Social News 7/6 Japanese Encephalitis threatening children’s lives   The thirteen-year-old girl from Hải Dương Province was hospitalised after suffering from acute fever and convulsions.—Photo dantri.com.vn Thirty severe cases of Encephalitis—Meningitis are being treated at the Department of Infectious Diseases of Việt Nam National Children’s Hospital, reported Phụ Nữ Việt Nam (Việt Nam Women) newspaper. Of all the cases, two children were diagnosed with the deadly Japanese Encephalitis, a contagious disease carried by mosquitoes. Both were not vaccinated properly, or possibly not at all. Lê Quỳnh Tr., a thirteen-year-old from Hải Dương Province was hospitalised after suffering from acute fever and convulsions. The child was reported to be nauseous, unresponsive to antipyretics and experiencing headaches. She then had doctors at a provincial hospital test her condition, and perform a CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) puncture before diagnosing her with the disease and moving her to the Việt Nam National Children’s Hospital. Even while receiving respiratory help and being treated with anti-edema drugs for ten days, the child’s condition remained unstable. Another child suffering from Japanese Encephalitis, Nguyễn Đức A, 15 months old, from Bắc Ninh Province, was luckier, acquiring a stable state of health after just four days of similar treatment. Japanese Encephalitis is a malicious disease with a high risk of fatality (25—35 per cent), according to Đỗ Thiện Hải, vice chairman of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the National Paediatrics Hospital. He warned that the disease is difficult to diagnose in its early stages since the symptoms resemble common infections, but after two or three days discernible signs begin to emerge, such as sudden high fever, nausea, dry vomit and dull reactions. The disease spreads so quickly and severely that children could experience tremors, fall into a coma, or even die after just a day or two, Hải said. What’s more, complications that follow could impair patients’ capabilities to communicate or work, he added. The most efficient preventive step against Japanese Encephalitis is through a proper vaccination process of three shots: the first shot being given while the child is one year old, followed by the second after a week or two, and the third a year later. Five to seven years after that, the child will became vulnerable to the infection again, so the process must be repeated until the child turns 15, Hải suggested. The second best prevention is to ensure a clean environment whereby parents frequently sanitise to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. Experts suggest sleeping with a mosquito net to refrain from being bitten. When children are feverish or show signs of central nervous system damage, they should be hospitalised promptly for timely diagnosis and treatment. Court reviews asset embezzlement case at PVP Land   Trinh Xuan Thanh, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC), is led out of the court. The High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi on June 5 opened a trial to look into the appeals of the defendants in the asset embezzlement case at PetroVietnam Power Land JSC (PVP Land). The court is scheduled to last until June 7. In February 2018, the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Trinh Xuan Thanh, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC), to life imprisonment. Thanh’s accomplices, Dao Duy Phong, former Chairman of PVP Land’s Board of Directors, was given a jail sentence of 16 years.  Dinh Manh Thang, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Song Da Oil and Gas Investment and Commerce JSC, got nine years in prison. Le Hoa Binh, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of 1/5 Construction and Services JSC and Minh Ngan JSC, and Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa, former chief accountant of 1/5 Construction and Services JSC and Minh Ngan JSC were sentenced to eight-year and six-year imprisonments, respectively. Thai Kieu Huong, former Deputy General Director of Vietsan Investment JSC, and Huynh Nguyen Quoc Duy, a self-employed trader, each received a prison sentence of 10 years. All these defendants were charged with “asset embezzlement” in accordance with Article 278, Clause 4, Count a of the 1999 Penal Code (now is Article 353, Clause 4, Count a of the 2015 Penal Code), according to the court. Six out of the eight defendants lodged their appeals against the first-instance sentences. However, Thanh and Phong then withdrew their appeals. Meanwhile, Thang, Huong and Duy asked for a reduction of their jail terms. Thoa claimed she is innocent in the case. Phong’s wife, Nguyen Thuy Hoa, who was involved in the case as a person with related interests and obligations, also lodged an appeal requesting the return of 2 billion VND of the money that her family had paid to correct the consequences of the case as the cash is more than the requested amount.  