The miracle of Lang Son

Despite being a mountainous province facing many difficulties, Lang Son province has achieved remarkable results in poverty reduction.

“Joining hands for the poor – Leaving no one behind.” Photo: Khuong Trung.

On December 20th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in coordination with the People's Committee of Lang Son province, organized the event "Joining hands for the poor - Leaving no one behind".

The event was held in Lang Son province with the following participating units: the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper, the National Office for Poverty Reduction, and the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lang Son province.

On behalf of the People's Committee of Lang Son province, Ms. Tran Thanh Nhan, Vice Chairman of Lang Son province, respectfully thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for choosing Lang Son province to host the event "Joining hands for the poor - Leaving no one behind".

According to Ms. Tran Thanh Nhan, this event has profound social and humanitarian significance, aiming to raise awareness and responsibility of the political system and the entire society regarding multidimensional and sustainable poverty reduction, thereby fostering a spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement among people and communities to escape poverty. The program enhances access to and enjoyment of legal aid, mobilizes resources to achieve sustainable poverty reduction goals; and promotes exemplary cases, initiatives, and successful models of poverty reduction to encourage their replication and dissemination throughout society.

Ms. Tran Thanh Nhan, Vice Chairperson of the People's Committee of Lang Son province. Photo: Khuong Trung.

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son province shared: Lang Son is a mountainous, border province with many socio-economic difficulties. However, thanks to the decisive and consistent leadership and direction of the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Council, the Provincial People's Committee, all levels and sectors, and the entire political system, along with the active participation of the business community and all strata of the people, in recent years, Lang Son province has implemented comprehensively and effectively policies for people with meritorious services, poverty reduction, and social security.

In particular, Lang Son province has paid special attention to implementing policies to support the poor and vulnerable groups, and to developing socio-economic conditions in disadvantaged areas, border regions, and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities. To date, tens of thousands of poor households in the province have escaped poverty, many households have achieved average or above-average living standards, and many impoverished areas have overcome difficulties and met the standards of the new rural development program.

To promote and enhance the effectiveness of the "For the Poor - Leaving No One Behind" emulation movement, to awaken the spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement, to develop internal strengths to overcome poverty, build a prosperous life for the people and the community, and strive for a Vietnam free from hunger and poverty, the province has issued many guiding documents, programs, and plans for poverty reduction in each stage and each year, ensuring they are consistent with the Government's poverty reduction orientation and the local reality.

The People's Committee of Lang Son province assigned specific tasks to departments, agencies, and localities to implement central and provincial support policies for people in poor, near-poor, and newly-escaped-from-poverty households; promptly issued resolutions, programs, plans, and specific provincial policies to support poverty reduction efforts, promptly addressing fundamental issues for poor and near-poor households, villages, communes, and districts regarding housing, land, production land, medical examination and treatment, education, loans, and infrastructure investment; at the same time, it allocated a portion of the budget to implement matching funds for credit, infrastructure construction, and specific support policies, ensuring that mobilized capital is used for the right purposes and target groups. This has contributed to the effective implementation of social security policies and improved the lives of a segment of people in poor households, people in particularly difficult areas, security zones, and border areas.

The people have shown consensus and absolute trust in the leadership of the Party and the State; the sense of responsibility of each citizen in participating in poverty reduction work has been raised; many poor households have changed their awareness and proactively strived to escape poverty.

During the period 2021-2025, Lang Son province allocated over 1.149 trillion VND in capital to implement the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction, focusing on supporting investment in socio-economic infrastructure development in poor districts, providing housing support for poor and near-poor households in these districts, and supporting various groups of poor and near-poor households.

Effective poverty reduction and social welfare policies have contributed to social stability and ensured national defense and security, such as: Annually, over 40,000 people from poor and near-poor households, including over 10,000 from poor and near-poor households, receive support for health insurance contributions and healthcare at medical facilities; during this period, over 12,465 poor households, 10,473 near-poor households, and 6,769 newly escaped-from-poverty households have received loans; creating jobs for over 13,000 workers; and over 36,300 rural water supply and sanitation projects have been newly built, repaired, or renovated using policy credit funds. Over 13,700 households engaged in production and business in disadvantaged areas have received loans to purchase, build, or repair 861 houses under Decree No. 28/2022/ND-CP, as well as 889 social housing units, etc.

