On July 28, 2026, MCNV, in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs of Quang Tri Province, organized a launch workshop for the project “Promoting Sustainable Livelihoods to Improve Food Security for Poor Ethnic Minority Women in Quang Tri” (referred to as the PRO-POOR Project).
Mr. Tran Ngoc Lan, Director of the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs, opened the workshop. Photo: Mai Linh/Quang Tri Newspaper
The PRO-POOR Project is implemented in Huong Phung and Huong Lap communes—mountainous areas home to large ethnic minority populations (mainly the Bru – Van Kieu people) with very high rates of poor and near-poor households.
Particularly in Huong Lap commune, ethnic minorities account for 98% of the population, with nearly 50% falling into poor and near-poor categories. Local livelihoods face numerous hardships due to harsh natural conditions and limited development resources.
Funded by MCNV with a total budget of 18 billion VND (~US$ 700,000) the project will run for 36 months. It focuses on helping ethnic minority women and their families develop sustainable livelihoods through agricultural and non-agricultural production and business models—creating jobs, boosting income, and ultimately improving food security.
Project support includes providing capital, crop varieties, and livestock breeds; technical training in farming and cultivation; and enhancing business management capacities while connecting producers to markets for stable product consumption. In addition to livelihood support, the project will implement interventions to improve access to food and proper nutrition practices for women and children in the project areas, aiming to reduce malnutrition among children under 5 years old across both communes.
Delegates at the launch workshop of the PRO-POOR project. Photo: Phan Tan Lam/MCNV
The project has set specific targets, including: at least 300 women will see their income increase by 20%, household dietary diversity scores will rise by 25%, the proportion of households reporting food shortages during the lean season will drop by 30%, and the rate of semi-boarding kindergarten children with access to nutritious school meals will reach 90%. Furthermore, around 1,000 people—mostly family members of the primary beneficiaries—will directly benefit from these activities.
Since its establishment in 1968 and across nearly six decades of operation, MCNV has implemented many impactful programs and projects promoting livelihoods, nutrition improvement, and sustainable development in disadvantaged areas of Quang Tri Province.
Recent examples include the project “Promoting Sustainable Partnership between CSOs and Enterprises for Sustainable Forest Management in the Context of Climate Change (PROSPER)” (funded by the European Union) and the “Ethnic Minority Community Development” project (funded by the Hulza Foundation) in Quang Tri.
Building on these successes, the PRO-POOR project reaffirms MCNV’s long-term commitment to supporting vulnerable communities, enhancing self-reliance, and building community resilience toward sustainable development./.
In the remote mountain communities of Sepone and Phin in Laos, many families struggle to obtain enough healthy and nutritious food. Fresh vegetables are especially scarce during the dry season. Thanks to home gardens close to their houses and access to clean water, families are increasingly able to grow their own vegetables. However, sturdy metal fences are needed to protect these gardens from free-roaming animals.
