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Social Headlines December 19
Disabled
people benefit from German project
More
than 2,000 people with disabilities and their families in the central
The
figure was announced at a meeting to review the implementation of the community-based
project (from January 2001 to December 2013) on December 16 and 17.
Financed
by the German Caritas Association, it has taught physical therapy to local
medical staff and families of disabled people in Cam Lo and Gio Linh
districts and Dong Ha city.
So
far, 55 training courses have been offered with the participation of 3,568
people.
The
project has also loaned over 3.6 billion VND (171,400 USD) to 1,087
households with disabled people to improve their livelihoods.
At the
meeting, participants shared their opinions on how to enhance the project’s
effectiveness and sustainability, such as raising the credit fund and loan
term, increasing training and the number of local volunteers, and promoting
residents’ involvement in helping people with disabilities.
Taxi
carrying foreigner burned on way to airport
A taxi
cab with four passengers, including one foreigner, suddenly caught on fire on
its way to
The
accident happened on
The
front of a Hoang Long Co. 4-seat taxi suddenly became engulfed in flames in
front of 78D Nguyen Van Troi.
The
driver and four male passengers quickly got out of the car and shouted for
help. The driver smashed the rear windshield to remove the passengers’
luggage. They soon got into another cab to reach the airport on time.
The
car, which sustained serious damage to its front and hood, was later towed
away. The accident caused traffic congestion on a section of the street,
which was cleared after two hours.
Recently,
a number of motorbikes, cars, and buses have caught on fire, allegedly from
poor-quality petrol.
A
conference seeking ways to realise the target is being held in the central
city of
At the
event, MOLISA Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen stated that job creation has a
direct impact on political stability, national development and the
improvement of people’s living conditions.
For
the target, the implementation of the national goal for employment and
vocational training in 2012-2015 will be sped up.
Projects
providing loans for the creation of jobs, supporting the development of the
labour market and enhancing the building capacity of job placement centres
will be put in the spotlight.
In
addition, the labour market analysing capacity of relevant agencies will be
further improved.
According
to the ministry, 1,040,000 people got jobs over the first 11 months of this
year, fulfilling 87.8 percent of the yearly plan. The figure included 78,769
guest workers.
It is
estimated that 1,540,000 people will get jobs in 2013, or 96.25 percent of
the yearly plan.
Individuals
honoured for donating special documents
Three
individuals in
At the
awarding ceremony on December 17, Deputy Head of the National Boundary
Commission Tran Duy Hai lauded the donations from Le Hoan Hung in Go Vap
district and Mai Thi Phi and Mai Thi Phuong in Binh Thanh district.
According
to the official, protecting the territorial seas and islands is the
responsibility of all Vietnamese people.
He
said he hopes to receive more precious documents relating to the country’s
seas and islands territory from collectors across the country.
Collector
Le Hoan Hung took the occasion to donate the Indochina Meteorological Annals,
published in
Hung
said he hopes to help more people understand about the undeniable territorial
rights of
Broken
water pipes affect 70,000 households
The
water pipeline from the Da River to Ha Noi broke again on Monday evening,
affecting about 70,000 households in the city.
Nguyen
Anh Viet, head of the Clean Water Investment and Construction Corporation,
said that workers discovered the broken water pipe in Thach That District's
Tien Xuan Commune.
He
said the corporation has sent workers to fix the pipe, adding that the job
would take some time to complete.
"We
think the repair will be completed by tomorrow morning," he said.
About
70,000 households in the districts of Cau Giay, Hoang Mai and Thanh Xuan have
been affected by the water outage. The reason for the pipe breaking are
unknown.
Last
month, the water pipe on the Thang Long Avenue in Quoc Oai District broke,
affecting water supplies. The cause at that time was the weak surrounding
ground, plus the close proximity of the water pipe to the highway. That
repair cost VND2 billion (US$100,000), according to officials.
World
Bank in
The
World Bank has paid special attention to projects to respond to climate change,
Country Director of the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said
during her working session with authorities of the Mekong delta city of
Kwakwa
also expressed hope that her institution will be able to sponsor Can Tho in
big projects that are poised to work for the development of the entire Mekong
Delta region.
The
working session focused on reviewing the progress of the ongoing WB-funded
urban upgrade project in the city, which, as the WB representative viewed,
has initially beautified the city and improved local people’s living
standards.
