(VOVworld) – The Border Guard Command held a meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday to launch a 3-year program to provide cows for poor people in border areas.

Approximately 24,000 cows will be given in the first phase of the program. Beneficiaries will be given financial and technical assistance to raise the cows, thus improving their living conditions. In his address, President Truong Tan Sang said that people in border areas are directly engaged in national defense and that it was the responsibility of ministries and sectors to reduce poverty levels there. He called on businesses to support the program and for effective economic models to be applied to ensure sustainable growth.