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Social
News 4/8
Hai Phong
to give measles-rubella vaccine to 430,000 children
The northern city
of
According to a plan
issued by the municipal People’s Committee on July 31, the campaign aims to
bring the rate of local children of this age group receiving a rubella
vaccine to 95%.
The three-phase
campaign will be carried out at 255 immunisation stations in all districts
from September 2014 to February 2015 and is expected to benefit about 430,000
children.
To make the
campaign effective, steering committees at district and commune levels will
be set up, while conferences and training courses will also be organised to
raise public awareness and provide necessary skills for medical staff.
Last month, similar
campaigns were also held in
During the latest
outbreak of measles in
To maintain the
positive immunisation outcomes, the municipal health department has required
related units to intensify their management over vaccination activities so
that those most in need could are not missed out.
In early July, at a
meeting of the Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control, the
Ministry of Health said it continues to expand vaccination campaigns, and
plans to launch a new measles-rubella vaccination drive targeting children
from 1-14 years old in September.
Man wants
to build elephant cemetery
A businessman in
Dan Nang Long has
earned the nickname “King of the Elephants” in his hometown, a village in Lac
District, located in the central highlands.
Long is very
attached to his elephants and considers them family. He is locally famous for
raising elephants for community-based tourism.
What he is trying
to do is to protect the few elephants left in the region amid increased
poaching and a changing environment. He also works as a veterinarian for
elephants.
So far he has held
two funerals for his family’s elephants. “I don’t consider it’s an animal
funeral. It's more like the death of a member of my family. The average
elephant lives to be 80, about as long as a human," he said.
In 2005, he held
the first funeral for an elephant named as Trut, who died at the age of 89.
Before the elephant
died it was carrying two tourists for a tour around the village. The elephant
fell, and Long thought it was ill. He did all he could to return it to
health, including inviting a shaman to conduct rituals and pray for its
health. He knew it was hopeless when he saw another elephant, the dying
elephant's partner, kneeling down by its side for hours.
He held a funeral
for Trut the next mourning and invited the entire village.
In order to protect
the animal’s tomb, he built a temporary tent nearby to prevent theft.
Two years later,
another elephant, Bach Kham, died.
“Previously, when
an elephant died, we buried the entire body, including its tusks, which were
kept above the ground as a headstone. Now thieves would steal the ivory, so
we keep the tusks at home so the animals are not dug up," said Long.
Long stressed the
difficulty of taking care of elephants. One is worth tens of millions of VND.
When an elephant dies it not only means an economic loss but a pain for the
whole family.
“I have a dream of
building a cemetery for my elephants so they are not forgotten,” he added.
Hai Phong
quarry collapse leaves five dead
A quarry collapse
in Thuy Nguyen district, the northern city of
The accident
occurred at around 6:00 pm on August 1 after workers struck dynamite inside
the quarry for mining.
By August 2 noon,
the bodies of three victims had been found. The investigation and search for
the remaining workers are ongoing.
The quarry is under
the management of Phuc Son cement company which has not yet been licensed for
mining.
Survey on
land use to be conducted
A national survey
on land use will be conducted in 2014 and maps drawn in order to evaluate the
management and use of the land resource, the Prime Minister instructed in his
recent Directive No 21/CT-TTg.
The PM requires the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, other ministries and
ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies, and People’s Committees of
provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide to carry out the task and make
accurate assessment of the land use situation from communal to national
levels.
The assessment will
serve as the foundation for working out mechanisms and policies to strengthen
state management over land and enhance land use efficiency at all levels for
the 2016-2020 period.
The survey will
collect data on total natural land area, the acreage of each type of land and
specific groups of land users at all administrative levels, with special
attention to be paid to rice cultivation acreage and land use in industrial
parks, industrial clusters, economic zones and hi-tech zones.
Land users subject
to the survey include organisations, households, individuals, communities,
religious establishments, foreign diplomatic organisations, foreign-invested
enterprises and overseas Vietnamese.
The survey and
drawing of maps on land use will be conducted simultaneously nationwide from
now to December 31. Communes are required to complete the work and submit
reports before June 1, 2015, while districts must submit reports before July
15 and provinces, before September 1 the same year. National reports and maps
will be completed by November 1, 2015.