The
city’s authorities pledged to make the effective use of the WB’s funding
until 2015.
The
city’s future target is to continue mobilising and making the best use of
external investment sources to develop infrastructure in such realms as
education and response to climate change.
Australia
funds climate change project in Quang Nam
Children
will form the core of a US$470,000 climate change project financed by the
Australian Government through the Save the Children.
The
project, launched in
It
will integrate climate change resilience into local socio-economic
development plans, schools’ curricula and activities of teenagers’ clubs,
organise training courses for teachers and associations’ officials, and build
community-based climate change adaptation models.
The
project will run until December 2014.
Vietnam-RoK
exchange in support of AO victims
More
than VND450 million was raised at a Vietnam-Republic of
Vietnamese
and Korean artists presented special songs and dances on
Phan
Thanh Rang, President of the Vinh Long City Association for Victims of Agent
Orange/Dioxin, said the province has more than 6,000 AO victims, including
nearly 3,000 children. Most of them badly need financial support to re-integrate
into the local community.
All
money raised on the occasion will be used to build houses and a health centre
for AO victims and provide scholarships and other services for them.
Experts
ponder healthcare issues
Closer
management and supervision was needed to limit violations in the partial
privatisation of healthcare, said experts during an online meeting held in Ha
Noi on Monday.
During
the meeting, held by the Government Web Portal, experts discussed problems related
to the partial privatisation of healthcare and how to prevent abuses.
Director
of the Viet Nam-Germany Hospital Nguyen Tien Quyet said that the role of
leaders in medical stations and hospitals was very important.
"If
the leaders attach special importance to checking and oversight, the abuse of
partial privatisation of healthcare equipment will not happen," he said.
Quyet
proposed using the capital for specific purposes and limiting abuses.
However,
deputy chairman of the National Assembly's Social Affairs Committee Nguyen
Van Tien said residents would not believe in where money was being spent if
the council supervising the funds for the partial privatisation of healthcare
only included doctors and medical workers.
The
health sector should arrange representatives from other organisations, such
as the Fatherland Front Committee, to join the council in managing the health
socialisation funds, said Tien.
Also,
the Ministry of Health will soon issue the norms for tests to avoid offering
identical services among different medical stations and hospitals, he added.
Associate
Professor Pham Le Tuan, deputy minister of Health, said that at present the
state budget was still limited, the health sector should call for other
funding sources so that hospitals would have more equipment to better treat
their patients.
In the
near future, the Ministry of Health would evaluate the implementation of
partial privatisation of healthcare to allow for proper adjustments, he said.
Also,
the ministry will set up a financial structure to encourage hospitals to
borrow capital with interest from banks to fund their investments.
The
ministry will also issue treatment guidance and professional operating
standards, and improve the inspection and supervision of hospital activities,
he said.
Last
year, a number of problems related to health equipment were discovered.
Typically, the
Vuong
Thi Kim Thanh, head of the hospital's laboratory, admitted that the
duplication of results was meant to increase billings to the hospital's
insurance fund.
Each
blood test result receives VND21,000 ($1) of social insurance payments.
The
case was brought to light following denunciation from some health staff of
the hospital.
The
Deputy Head of Vietnam Customs General Department, Nguyen Van Can, made the
statement at the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices for
Information
sharing from customs agencies among regional member countries has supported
He
added that
The
conference, which saw the participation of 50 deputies from Sri Lanka, the
Republic of Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand,
Singapore, Hong Kong, Vanuatu, Japan, Tonga, mainland China, Macau,
Australia, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, India, Iran, RILO WE (Western) and
RILO ECE (East and Central European), aims to review co-operation programmes
and discussions on difficulties in exchanging intelligence among member
countries.
Participants
also discussed measures to control illegal border crossings, transport of
chemicals and waste, and drug trafficking in the Asia-Pacific region.
According
to the latest report, Vietnam's Customs General Department had over 20,000
cases, with a total value of over VND551 billion (US$26 million) in 2013.
It
also confiscated 70 packs of heroin weighing 61kg; 4.5kg of opium and 1,002kg
of marijuana, as well as 30,000 tablets and 12.4kg of methamphetamine.
The
report also said the customs agency seized an illegal transport of over
4,200kg of pangolin and scales, 2 tonnes of elephant tusks and 20kg of rhino
horns this year.
