FOOD FOR EDUCATION BENEFITS ETHNIC MINORITIES IN QUANG NGAI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000045 SIPDIS USDOC SIPDIS USDOC FOR 4431 (MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO) ROME FOR USUN ROME USDA/ FAS/OCBD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON EAGR SOCI PREL VM SUBJECT: FOOD FOR EDUCATION BENEFITS ETHNIC MINORITIES IN QUANG NGAI REF: 05 HANOI 2723 HO CHI MIN 00000045 001.2 OF 002 Summary -------------- ¶1. Consul General visited schools in rural Quang Ngai Province participating in the Red Cross school feeding program funded under the Dole-McGovern Act. USDA's Food for Education program reaches a large number of poor ethnic minority children and their families in rural Quang Ngai and has sharply cut malnutrition and improved school attendance and performance. Vietnam is not slated to receive any further Title II funding and this successful program will not be continued. Mission urges continuation of limited Food for Education funding to reach Vietnam's poorest and most disadvantaged ethnic minority children. End Summary. ¶2. Consul General visited three schools in the rural Ba To district of Quang Ngai Province December 11-12 accompanied by Hanoi-based American Red Cross and provincial Vietnamese Red Cross officials. School officials were positive about the benefits of the school feeding program and stressed the need for more funding in order to continue the project. MALNUTRITION DROPS BY HALF, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE UP -------------- --- ¶3. The first phase of this project was funded in 2003 by a grant of USD 9 million in monetized commodities from the USDA Food for Education Program. In Phase One, the Red Cross provided hygiene training for students and hygiene and nutrition training for families. In addition to a school snack, beneficiaries received a monthly allocation of corn soy blend (CSB),cooking oil and sugar. In less than one year, malnutrition in the student population was cut from 43 percent to 18 percent. According to school officials, an additional benefit to the program was increased school attendance. Teachers stated that they saw improvements in students' overall heath and education levels as well as fewer students falling asleep in class. ¶4. Phase Two of the project was funded by a grant of USD 5.2 million in monetized commodities. This phase began in September 2006 after a gap of six months from the end of Phase One. Phase Two does not include distributions of CSB or other take-home items. As a result, nutrition results are unlikely to be as strong. The program provides a daily snack of soy milk and a biscuit as well as further hygiene training. Phase Two has broader coverage with 27 schools and 9,795 beneficiaries. Quang Ngai Red Cross and People's Committee officials stressed their interest in continuing the program into a third phase, including a school lunch program. ETHNIC MINORITIES PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES OF PROGRAM -------------- -------------- ¶5. Quang Ngai Province in Central Coastal Vietnam is a poor and isolated area consisting of a flat coastal lowland area populated by ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) and a mountainous upland area populated by ethnic minority people. Ba To district is rugged and is populated by Hre people engaged in rice cultivation in small (500 m2) terraced plots. Many families raise buffalo or cows. The Hre also hunt and gather forest products. Per capita GDP in Quang Ngai is USD 336, but in Ba To district the average per capita income is only USD 200 (well below Vietnam's national 2006 estimated figure of USD 728). Quang Ngai is slated to become a center of heavy industry. The Dung Quat industrial zone is attracting a number of heavy industrial projects centered on Vietnam's sole refinery which is well on its way to opening in 2009. The ability of ethnic minorities to participate in the province's development will be largely dependent on education. USDA's programs have increased school attendance and performance and had a significant impact on childhood nutrition in one of the countries poorest and most underserved regions. ¶6. The central coastal provinces are relatively free of the ethnic tensions, separatism or religious controversy found in the Central Highlands provinces to the west. Ethnic minority people continue to live in their traditional areas; have strong ties to land, and are HO CHI MIN 00000045 002.2 OF 002 engaged in small scale agriculture in addition to exploiting the forest. Land is generally too poor to have attracted ethnic Kinh in-migration and cash crops such as coffee or pepper are not seen. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. McGovern-Dole Food for Education funds have reached a large number of beneficiaries at very modest cost in Quang Ngai Province and have a major impact on nutrition and education for disadvantaged ethnic minority children. Ideally, provincial government would fund this program itself given the national priority on poverty reduction and the demonstrated effectiveness of school feeding and hygiene efforts. However, this will not happen soon. Quang Ngai is focused on infrastructure development and as long as resources are tight, the ethnic Kinh are likely to remain the first priority for social spending by the province. When funding runs out for Phase Two, these programs will end since Vietnam is not slated to receive any USDA Title II funding in the future. Ambassador and Consul General again urge that USDA continue at least a modest level of funding for these high impact programs. WINNICK