Between February and mid-April 2010, Thanh, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of PVC, along with Thang, Duy and Huong, with the support of Binh and Thoa instructed Dao Duy Phong and Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, representatives of PVC’s capital at PVP Land,  and Dang Sy Hung, chief of PVP Land’s economic and planning division, to transfer 12.12 million shares of PVP Land at Trans-Pacific Services JSC – the parent company of Vietsan to Minh Ngan JSC with a price lower than the deposit price. They appropriated a differential sum of more than 87 billion VND (3.86 million USD). Of the money, Thanh arrogated 14 billion VND, while Thang pocketed 5 billion VND; Phong, 8 billion VND; and Sinh, 2 billion VND. The defendants received a total of 49 billion VND from the deal. According to the verdict of the first-instance trial, among the defendants, Thanh played the decisive role in the case, followed by Phong and Sinh. Religious followers in Hanoi join hands to protect environment   Residents in Tri Thuy commune of Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi, clean a canal near Provincial Road 428 after an environmental protection campaign launched on June 5  Religious followers in Hanoi joined municipal authorities in an environmental protection campaign launched at the church of Hoang Nguyen Parish in Tri Thuy commune, Phu Xuyen district, on June 5. The campaign was part of activities in response to the World Environment Day (June 5) and the action month for the environment. At the launching ceremony, President of the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee Vu Hong Khanh said religious organisations have done good work to  protect the environment.  Efforts to protect the environment and respond to climate change in the capital city have resulted in many positive outcomes over the last couple of years, he noted, elaborating that the municipal committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha has combined environment-related content with activities of Buddhist training schools. The Caritas of the Archdiocese of Hanoi has organised “Green Saturdays” to promote clean-up activities. The Hanoi Capital Oratory of Caodaism has encouraged followers to practice food safety and use vegetarian food. Meanwhile, dignitaries of the Bahá'í Faith called on its followers to popularise environmental protection messages on the occasion of the bicentenary of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, last year, the official added. He asked authorities, religious organisations and local residents to continue working to protect the environment and respond to climate change. Priest Joseph Dao Ba Thuyet, head of the Caritas of Phu Xuyen Deanery, described the campaign as a driving force for religious followers to be more responsible in environmental protection. He also called on all Catholics to act for a clean and beautiful world. According to the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, activities have been taking place across the city from May 15 to July 31 in response to the action month for the environment, including promoting waste collection and treatment, stepping up examination and settlement of projects with high pollution risks and enhancing cooperation with foreign partners to ensure effective and sustainable use of water resources. Young ASEAN leaders contribute ideas to protect Mekong Delta environment   At the workshop (Source: tapchicongsan.org.vn) Some 120 young leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) contributed their ideas to protecting the environment in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam at a workshop which opened in Can Tho city on June 5. The event, which runs until June 9, was organised by the US Mission to Vietnam and the Resource Centre for Community Development from An Giang University. Participants will study the consequences of changes in the environment in the Mekong Delta such as landslides, salinisation, river flooding, sea level rising, degradation of water resources and the effects of building hydroelectric plants, which all impact on people’s lives and the economic development of the region.  Through presentations, case studies, site visits and interactive activities, participants will explore potential short and long term solutions and strategies for addressing changes in the environment that are causing serious consequences in Can Tho city and the Mekong Delta. US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink said the US government is investing for the sustainable future of countries in the Mekong River basin. Protecting the environment in the Mekong Delta not only brings benefits for residents living along the Mekong River but also helps promote development and security in Southeast Asia, he added. The US will devise policies to support food and energy resources in the Mekong Delta in the long run as well as programmes to improve the management of water resources, reduce environmental pollution and build clean energy solutions. It will also carry out projects to help farmers develop agriculture adapting to climate change, the diplomat said. During their stay in the Mekong Delta, young Southeast Asian leaders will make fact-finding tours to areas that bear the brunt of climate change in An Giang, Can Tho and Bac Lieu. The workshop is part of the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) – a programme launched by the US government in 2013 to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia.  YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youths in the region, strengthen ties between the US and Southeast Asia and nurture an ASEAN community. Vietnam launches design for clean energy future   The Dam Nai wind power project The design of a clean energy future in Vietnam was announced at a conference held in Hanoi on June 5. Nguy Thi Khanh, Executive Director of the Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), said the design is the result of a GreenID study on development scenarios for electricity sources in Vietnam. With criteria focusing on health benefit, feasible cost, and national energy security, the research showed Vietnam might not need to build coal-fired thermal power plants but still archive energy security at affordable prices. Nghiem Vu Khai, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), said green energy is a smart move for Vietnam in response to climate change, as the country hold potential in solar and wind power. Dao Trong Tu, deputy head of the Centre for Sustainable Development of Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation, highlighted a number of benefits brought about by the design. According to him, the design will help ensure energy security in the country via reducing coal imports and avoid the construction of about 25 coal-fired thermal power plants by 2030, thus cutting the pressure of mobilising 60 billion USD for the building. As a result, the country will not have to burn approximately 70 million tonnes of coal per year, which also means Vietnam will save about 7 billion USD a year from cutting coal imports. The volume of CO2 emissions will drop by about 116 million tonnes annually, while the air and water will become less polluted. The design is estimated to help prevent 7,600 early deaths per year by 2030. Participants showed their approval of the design, stating that the study put forth a safe and suitable option in meeting Vietnam’s future demand for energy. The design presents a country adequate energy with the environment and human health protected, said Nguyen Trong An, Deputy Director of the Research and Training Centre for Community Development. Border communes in Dak Nong connected to national grid   Almost 95 percent from Thuan Ha and Thuan Hanh border communes in Dak Song district, the Central Highland province of Dak Nong, have accessed electricity thanks to a local power project in 2014-2020 period   Almost 95 percent from Thuan Ha and Thuan Hanh border communes in Dak Song district, the Central Highland province of Dak Nong, have accessed electricity thanks to a local power project in 2014-2020 period. Dak Song district has 21 hamlets to get benefits from the project, prioritising the provision of electricity for 1,743 households from 11 hamlets in Thuan Ha and Thuan Hanh communes. In the first quarter of 2018, the Dak Nong Power Company put into operation seven transformation stations with a capacity of 650kVA in Thuan Hanh commune. The company also built a new transformation station with a capacity of 100kVA along with a 1.6km medium-voltage power line and a 2.5km low-voltage power line for more 80 households. Apart from upgrading the power network, the company has also simplified procedures to supply electricity and promote the application of information technology to improve customers caring services. Director of the company Tran Van Thuan said the implementation of power projects in border areas not only significantly contributes to the local socio-economic development but also completing the national target on rural electrification. Dak Nong province shares over 120km borderline with Cambodia. As of 2017, 99.98 percent of communes nationwide and 98.83 percent of households accessed to electricity. One decade ago, the rates were 97 percent and 93.4 percent, respectively. Experts warn ASEAN countries against plastic waste Southeast Asia is home to the world’s top marine plastic polluters and environmental protection goals set by the governments of regional countries are insufficient, warned experts on World Environment Day (June 5). Globally, some 8 million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the oceans every year, threatening the marine life and entering the human food chain, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.  