Deputy
Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has appealed for the best use of technological
advances, making it easier for citizens to learn throughout their lives as
He
made the call at a national conference in
The
event was held as
In
2005, the Government adopted the LLL society strategy until 2010 and has
recently passed through its extension to 2020, with clear responsibilities of
ministries and agencies involved.
He
suggested vulnerable groups like women, ethnic minority communities and those
living in disaster-prone areas be given priority during the process.
Dam
asked scientists, education professionals and policymakers to pinpoint major
obstacles while calling for input from home and abroad on the strategy.
Intersectoral
approaches were raised during the discussions, visualising how a learning
society will come out and develop in light of the best international
practices.
United
Nations Country Director in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta praised Vietnam’s
commitment to building a LLL society model, which she said will keep Vietnam
off the “middle income” trap and shift its economy to one led by technology
and professional skills.
Delegates
from
The
event was a joint effort by the National Steering Committee on Building a
Learning Society, the National Council on Education and Human Resource
Development, the UN in Vietnam and the UNESCO Institute of Life-Long
Learning.
VAVA
to celebrate 10th founding anniversary
The
Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent
Rinh
said the event aims to review its past activities, and set development
orientations to fulfil tasks assigned by the Party, State and people.
Over
its decade of operation, VAVA has become a prestigious organisation caring
for and protecting the rights of AO/dioxin victims.
VAVA
has also worked hard as a core force putting pressure on the US Government to
deal with the consequences of toxic chemicals that its army sprayed in
Through
regular large-scale campaigns, the association has garnered 12.5 million
signatures in the fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims.
Moreover,
some US$34 million has been raised at home and abroad, used to help dioxin
victims with production, house revamps and construction while opening
additional rehabilitation centres, and offering them scholarships and jobs.
VAVA
now groups 59 chapters in cities and provinces nationwide with 315,000
members. As many as 24 rehabilitation and care centres are available in 24
localities.
*** A
conference was held in
Speaking
at the conference, jointly held by the Health Ministry and the Hanoi School
of Public Health, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien said the project
brought practical benefits for AO/dioxin victims and disabled people as they
have seen their health improve.
Dr.
Tran Trong Hai, the project’s vice director, said the project was implemented
in several districts in the three provinces of Thai Binh, Quang Ngai and Dong
Nai from 2008-2013. It aimed to improve the quality of life and help AO
victims integrate into the community via rehabilitation intervention measures,
provide aid devices and knowledge transfer, and propose amendments to legal
documents on rehabilitation for the infected.
The
project targeted AO/dioxin victims, who met difficulties in moving, seeing,
hearing, speaking and studying, and those with strange behaviour, epilepsy,
cancer and relevant chronic diseases.
After
five years implementation, the project provided health check-ups for 6,670
victims of toxic chemicals and disabled people and offered medical devices to
1,266 others.
More
than 1,000 people received surgery and were rehabilitated in hospitals, while
over 7,500 others got the help at home. Ninety percent of them saw
improvements in their health and were able to normalise their lives.
In the
coming time, the project will be expanded to all districts in the three
abovementioned provinces, and three new localities, namely Lao Cai, Quang
Catholic
committee meets ahead of Christmas
The
Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (CSVC) held a get-together
in
Priest
Nguyen Cong Danh, President of the committee, extended his best wishes to all
Catholics nationwide, and called on them to engage more in the social life
and activities of the Vietnam Catholic Church.
He
also urged them to continue grasping the teachings “Living the Gospel amidst
the heart of the Nation to serve the happiness of compatriots”, issued by the
Vietnam Episcopal Council in 1980, and following Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching
that a good Catholic must be a good citizen.
In its
Christmas greetings letter, the CSVC expressed its wish that all religious
and non-religious people will exert their efforts in economic development,
charitable drives, educational and healthcare activities.
It
said it believes that each Vietnamese Catholic follower will always strive to
contribute to the goal of a wealthy people, a strong country, and a
democratic, equitable and civilised society.
At the
event, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass
Mobilisation Thao Xuan Sung extended his greetings to priests and clergymen
and hailed the contributions of the committee.
He
voiced his hope that the CSVC’s sub-committees at all levels will well
maintain their social campaigns, improve their operations, better fufill
secular and religious lives, and encourage followers to join hands in
national construction and defence.