Medical examination and treatment for the poor in Lang Son province. Photo: Bao Khang.

In response to the emulation movement "For the poor - Leaving no one behind," all levels, sectors, agencies, units, localities, and businesses in the province have actively mobilized resources to support and assist the poor in overcoming difficulties, stabilizing their lives, and gradually escaping poverty sustainably. This includes building solidarity houses for poor, near-poor, and disadvantaged households; organizing visits and gift-giving to the poor during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year); and conducting relief, humanitarian, and charitable activities to help those in difficult circumstances or affected by natural disasters, storms, and floods. Along with the emulation movement "Joining hands to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses," the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses in 2025 in the province has started construction and completed 6,508 houses (including 3,840 new houses and 2,668 repaired houses) for households of people with meritorious services to the revolution, policy beneficiary families, poor households, near-poor households, and people affected by natural disasters and climate change. To date, the majority of new and repaired houses have been completed so that people can celebrate Tet.

The synchronized and effective implementation of poverty reduction policies has gradually improved the quality of life for poor and near-poor households and created favorable conditions for them to access basic social services. The poverty rate in Lang Son province decreased from 12.2% (in 2021) to 3.36% (in 2024), ranking third among the 14 provinces in the Northern Midlands and Mountains.

Providing legal advice to residents in Lang Son. Photo: Bao Khang.

According to Tran Thanh Nhan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son province: Although poverty reduction efforts in Lang Son province have achieved many positive results, people's lives have improved, and the poor have received attention and support to develop their economy, contributing to effective poverty alleviation. However, as a mountainous province with many socio-economic difficulties, the poverty reduction rate is not sustainable, the rate of poverty reduction is uneven across communes, and basic social service deficiencies remain high, posing a high risk of re-poverty.

To continue responding to the "For the Poor - Leaving No One Behind" emulation movement launched by the Government, contributing to the goal of multidimensional, inclusive, and sustainable poverty reduction, limiting re-poverty and new poverty; supporting the poor and poor households to rise above the minimum living standard, access basic social services, and improve the quality of life in Lang Son province, the People's Committee of Lang Son province earnestly hopes to continue receiving the attention, guidance, support, and assistance from the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, neighboring provinces, agencies, units, businesses, and philanthropists to help the province and the poor and those in difficult circumstances in the province so that the province's poverty reduction efforts can continue to achieve practical results.

The People's Committee of Lang Son province respectfully requests that: Departments, agencies, and localities continue to implement comprehensively and effectively the policies and guidelines on poverty reduction, the National Target Program for Sustainable Poverty Reduction, contributing to creating jobs and livelihoods for the poor; continue to propagate and mobilize officials, civil servants, and all strata of the people to actively support the "For the Poor" Fund and social welfare programs to encourage, help, support, and share with the poor both materially and spiritually.

Organizations, individuals, and businesses inside and outside the province should continue to cooperate and work together, carrying out practical activities and contributing even more to the poverty reduction and social security efforts of Lang Son province.

Poor and near-poor people need to further develop their self-reliance, self-improvement, and aspiration to rise above poverty sustainably, striving for a prosperous and happy life for themselves.

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son province, Tran Thanh Nhan, expressed his hope that this event would inspire and motivate each of us with the Vietnamese national tradition of the values ​​of compassion, solidarity, the will to strive, gratitude, and sharing, urging us to act together for the good in life and for the poor.

On behalf of the government and people of Lang Son province, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lang Son Province, Tran Thanh Nhan, thanked the Agriculture and Environment Newspaper for its very practical program that provided meaningful gifts to the people, totaling over 300 million VND. In addition, the newspaper also provided medical examinations and treatment, career guidance, and legal advice.

Ms. Tran Thanh Nhan stated that this is a noble gesture demonstrating the spirit of "For the poor - Leaving no one behind," as well as the spirit of mutual support and compassion of the Vietnamese people.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/ky-tich-lang-son-d790402.html