US
Corporation plans to build more schools in Vietnam
Cargill Vietnam
Ltd. Co. under the US-based Cargill Corporation raised 4.5 billion VND
(211,500 USD) from a single charity event on August 2 for its Cargill Cares
foundation’s project to build schools in far-flung areas nationwide.
Established in
1996, the Cargill Cares Foundation has so far collected 66 billion VND (3.1
million USD), supporting the building of 67 schools benefiting more than
13,000 children in rural and remote areas across the country.
The figure included
4 billion VND (188,000 USD) raised in 2013, which aided the construction of
seven schools in the southern provinces of An Giang, Binh Phuoc, Kien Giang,
Binh Thuan and Ba Ria – Vung Tau, and central Khanh Hoa province, at a total
cost of 7.7 billion VND (361,900 USD).
Chanh Truong, Chief
Representative of Cargill
The foundation is
striving to accomplish its goal of building 75 schools nationwide by 2015.
Bac Ninh
launches measles, rubella vaccination campaign
The
The first official
round of the campaign will be in September-October, targeting under-five
children while those aged 6-10 will receive shots between November and
December.
The last round will
run throughout the next January -February, said Deputy Director of the
provincial Preventive Medicine Centre Nguyen Khac Tu, adding that qualified
medical staff and necessary equipment will be ready.
Earlier, Bac Ninh
vaccinated almost all children under two years old, equivalent to more than
7,000.
For past years, the
province has spread the expanded vaccination drive to over 98 percent of its
junior population.
A number of
localities in the country have been preparing for the vaccination against the
diseases, including Ha
At a meeting of the
Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control in early July, the
Ministry of Health said it plans a new measles-Rubella vaccination drive
targeting children from 1-14 years old in September.
As many as 5,031
cases of measles were recorded in the country in the first half of this year.
Campaign
launched to improve health care for elderly
A campaign was
launched in
The event was
co-organised by the Central Committees of the Vietnam Youth Federation and
the Vietnamese Young Doctors’ Association in collaboration with Nhat Nhat
Pharmacy Co., Ltd.
The two-month
campaign will provide free health check-ups, medicine and gifts for the older
and retired people in 63 cities and provinces nationwide, especially those in
difficulties.
Apart from free eye
operations and examinations, a broad range of activities will be organised to
encourage people to donate organ and cornea while raising public awareness of
health care for the elderly.
About 3,000 young
doctors and 5,000 volunteers will participate in the event, which is expected
to benefit about 32,500 old people.
At the launching
ceremony, the organisation board presented gifts to 50 old people in
difficult circumstances.
On this occasion,
ten clubs of young doctors in
Cuban
newspaper praises
Granma Newspaper,
the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, has published an article
and photos highlighting achievements in
The author of the
article, Karina Marron Gonzalez, who has recently visited
The article
described strong development in
Apart from paying
attention to increasing the production of rice and coffee, the sectors that
According to the
author, the week-long visit to
Concluding the
article, Karina said there are many similarities between
Voluntary
pension scheme needed
Voluntary pension
insurance should be implemented as soon as possible because the delay would
make life of retirees more difficult, a labour ministry official has said.
Speaking at a recent
conference on voluntary pension insurance, Truong Giang, Deputy Director of
the Social Insurance Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and
Social Affairs, said
The country has
managed to set up 48 fund management companies and nine banks in charge of
supervising the implementation of the insurance.
"This is the
best time to implement the model, and as quickly as possible to assure lives
of workers after retirement," he said.
Chairman of the
Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vu Tien Loc said this type of
insurance would be a solution to reduce the burden of social funds, increase
social security and long-term benefits for businesses and workers.
It would create
conditions for people to participate and get a stable source of income after
retirement. It would also contribute to the stability of the current pension
fund, he said.
In the 2007 to 2012
period, after six adjustments, the average pension had increased by 26.8
percent annually. Meanwhile, the growth rate of the social security fund only
increased 10.1 percent annually.
This caused
pressure on the current social insurance fund and the State budget. It was
forecast to increase rapidly in the future.
