“Though special population programmes were set up for minority groups, there hasn’t been a marked increase in the populations of these groups,” said Trinh Hoa Binh, from the Institute of Sociology on December 22 at a workshop on measures for improving the lives of ethnic minority groups in Vietnam.

At the workshop, participants agreed that long-term programmes focusing on research, education, training and knowledge dissemination should be set up to minimise the gap between those groups and more developed groups. A population policy should permit each couple in groups of less than 1,000 people to have a maximum of three children, and to receive support with reproductive health and family planning.

The National Assembly’s Nationalities Council has implemented projects on comprehensive development of five minority groups with populations of less than 1,000, including the Pu Peo, Si La, O Du, Ro Mam and Brau, with the aim of helping them integrate with the majority by 2010.

Solving social issues in ethnic minority areas, especially reducing poverty and improving intellectual standards, played an important role in the socio-economic development cause of these areas, said Nguyen Lam Thanh from the Nationalities Council.