Five Asian countries, including China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, account for up to 60 percent of the plastic waste leaking into the oceans, according to a 2015 report by the environmental campaigner Ocean Conservancy and the McKinsey Centre for Business and Environment. The five economies have "generated exploding demand for consumer products", the report said, but lacked the waste management infrastructure to cope with the surge in plastic garbage. In Thailand, months after the military seized power in a 2014 coup, the junta made waste management a priority and set goals for 2021. They included cutting the use of plastic bags and bottles in government agencies and businesses and plastic bans in tourist destinations. A tax on plastic bags was also mentioned, along with a target to recycle up to 60 percent of plastic by 2021. Other governments have also set ambitious goals. Indonesia, ranked second behind China in the 2015 study of mismanaged plastic waste from communities living near coastal areas in 192 countries, has pledged 1 billion USD a year to reduce marine plastic debris by 70 percent by 2025. The Philippines has not imposed a nationwide ban on plastic bags, but some local authorities regulate the use of the products. Some shopping malls have also replaced plastic bags with paper ones and encouraged reusable bags. Malaysia is likely to introduce a nationwide ban on plastic bags soon, said government officials. Anchalee Pipattanawattanakul, an ocean campaigner with Greenpeace in Southeast Asia, said the region needs a coordinated strategy on plastic waste. She noted that ASEAN countries are aware of the issue, but there is no action plan that will actually decrease the use of plastic. Susan Ruffo, Ocean Conservancy's managing director for international initiatives, stated that recognising the impact of plastic waste is not just a government responsibility, as corporations, civil society and citizens all have a part to play. ’Think Before You Share’ online safety campaign launched in Việt Nam Facebook, in collaboration with the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD), officially launched “Think Before You Share,” an online safety programme, in Việt Nam on June 5. — Photo MSD Facebook, in collaboration with the Management and Sustainable Development Institute (MSD), officially launched “Think Before You Share,” an online safety programme, in Việt Nam on Tuesday. MSD is a Vietnamese non-government organisation that acts for the rights of marginalised groups, especially children and youth.  Through a series of workshops, training sessions and online resources, “Think Before You Share” will provide the youth with tools and guidelines on sharing information safely and responsibly on social media. “Keeping our community safe is core to everything we do, and we want to help youth in Việt Nam make better decisions about what they share online. With ‘Think Before You Share,’ Vietnamese youth will have the tools they need to do just that. We are committed to working with local partners to reach more youth across Việt Nam and build a positive online community,” said Clair Deevy, director of Community Affairs, APAC at Facebook. Executive Director of MSD, Nguyễn Phương Linh, said that “The Think Before You Share” programme was an important part of her work to support the online safety of young people and ensure they have the right skills to contribute to creating positive online communities. “The programme has been designed to help students analyse content on social media and use their own critical thinking and empathy to understand how it informs their opinion. We want to empower students as digital citizens to use social media safely, smartly and create a positive social media experience,” Linh added. Facebook and MSD kick-started the campaign with a two-day summit, which will be attended by more than 100 Vietnamese NGO participants from 15 provinces and cities nationwide. The summit will provide NGOs with tools and practical skills to enhance their efforts in building a secure and useful network environment, create a positive online presence and promote responsible digital citizenship. Through design thinking, critical thinking and empathy, NGOs will create social campaigns that promote better and safer online communities. Besides workshops and training sessions, the initiative will also make online resources and videos available, covering digital literacy, online safety, critical thinking and empathy. As part of this programme, these resources will continue to be shared by Facebook and its partners in more than 100 schools across Việt Nam. The programme, which will visit 15 cities and provinces across Việt Nam, seeks to train approximately 30,000 youth aged between 13 and 18 years old, as well as 1,500 teachers, 100 NGOs, and more than 40 youth trainers. In addition, the initiative aims to reach more than 250,000 youth in Việt Nam online.  