The World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors has approved an additional 100 million USD loan for an ongoing project to help improve living standards for the poor in six northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam.

The increased financing will bolster the country’s poverty reduction efforts in the provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Yen Bai where poverty rates are among the highest in the country.

Victoria Kwakwa, WB Country Director in Vietnam said the WB wished to “share the government of Vietnam’s strong desire to reduce poverty through the community-driven development approach embedded in this project.

She also expressed the willingness to work with the Vietnamese government to scale up the project’s successes, adding that most of its beneficiaries are poor ethnic minority people.

The additional credit will further contribute to the government’s poverty reduction efforts by improving the capacity of local governments and communities, increasing access to investments that boost productivity, strengthening commune investment planning, and bolstering community links to markets and business innovations.

VNA