Kon Tum's socio-economic development
Ha Noi, Feb. 18 (VNA) -- Material and spiritual life in Central Highlands Kon Tum province has constantly been improved by the implementation of the Viet Nam Communist Party and Government's policy for socio-economic development in mountainous areas since 1991.
State assistance has helped Kon Tum province, where more than 50 percent of the population are minority people and the infrastructure is poor, overcome many difficulties to attain important achievements.
The province has utilised its potential, forests and forest land, to develop industrial crops. It has increased coffee cultivation to 14,400 ha from 3,000 ha; rubber to 14,500 ha from 886 ha; and sugarcane to 3,283 ha from 995 ha.
Since 1996, the province has registered average yearly Gross Domestic Product, GDP, growth of 9.85 percent and raised the people's average yearly per capita income from VND 1.4 million to VND 2.6 million.
To date, 80 percent of households have access to television programmes, and all households have access to radio programmes.
All provincial communes have primary schools and all districts have senior-secondary schools, with one third of the population attending.
The rate of mulnutrition among children has fallen by 8-10 percent a year; and the vaccination rate of infants against six common childhood diseases has increased 1.79 percent a year. The province has been successful in preventing malaria epidemics and has reduced the number of goistre patients by 16.56 percent a year. A new plan for settlement and sedentary farming has given 11,141 of the province 19,450 households a stable life.
Kon Tum is undergoing socio-economic development while settling social difficulties and promoting a switch to production of cash crops.--VNA