In fact, there were
a number of businesses implementing the model of insurance for their
employees, he said. However, due to a shortage of adequate legal framework,
these businesses had applied them in different ways.
He said, authorised
agencies should work together to complete the legal framework and disseminate
them to increase the awareness of businesses and employees about the benefits
of the insurance.
According to Loc,
the regulation saying that each enterprise was allowed to pay 1 million VND
(47 USD) for each worker was reasonable as most were small-and-medium sized
enterprises. This would assure benefits to labourers in these enterprises.
Pension insurance
is a voluntary form of savings to fund retirement, usually supported by
employers and encouraged by the government through tax benefits.
Japanese
eloquence contest highlights Vietnam-Japan friendship
The second
Japanese-language eloquence contest was held in the northern port city of
The first prize
went to Vu Hoang Anh, whose presentation was about his impression on
Before the final
round, candidates had a chance to visit Japanese businesses operating in the
city and share knowledge about the culture and living styles of the Japanese
with their fellows.
Hai Phong plans to
develop the teaching and learning of this language in the future, according
to Director of the municipal Foreign Office Nguyen Anh Tuan.
The first event was
held in the city last year to mark the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties
between
Hai Phong’s
Cai Trap channel gets upgraded
The first stage of
a project to upgrade Cai Trap channel which leads to Hai Phong international
gateway seaport, the largest in northern
The move is to ease
overcrowding on Ha
Once completed
later this year, Cai Trap channel is able to accommodate vessels of 1,000 –
3,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage), said Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime
Administration (VMA) Do Duc Tien at the ceremony.
The Ha Nam channel
is designed to house big-size vessels while
The Ministry of
Transport has assigned the VMA to invest and oversee the project, which is
implemented in the form of built-transfer (BT).-
Health
Ministry warns of Ebola danger
The Preventive
Medicine Department under the Health Ministry has warned of the danger of the
Ebola virus disease (EVD) which is spreading in a number of African
countries.
The department
advised people to ensure personal hygiene and avoid direct or close contact
with infected patients and animals, particularly with their bodily fluids, in
order to prevent the disease.
Those who are
living in the area with an EVD outbreak should receive medical testing
immediately if observing any symptom of the disease.
According to the
World Health Organisation (WHO), EVD is introduced into the human population
through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily
fluids of infected animals.
Ebola then spreads
in the community through human-to-human transmission, with infection
resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with
the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and
indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.
EVD is a severe
acute viral illness often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense
weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by
vomiting, diarrhoea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some
cases, both internal and external bleeding.
No licensed vaccine
for EVD is available. Several vaccines are being tested, but none are
available for clinical use, according to WHO.
On August 2, the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
called on the international community to immediately scale up of efforts to
tackle the Ebola outbreak in western African countries.
As of July 27,
1,323 affected cases were reported, with 729 deaths in four western African
countries of
Social
workers get boost from professional training
A national
programme on development of social work as a profession has shown initial
results after four years of implementation, but still faces obstacles in
human resources and legal framework.
At a conference in
the central city of
Speaking at the
event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong
Dam said that
"It is a great
effort by agencies and support from international organisations over the past
few years. We have surpassed the initial target of establishing 10 social
service centres by 2015," Dam said.
"Social
service centres have actively provided heath care and education for
vulnerable sections and helped them integrate into the society," he
said.
He added that the
programme still had challenges and was deficient in the legal framework and
treatment of freelancers and social workers.
Chairperson of the
Vocational Training and Social Activities Association Nguyen Thi Hang said 80
percent of social workers had yet to be trained professionally.
"We estimate
that around 40 percent of the country's population, equivalent to 36 million
people, need social service. It is a challenge for
"The
Government should create more favourable conditions including tax, land and
establishment procedures to further develop private social service and human
training centres."
Acting
representative of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Jesper Moller said
there had been commitments from different ministries after four years of
launching the programme.
He said many
achievements emerged from the programme, but the government should improve
the law and licence process for social workers along with the social service
profession as a whole.
According to the
Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs,
However, the
country has only 6,400 civil servants working in social service centres.