Prevent strokes since curing is difficult: doctors    On a recent Saturday morning in the meeting room of Tâm Đức Heart Hospital in District 7, HCM City, a seminar was held on “Atrial fibrillation effective management: the role of new generation anticoagulants in preventing stroke in atrial fibrillation patient”. It was a unique event in the fact that all participants were heart disease patients or people with an elevated risk of stroke. The seminar disseminated useful information as doctors discussed what causes atrial fibrillation (AF), how to control it and what new generation anti-coagulants are available to treat atrial fibrillation. The seminar has been a regular activity organised by Tâm Đức Hospital in recent years for its stroke patients club. Dr Tôn Thất Minh, the hospital’s director, said the incidence of stroke is increasing globally and in Việt Nam due to modern habits like smoking and eating fast food and work-related stress. Yet people barely know about it, he said. “They know a stroke is dangerous since it could cause death. Many do not know how to protect themselves from the disease, how a stroke will seriously affect their lives or what to do when a family member suffers a stroke.” A stroke will impact both the patient and their families, he said. It was for this reason that the hospital, with sponsorship by Bayer Vietnam, set up the club for stroke patients to share knowledge and experiences about the disease, how to prevent it and cure it, how to take care of stroke patients, and how to use medicines correctly. The club has achieved useful results. Minh told Việt Nam News: “Patients’ knowledge has significantly improved compared to two years ago. They know a lot about the disease and some of them can talk about it like a doctor.” Since in the case of stroke it is better to prevent than cure, providing knowledge about it is critical, he said. Trịnh Khắc Nhơn, 58, of District 3 told Việt Nam News that two years after joining the stroke patients club in Tâm Đức Hosptial he has acquired a lot of knowledge. Before joining the club he would often seek information on social networks or from people. “There are many sources of news about medicines and methods to treat heart diseases and stroke. But after joining the club I have discovered all that information is not correct.” He has been taught about new generation medicines and how to use them. He also said he has passed on to relatives and friends the information he has acquired. Nguyễn Thị Bích Hoa, 48, of District 1 is another member of the Tâm Đức Heart Hospital’s stroke patients club. She regularly goes to the club and, thanks to information acquired there, can take care not only of herself but also her mother in the correct way. Such a club has been set up not only at Tâm Đức Hospital but also many other hospitals like Chợ Rẫy and Thủ Đức Hospital, and they have become popular among patients and their families. A stroke club is useful not just for patients and their relatives since when someone gets a stroke, their whole family is impacted. At a seminar Bayer organised in Singapore on stroke, a stroke victim, Anthony Quek, surprised attendees by saying the lives of the five other people in his family too had been affected after he had the stroke. He recalled the difficult early days, saying he couldn’t walk or take a bath by himself, and needed his family’s support for everything. Normal life had ceased to exist, and the five other members in his family had to serve him. Dr N Venketasubramanian Ramani of Raffles Hospital in Singapore said: “A stroke occurs when the blood supply to any part of the brain is blocked, which in turn cuts off the oxygen supply essential to the functioning and survival of brain cells. If it is not treated early enough, a stroke can damage the brain, which may leave it unable to function as it did previously.” A stroke is a medical emergency that can have serious consequences for both patients and their families and friends, he warned. At a seminar held to discuss stroke prevention for non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients organised late last week by the Vietnam Cardiology Association and sponsored by Bayer, Dr Nguyễn Lân Việt, the president of the association said: “To achieve better stroke prevention, especially in high-risk AF patients such as those who had a stroke, kidney failure, etc, patients need to strictly adhere to the treatment regimen regarding the use of anti-coagulants prescribed by doctors and informing doctors in time about disease conditions.” But while underlining the dangers of strokes, doctors also assured that they are completely preventable. “FAST” is an acronym that needs to be learnt by heart, they said. FAST refers to Face, Act, Speak and Time: When you smile, is one side droopy? When you raise your arms, is one side weak? When speaking simple sentences, do you slur or find you are unable to do it? The doctors said anyone having any of these symptoms needs to be rushed to hospital, the last important factor being “Time”. Remember to take the patient to a hospital as soon as possible since 60 minutes is considered the “golden hour” for treating a stroke. Within 60 minutes is the best time for cells to recover, the doctors said.  PM approves development plan for resettlement areas   Part of a resettlement area in northern Sơn La province.  Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has approved a socio-economic development plan for resettlement areas following the construction of the Sơn La hydropower plant. The plan will be implemented between 2018 and 2025 in 82 communes in Sơn La, Điện Biên and Lai Châu provinces. Ahead of the plant’s construction, as many as 21,820 households, comprising 93,201 people, in these provinces were relocated. The Sơn La hydropower plant is one of the key national projects to supply electricity for socio-economic development, industrialisation and modernisation. It will also play a significant role in preventing floods during the rainy season and providing water in the dry season to residents in the country’s north-west region. The development plan aims to promote agricultural production, increase the rate of trained rural workers and improve the spiritual and material life of people after sustainable resettlement. It targets to increase the per capita income of the local people by two folds by 2020 from 2014 and reduce the rate of poor households to below 10 per cent by 2020. The per capita income is expected to increase by three folds by 2025 and the number of poor households by that year is expected to reduce to zero, according to the plan. The rate of households using safe water is expected to increase to 90 per cent by 2020 and to 100 per cent by 2025. The plan also aims to train and change the jobs of more than 47,000 rural workers by 2020. It will focus on upgrading and building infrastructure in the resettled areas in Sơn La, Điện Biên and Lai Châu as well as stabilise the living conditions and production of 500 households in Quỳnh Nhai and Mường La districts in Sơn La province who were affected due to a shortage of land or by landslides and flash floods. The Sơn La hydropower plant, which became operational in 2013, has six generators and a designed capacity of 2,400MW. It supplies an average of 10.2 billion kWh per year to the national grid. Thái Nguyên warns about rising streptococcus suis infection cases   Thái Nguyên Central Hospital has raised a warning over rising streptococcus suis infections, after two fatalities were reported within less than a week of each other.– Photo baogiaothong.vn Thái Nguyên Central Hospital has raised a warning over rising streptococcus suis infections, after two fatalities were reported within less than a week of each other. Dr Lê Hùng Vương, head of the hospital’s Intensive Care and Anti-poison Department said that at least two patients died of streptococcus suis infection after eating unhygienic meat. Ma Đình Du, 34, was hospitalised after cooking and eating meat from a dead goat on May 27. He suffered from vomiting, severe stomache ache and breathing difficulties. He died one day later. La Văn Hào, 49, was in the same condition after being hospitalised on May 31. The patient’s family said they had no idea what kind of food he had eaten previously. Hùng warned that streptococcus suis infection is on the rise due to humid and hot weather. People should not eat raw meat, meat from ill or dead animals and blood soup, to protect themselves from being infected.  Đồng Nai to fund VNĐ10 billion to help fish farmers   Local authorities said that a natural disaster caused the mass fish deaths on the La Ngà River in Đồng Nai Province on May 20.  Đồng Nai Province plans to offer VNĐ10 billion (US$438,115) to fish farmers affected by mass fish deaths on the La Ngà River caused by a natural disaster two weeks ago. The province’s People’s Committee said it was providing assistance under a decree which calls for aid for farmers in case of losses caused by natural disasters and epidemics. More than 1,500 tonnes of dead fish were found on the La Ngà River in the province’s Định Quán District on May 20. Many fish have continued to die. Most of the dead fish belonged to farmers in the district’s La Ngà and Phú Ngọc communes. Most were lăng fish (hamibagrus), diêu hồng fish (read tilapia) and chép fish (carp). Huỳnh Thành Vinh, director of the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said an investigation was launched immediately after the incident. Samples of river water and dead fish were collected for tests, while agencies inspected suspicious waste discharged from businesses located upstream from where the deaths occurred. Based on test results, scientists at the HCM City-based Research Institute for Aquaculture No 2 and the Centre for Environmental Monitoring and Analysis said the losses were caused by discharged waste water from businesses. Analysis showed that the decline of dissolved oxygen content caused the fish to die. The concentration of dissolved oxygen in the river water was between 2.6 mg/l to 3.2 mg/l, but the required ratio was 4 mg/l. The test also found an unusual level of NH4 (Ammonia), 5.6-11 times higher than normal, while NO2 (Nitrite) was 10-20 times higher than the allowable levels for fish farming. A heavy rainfall prior to the incident possibly carried a large volume of water polluted with garbage and compounds from upstream. In combination with NH4 and NO2, this also contributed to the fish deaths.   