Lao Cai is a mountainous province with a large ethnic minority population, accounting for over 60% of the total population. In recent times, investment resources from the State's ethnic policy programs and projects, especially the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2025 period (National Target Program 1719) are getting effective, contributing to changing the socio-economic face of Lao Cai province.
Implementing Decision No. 1719/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas for the 2021-2025 period (National Target Program 1719), Party committees and authorities at all levels of Lao Cai province have always paid attention to resolute, creative, flexible leading, directing and operating, with focus and key points. Only in the first 9 months of 2024, the agency working on ethnic affairs in Lao Cai province coordinated with sectors and localities to advise the Provincial People's Committee to submit to the Lao Cai People's Council to issue 6 Resolutions; directly issued 8 plans, 16 Decisions, 13 reports, 24 documents to direct, deploy, and evaluate the results of implementing ethnic affairs and the National Target Program in the area.

Support eliminating temporary housing for ethnic minorities in Sa Pa.

In particular, in 2024, the 4th Congress of Ethnic Minorities in Lao Cai Province was successfully held. The successful organization of the congress contributed to affirming the consistent policy of the Party and State on ethnic issues and great national unity; affirming and recognizing the great contributions of ethnic minorities to the important achievements of the province and the country in all fields.
Therefore, it creates high solidarity and consensus of the entire political system and all classes of people in efforts to overcome difficulties and challenges and bring about positive results, significantly contributing to the implementation of the province's general development goals and targets and those ones set out in the national target program.
In the first 9 months of 2024, the Provincial People's Committee has completed the Steering Committee of the National Target Program 1719 for the period 2021 - 2025; adjusted and supplemented the assignment of leaders of provincial agencies and units to assist communes in implementing the Program; reviewed and adjusted a number of contents of the assignment of tasks to agencies and units in charge of monitoring and guiding the implementation of criteria, contents, sub-projects, and component projects of the National Target Program 1719 for the period 2021 - 2025 in the province.
Up to now, the province has implemented and completed the work of perfecting the organization for directing the implementation of the National Target Program at 3 levels (province, district, commune) under the requirements of the Central Government.
The province also always focuses on promoting propaganda and mobilization to implement the Program. Agencies, units and localities have focused on propaganda, dissemination, legal education, and providing information in many forms such as: Organizing 1,229 integrated conferences, direct conferences, and competitions to learn about legal policies for 139,167 people who are village union cadres, prestigious people and the public.

Promoting the Community Digital Technology Team.

The work of establishing, adjusting and supplementing the public investment plan for capital sources to implement the Program was promptly carried out by the province, meeting the requirements in implementation, speeding up the disbursement progress of capital sources assigned by the Central Government.
Accordingly, in the past 9 months, the capital for implementation in 2023 transferred to 2024 has allocated 395,858/408,336 million VND, reaching 97% of the plan; the total mobilized capital for implementation in 2024 is 1,884,652 million VND, of which the whole province has allocated 1,117,472/1,125,419 million VND, reaching 99.3% of the plan.
In particular, after the Provincial People's Committee allocated and adjusted the provincial budget estimate for 2024, the People's Committees of Muong Khuong and Bac Ha districts reviewed, adjusted, and allocated funds to submit to the People's Council and the District People's Committee for decision.
Specifically, Muong Khuong District People's Committee implemented a total adjusted budget of 61,998 million VND; Bac Ha District People's Committee implemented a total adjusted budget of 80,869 million VND.
Thus, the total budget for implementing the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the province in 2024 is VND 880,328 million, a decrease of VND 16,244 million compared to the plan assigned by the Central Government.
The disbursement of central budget capital in 2024 by September 31, 2024 was 333,186/1,525,457 million VND, equal to 22% of the plan assigned by the Central Government, of which disbursed investment capital reached 41.5% of the capital assigned by the Central Government.
Along with that, projects and tasks belonging to component projects were also being focused on and implemented by Party committees and authorities at all levels with the highest determination.
The process of implementing the National Target Programs in general and the National Target Program for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas in particular in Lao Cai province always receives the strong, creative and flexible leadership and direction of the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, Provincial People's Committee and the participation of the entire political and social system; Party committees and authorities at all levels in implementing the National Target Programs.
Lao Cai province has reviewed and developed plans to implement each national target program in 2024; proactively and promptly reviewed the regulations and instructions of the Central Government to adjust and issue new mechanisms and policies at the local level. This is to facilitate the implementation of national target programs at the grassroots level and promote the strength of the entire political system to participate in the emulation movement of implementing national target programs.
In addition, the province regularly updates and issues adjustments to the implementation plan of the National Target Programs for the 2021-2025 period in the direction of increasing decentralization to the district level in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 111/2024/QH15 dated January 18, 2024 of the National Assembly on a number of specific mechanisms and policies for implementing the National Target Programs. Up to now, the Provincial People's Committee has issued all legal documents under the regulations of the Central Government and the authority of the provincial level as a basis for localities to implement.
Even though the province has achieved many positive results, they are not genuinely sustainable. The progress of implementation and disbursement of projects and sub-projects is still slow and the disbursement results are low (by September 30, 2024, disbursement reached 8% of the central plan assigned in 2024,....).

Storm No. 3 directly affected the progress of implementation and disbursement of capital for the National Target Program 1719 in Lao Cai.

Some contents and component projects of the 2024 Program have fully prepared the procedures for implementation or were being implemented, but due to the influence of the remnant of storm number 3 (Yagi), the province experienced widespread moderate to heavy rain. The heavy rain, combined with upstream floods, caused flooding in many rivers and streams in the province, causing severe damage to people, property, and socio-economic infrastructure, resulting in many projects being unable to continue as planned or implemented according to the approved dossiers, requiring adjustments, supplements, or even suspension, severely affecting the progress of the Program.
Therefore, the province has proposed to allow for an extension of the implementation and disbursement period for the 2024 National Target Program funds until the end of 2025; to allow localities severely affected by typhoon number 3 in particular and natural disasters in general to proactively adjust and reduce targets to focus resources on implementing contents of each program that are aimed at mitigating disaster damage, ensuring compliance with the provisions of National Assembly Resolution 111/2024/QH15.
Despite numerous challenges and difficulties, the impact of the National Target Program 1719 on Lao Cai province is becoming increasingly evident. This is reflected in the improvement of rural infrastructure, the implementation of many effective production models to create livelihoods for the people. As a result, the material and spiritual lives of ethnic minority people in remote and disadvantaged areas have been significantly improved.