Around 40 colleges and universities have trained 13,000 students in social
service courses.
Quang
A number of
communication devices have been given to fishermen in the central province of
Quang
A ceremony to hand
over the equipment was held in Quang
Deputy Minister of
Information and Communication Le Nam Thang said the equipment was donated by
organisations and individuals from home and abroad in response to a campaign
launched by the ministry and the Vietnam Red Cross Society last year.
The campaign
“Connecting the
Press
agencies urged to promote national great unity
President of the
Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)’s Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has
asked central press agencies to do more to foster stronger national great
unity.
Nhan had a working
session in
Over the past time,
the VFF standing board has coordinated closely with these offices in
popularising the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies on the national
great unity, as well as the role and tasks of the front in the national
construction and defence.
The coordination
has led to the success of such campaigns as “Day for the poor”, “Vietnamese
people use Vietnamese goods” and those that help raise public awareness of
the fight against corruption, thrift practice and wastefulness prevention.
VNA General
Director Nguyen Duc Loi suggested that VFF should direct its member
organisations to proactively provide press agencies with information,
especially those on pressing issues, for prompt and accurate coverage.
With its network of
63 representative offices at home and 30 others abroad, VNA is capable of
bringing information to various readers, including ethnic minority groups in
far-flung areas and overseas Vietnamese people, he added.
Hot tickets
for Ho Chi Minh City-Thanh Hoa air route
The low-cost
carrier Jetstar Pacific starts selling tickets for its new domestic route
between
The new route will
be operated from September 5 with a daily return flight, which is scheduled
to take off at 10:00am from
The airline offers
cheap tickets at 3,000 VND (about 15 US cents) per one from 2:00 pm to 11:59
pm on August 1, as part of its 10,000 hot fares programme.
Last year, national
flag carrier Vietnam Airlines launched the route connecting Thanh Hoa and the
country’s largest economic hub with five flights a week.-
Breastfeeding
protects more children from infectious diseases
Breastfeeding can
help reduce 13 percent of the rate mortality of children under five years
old, or save about 6 million children from infectious diseases, a health
official has said.
Health Deputy
Minister Nguyen Viet Tien made the statement at a ceremony to launch
Several activities
during the week will raise public awareness on the importance of
breastfeeding to help children grow physically and mentally well.
A number of
scientific researches show that feeding babies with breast milk but nothing
for the first six months of their life is beneficial for the health of
newborns as mother’s milk provides the necessary nutrients for the babies to
grow and protects them from several diseases, Tien said.
In June 2012, the
National Assembly adopted the amended Labour Law, which extends maternity
leave to six months. The NA also passed a Law on Advertising, which includes
a ban on the marketing of breast milk substitutes for children less than 24
months. Both laws took effect in 2013.
These moves have
made it easier for mothers to only breastfeed during the first six months of
a child’s life, as well as in the following months.
A national action
plan on bringing up babies in the 2012-15 period is implemented in the
country, focusing on taking care for children within 1,000 first days of
their lives to ensure a maximum mental and physical health for them.
According to the National Institute of Nutrition, only 19.6 percent of
children in
Roger Mathisen,
Chief Representative of the UNICEF’s nutrition programme in
The same day, a
photo exhibition highlighting the invaluable worth of breast milk was also
kicked off at the
Valuable
forests lack protection
The illegal use of
forest land and deforestation still occur in many provinces despite many
attempts in recent years.
At the conference,
organised by the National Assembly's Economic Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture
and Rural Development, they said forest resources played a crucial role in
the country's sustainable development.
At present,
The conference was
told that deforestation was a complicated issue.
Although the rate
of forest coverage has increased, the quality of the timber and the amount of
biodiversity had declined.
Despite being a
leading timber exporter, most of
Its productivity in
timber processing was only half of that of the
Vice Chairwoman of
the National Assembly, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, said it was necessary to
re-examine forestry development policies and promote effective production
models.
She repeated the
need to develop the processing of forestry products and to enhance forest
protection and management.
"We need to
re-organise forestry production from planting to harvesting and
processing," she said. "It's also necessary to establish average to
large-scale enterprises in certain economic zones."