In addition, the high density of fish and the narrow distance between cages reduced the volume of oxygen in the living environment of the fish, the local authorities said.  Emergency centre lacks infrastructure and personnel   Due to the lack of both infrastructure and personnel, Hà Nội’s emergency centre is able to serve only seven out of every 100 calls.  Hà Nội’s 115 emergency department under the municipal Department of Health currently has 21 ambulances which are able to serve only seven out of every 100 calls, according to the centre. The low response rate is blamed on lack of budget. There are 22 ambulances but one has broke down waiting to be scrapped, Nguyễn Thành, Hà Nội’s 115 centre’s director said. Five medical emergency stations are placed citywide in charge of saving people. One is the headquarter station at 11 Phan Chu Trinh Street in the city centre. Four others are in the districts of Thanh Trì, Long Biên and Hà Đông. “According to World Health Organisation, there needs to be 15 medical emergency teams to serve one million people. Hà Nội (with the population of nearly 10 million) is in need of 150 taskforces,” Thành said. “We have 14 emergency teams working every day and we are unable to provide the service to outlying districts of expanded Hà Nội area because they are too far away,” he added. However, the problem causing the biggest headache persists in personnel shortage. Thành said since 2015, five doctors and ten nurses asked to leave. Two doctors moved to other facilities. The city now has 188 staff including 28 doctors, 25 nurse practitioners, 63 nurses, six pharmacists and 48 ambulance drivers. “28 doctors is not enough. Literally 42 taskforces need 42 doctors,” he said. Medical staff on the mission also have to suffer from attacks from relatives of patients. “Some encounter drug addicts. Right after seeing our staff, they take out weapons. In some other cases, at the accident sites, relatives of the victims told us ‘We don’t need you’,” Thành said. He added that many doctors of the centre have not been granted a work permit. The doctors are required to work at medical facilities which have patient beds. But the 115 centre does not have beds so doctor who even work here for ten years have not been certificated. If ambulances come earlier and collaboration is better, more people will be saved, Nguyễn Đình Hưng, director of Saint Paul general hospital said, adding there should be more measures to support the centre in the future. Who will drive ambulances? To save money, the centre did not ask to buy 150 new vehicles with the budget forecasted to amount to hundreds of billions of đồng but instead only replaced more than ten old ambulances, director Thành said. But even when the ambulances are bought, who will drive them, he asked, once again raising a headache question over personnel. Hưng, director of general hospital of Saint Paul, said that Hà Nội should follow emergency model of France where the centres are managed by the hospital. This solution helps solve problems related to infrastructure and personnel shortages. Following local authorities’ order, the city will develop a network of emergency stations which connect with 115 centre and hospitals. Then it is hoped a hospital specialising in emergencies will be built. There needs to be four elements: a core hospital, a network of ambulances, a training centre and a collaborating centre, he said.  Road at construction site facilitates illegal coal mining   Equiment and vehicles are used for illegal coal mining at the road leading to construction site of Hồ Thiên Pagoda. — Photo laodong.vn The road which was opened to transport materials to the construction site of Hồ Thiên Pagoda in Bình Khê Commune, Đông Triều Town, is being used for illegal coal mining. The town People’s Committee has asked the investor in the road project to speed up the closure of the road and restore the environment by the end of this month, Vietnam News Agency reported on Tuesday. The move followed a request by Secretary of the Quảng Ninh Province’s Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Đọc late last month as the road was not built according to the approved design. Moreover, it was reportedly used by illegal coal miners. The illegal coal mining left negative impacts on the natural environment and destroyed the road from Ngọa Vân (Lying Clouds) Temple to Yên Tử Mountain. The Hồ Thiên Pagoda is located on Phật Sơn Mountain – a part of Yên Tử Range in Bình Khê Commune, Đông Triều Town. The town People’s Committee sent a special group, led by a vice chairman of the committee, to supervise the environmental restoration, including the growing of trees there. The local authority also carried out work to open a road to transport materials to the pagoda construction site by following the approved design strictly. Yên Tử Mountain, located some 50km from Hạ Long City, is surrounded with scenic landscape and ancient pagodas. This sacred mountain is where King Trần Nhân Tông (1258-1308) abdicated his throne and founded Trúc Lâm Zen. It is considered the capital of Vietnamese Buddhism.  VNN