Nha commune visit a livestock farming model of a member in the border region, contributing to creating livelihoods and sustainable poverty reduction in the locality. Photo: Hoang Chau.

Besides supporting economic development, social welfare activities have also been widely implemented. Many organizations, units, and women's associations in the provinces have joined hands to support women in Dien Bien through building shelters, giving gifts, scholarships, learning equipment, clean water projects, and electricity. The total funding for the entire program from 2021 to 2025 reached over 9.1 billion VND.

According to Ms. Pờ Diệu Ninh, President of the Women's Union of Điện Biên province, the program not only provides material support but also creates spiritual motivation for women in border areas to boldly change their production mindset, proactively develop their family economy, and participate in maintaining border security.

"The most important thing is to foster a spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement among women members in border areas. When they have stable livelihoods, they will feel secure staying in their villages, participating with the community in protecting the border and boundary markers, and building a cultural life in their residential areas," Ms. Ninh emphasized.

With the support of women's associations at all levels, many women in border areas have gradually changed their perceptions, boldly borrowed capital, and applied science and technology to production. Many livestock and crop farming models have proven effective, creating sustainable livelihoods and contributing to poverty reduction in the locality.

The Dien Bien Provincial Women's Union and the Provincial Border Guard Command signed a cooperation plan to implement the "Accompanying Women in Border Areas" program for the period 2026-2030. Photo: Hoang Chau.

Building on the achievements, the Dien Bien Provincial Women's Union and the Provincial Border Guard Command have just issued a plan to coordinate the implementation of the "Accompanying Women in Border Areas" program for the period 2026-2030. The program aims to support women in border areas in developing sustainable livelihoods linked to green transformation, digital transformation, and the circular economy; raising awareness about protecting border sovereignty, gender equality, and building families based on the "5 no's and 3 clean" principles.

According to the plan, by 2030, each border commune will receive support for at least one sustainable livelihood model for poor women; maintain self-governing women's groups along the border and at border markers; and establish "Women in Digital Transformation" clubs in border areas.

Despite remaining challenges in resources, transportation, and production conditions, the "Accompanying Women in Border Areas" program continues to spread the spirit of sharing and strengthen the bond between the military and civilians in the front lines of the Fatherland.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/dien-bien-dong-hanh-cung-phu-nu-noi-bien-cuong-d813731.html