Dang Viet Thuan,
Vice Chairman of the Thai Nguyen provincial People's Committee called for the
amendment of certain forestry policies.
"We need to
have proper funding for producing plant varieties and new processing
technology. If we don't have good varieties, we can't have sustainable
forests," he said.
Participants
suggested that solutions included proper management and planning of forestry
land - and a re-examination of the country's forest planning at national and
local levels. They also suggested allocating forestry land and forest to
households and enterprises for better and more effective management.
Climate
change adaptation projects necessary in Mekong
The Mekong Delta
must come up with ways to address the consequences of climate change,
especially rising sea levels and salinity intrusion, delegates said at a
workshop in
Covering an area of
about 3.96 million hectares, the Mekong Delta is home to more than 22 million
residents who mainly make a living by farming. When climate change causes sea
levels to rise, salt water penetrates the soil, affecting their crops and
thus their livelihood. The region also suffers floods, droughts and unusual
weather patterns.
Participants at the
workshop emphasised the necessity of attracting more investment in
eco-friendly technology and energy, as well as making changes to the legal
framework.
The country's laws
and policies deal in detail with natural disaster prevention, but only touch
upon climate change adaptation, according to the NA team supervising the
enforcement of climate change policies and laws. Currently, there is no
comprehensive policy on climate change adaptation.
Meanwhile,
provinces and cities across the country still lack funding to enforce such
policies as well as pilot projects.
"The result of
the enforcement of climate change policies and laws can be seen mainly in
quantity, not in quality and effectiveness," said Nguyen Duc Ngu, former
general director of the Vietnam Meteorology and Hydrology Centre.
Workshop
participants recommended that regional localities create pilot projects and
models under the ongoing national target programme to respond to climate
change.
The number of
Russian tourists to
The article titled
“Charters russes pour le Vietnam” (Flights carrying Russian tourists to
Vietnam) noted that the unrests in Egypt and Thailand have made Russian
vacationers change their habit, shifting from Tunis (Tunisia) and Cairo
(Egypt) to Ho Chi Minh City and Phan Thiet in Vietnam.
The Cam Ranh Bay,
while far from the world-renown destinations such as Ha Long Bay – a world
natural heritage in the north, and poetic rivers in the Mekong Delta, appeals
to Russians for its white sand beaches dubbed “Sahara of Asia .”
According to author
of the article Jordan Puoille,
Last year,
Ninh Binh
province seeks ways to tap tourism potential
The northern
province of Ninh Binh has huge potential of tourism development, the
Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Online Newspaper reported, adding that t he
province’s comparative advantage increased when the Trang An Ecological
Complex was recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
Ninh Binh province
is endowed with unique and diverse tourism resources such as
The province also
has 1,499 relics, of which two relics have been nationally ranked: Hoa Lu
ancient capital and Coc and Trang An Ecological Complex, a world heritage
site (former Trang An – Tam Coc – Bich Dong natural beauty site).
Ninh Binh has 260
traditional festivals, which are inherited and have been developed from the
traditions and customs of rice cultivation in Hoa Binh and Dong Son for
thousands of years. Currently, the province has 69 traditional villages,
notably Van Lam embroidery village, Ninh Van stone carvings village, Kim Son
sedge fine art village and Phuc Loc carpentry village.
Besides the
enormous advantages from having beautiful scenery, the province is also proud
of its unique Bai Dinh pagoda, the largest pagoda in
Ninh Binh is
located 91 km from
In recent years, the
number of tourists to Ninh Binh has rapidly grown. In the first six months of
2014 alone, Ninh Binh welcomed 3.3 million arrivals, including 268,800
international tourists.
A tourism expert in
Ninh Binh said that the biggest difficulty is the lack of manpower,
particularly skilled workforce. Currently, the province has 11,000 employees
involved in the tourism sector.
The province has
welcomed around 4.5 million tourists per year, but it has only 42 tour
guides.
Vice Director of
the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Duong Thi Thanh said
that in the future the department would hire experts to train their farmers
on how to offer community tourism to tourists, helping create stable income
for them.-
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Hai, 4 tháng 8, 2014
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