A/HRC/16/45/Add.2 around 1 million poor ethnic minority households had access to preferential credit, and 650,000 poor people received training. Nevertheless, the Country Social Analysis of the World Bank, highlights the fact that, while minorities report a pressing need for credit to assist them with agricultural production, they commonly have less access to credit, have not been sufficiently targeted by credit schemes, receive smaller loans and are vulnerable to predatory lending. 24. The programme for the socio-economic development of extremely difficult communes, also known as programme 135, was established in 1998 to implement Government policies targeting the most vulnerable communes, promoting production and access to basic infrastructure, improving education, training local officials and raising people’s awareness of better living standards.9 Under the responsibility of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, programme 135 was designed to address a wide variety of causes of poverty particular to ethnic minorities. 25. Programme 135 included needs assessments and consultations with local ethnic groups, local officials and specialist consultants. The current phase of the programme seeks (a) to radically accelerate production and promote market-oriented agricultural development; (b) to improve the socio-cultural life of ethnic minority groups and narrow the gap in living standards; and (c) to eradicate hunger and reduce the poverty rate by 3 to 5 per cent per year to below 30 per cent. 26. Communities visited by the independent expert confirmed that Government programmes, including programme 135, had brought significant improvements to their lives. A high proportion of the funds allocated to the programme (some 70 per cent) have been dedicated to the development of infrastructure, including roads and bridges, health and education facilities, water and sanitation. Community members welcomed these developments, while some declared that further improvements and capacity were required to meet community needs fully.10 27. While new roads have connected isolated areas and rural communities with markets, some community members told the independent expert that they lacked the means to transport surplus produce to market. They remained reliant on agents who visited villages and purchased their surpluses, hence they were unable to obtain the best market price and secure higher incomes. Similar issues existed with regard to the sale of handicrafts and textiles produced, since communities still had limited access to markets or the market knowledge to ensure fair prices from intermediaries. 28. Some sources expressed concerns over aspects of programme 135 and other poverty alleviation programmes that have a regional rather than a community-targeted focus. Critics stated that a disproportionate number of those who had benefited from these programmes were ethnic Kinh living in targeted regions. Attention was drawn to poverty rates in the central highlands, which in aggregate terms fell by 23 per cent over the period 2002-2006. Some non-governmental organizations claimed, however, that relatively little improvement in living standards for ethnic minorities in the region had been achieved, and that their 9 10 8 Ha Viet Quan, “Programme 135: Sharing lessons on poverty reduction and development schemes for ethnic minorities in Vietnam”, available from www.un.org/esa/socdev/egms/docs/2009/Ghana/Quan.pdf. Quyen et al., Report on results of citizen’s report card survey on people’s satisfaction with P135-II, Hanoi, 2009.