Da Bac is the most disadvantaged mountainous district in Hoa Binh province, with ethnic minorities accounting for about 90% of its population. Over the past years, the district has mobilised resources to implement ethnic policies to improve the quality of life of local people.

Vay Nua commune is home to three ethnic groups of Muong, Dao and Kinh, with Muong making up 42.3% and Dao 54% of the local population. In recent years, communal authorities have focused on disseminating and implementing ethnic policies; coordinating with relevant sides to solve issues related to residential land, production land, economic development, and infrastructure investment.

Dinh Thanh Phu, Secretary of the Vay Nua communal Party Committee, said that policies, programmes, and investment projects aimed to develop infrastructure, support agricultural production, and improve livelihoods have been making great changes in the locality. Infrastructure for transport, schools, and medical stations has been invested to better meet the needs of the people. Livestock farming has developed steadily.

Thanks to the programmes, projects, and policies targeting ethnic minorities, the commune's poverty rate has decreased by 2-3% annually, to 204 poor households and 187 near-poor households at present, he noted.

The district has proactively coordinated with sectors to support and care for the living conditions of ethnic minority people.

In the 2021-2025 period, Da Bac district has implemented the National Target Programme on socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas with a total capital of over 484 billion VND (18.5 million USD). Up to now, all roads to communes' centres, 99% of roads to hamlets, 84% in hamlets, 79% of alley roads and 50% of roads traversing fields have been paved. The health station system has been improved, with 15 out of 17 communes having met the national criteria for health care. The district has effectively carried out poverty reduction policies, especially those on housing construction, livelihood development, vocational training, and job creation.

Luong Van Thi, Chairman of the Da Bac People's Committee, said that in 2024, the district received infrastructure development funding of 450 billion VND from the central and provincial budgets. The resources have contributed to upgrading infrastructure, including roads to rural and remote areas, thereby improving trade and facilitating production to give a facelift to the district.

In the areas surrounding the Da River reservoir, residents have developed many aquaculture models generating good income for locals. Many businesses have boldly invested in building the Da River fish brand. Thanks to those efforts, the poverty rate in Da Bac decreased from 41.56% in 2021 to 18.09% in 2024, and the average per capita income rose from 29.8 million VND to 45.2 million VND.

However, Da Bac is still a poor district in Hoa Binh province and the whole country. According to the multidimensional poverty standards for the 2022–2025 period, the total number of poor and near-poor households in the district accounts for 50.38%. Recently, the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee issued a thematic resolution targeting that Da Bac will escape from poverty by 2030.

So far, the district has achieved 17 out of the 22 targets set in the Resolution of the district Party Congress for the 2020–2025 term. It is striving to reach the target of providing clean water for Da Bac town in 2025. Local authorities are mobilising resources, policies, and mechanisms to promote socio-economic development in tandem with sustainable poverty reduction. In particular, it will focus on key projects such as Hoa Binh - Moc Chau Expressway, Da Bac - Thanh Son and Vay Nua - Tien Phong roads, along with the national target programmes and ethnic minority-centred policies to sustainably improve people's life quality.