Japan
funds education, healthcare projects
Japanese
Consul General Hida Harumitsu announced the amount after signing a document
to implement these projects, in
The
school construction projects receiving funding are Duc Linh District’s Duc
Tin 1 Primary School in Binh Thuan province, Di Linh District’s Bao Thuan
Primary School in Lam Dong province, Tuy Phong District’s Hoa Minh
Kindergarten and Primary School in Binh Thuan province, and Tieu Can
District’s Tan Hoa Primary School in Tra Vinh province.
Part
of the money will fund medical equipment purchases and upgrades for Phung
Hiep District’s general hospital in Hau Giang province, Tan Hong District’s
general hospital in Dong Thap province, and Bu Dop district’s general
hospital in Binh Phuoc province.
Water
supply systems will also be installed for
Harumitsu
said the eight projects were judged the most worthy recipients among the
applicants for Japanese non-refundable aid. He said he hopes the funding will
be effectively deployed to improve the lives of local people.
Legal
aid helps protect migrant workers
The
view was shared by experts at a conference in
Vietnamese
migrant workers are employed in a range of different positions and industries
including manufacturing, construction, garment making, and domestic labour.
Most have a measure of stability and rights protection incorporated into
their employment contracts.
Some
migrant workers are vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse with no recourse
to legal aid.
The
conference summarised the action plan and proposals devised at the 6th ASEAN
Migrant Forum in
Participants
also discussed legal counselling for migrant workers and making the process
for registering formal complaints against ASEAN employers less onerous for
migrant workers themselves.
Immunisation
funding to be cut
Health
experts might limit the number of participants in the national immunisation
programme or reduce the available vaccines, as funds will be reduced by 40
per cent next year.
Funds
supplied by the State for the programme next year will total VND144 billion
(US$6.8 million). If the programme does not receive other assistance,
available funds will only meet 24 per cent of the demand and would seriously
affect the programme's targets, norms and international commitments,
according to experts.
According
to Professor Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the National Institute of Hygiene
and Epidemiology and chairman of the programme, with the limited fund, the
programme could not proceed with the fourth booster doses against diphtheria,
whooping-cough and tetanus, as well as the second booster doses against
measles for 18-month-old children.
Also,
the programme cuts will mean reducing the doses provided to protect against
Japanese encephalitis B by 70 per cent and reduce cholera and typhoid
vaccinations in the affected areas.
"Epidemics
can break out in the community, and the main victims will be children and
pregnant women," said Hien.
Further,
funds to buy the Quinvaxem vaccine against diphtheria, whooping-cough,
tetanus, hepatitis B and meningitis will be cut by 20 per cent.
The
programme also is not providing funding to repair equipment to maintain
vaccines and carry out other work, including training courses on
vaccinations, dissemination of information, supervision and transportation of
vaccines.
Deputy
Director of the Ministry of Health's Department of Planning and Finance
Nguyen Quang An said the ministry had organised a conference to consider how
to arrange funds for different health programmes, including that on national
immunisation.
The
ministry had sought to call for other funding sources for the programme, such
as from projects and international organisations, he said.
The
ministry also submitted a document to the Government in which it proposed a
special fund for four health programmes. The national immunisation programme
would receive the first preference for funding, followed by tuberculosis,
malaria and dengue fever, said An.
However,
some parents seemed not to care about the shortage of the programme's fund.
Nguyen
Minh Hoa, who lives in Ha Noi's Dong Da District, said that if the programme
lacked vaccines, she would participate in the immunisation services for her
children.
If she
uses the immunisation services she will have to pay VND100,000-500,000
(US$4.7-23) for each dose, whereas she does not pay anything if she use
vaccines made available through the programme.
"I
have to spend some money, but I will not be worried about vaccine
shortages," she said.
The
fund shortage will affect children and mothers in poor rural areas only, Hoa
said.
The
national im-munisation programme has been conducted in the country for 25
years. The beneficiaries are children from new born to 3 years old and women
of child-bearing ages between 16 and 35 years old.
The
transport departments of central
The
move is expected to help curb traffic accidents and over-speeding on the
route.
Nguyen
Xuan Ba, Deputy Director of
Overloaded
16-seater vans speeding over 100 kilometers an hour had become a common sight
on the 130 kilometer-stretch during the past several years, which had
resulted in many accidents and rendered passenger travel unsafe.
"We
have agreed to strictly supervise the vans travelling between
"The
new route under surveillance, which became operational in October, saw 48
vans travelling between the two locations at a safe and controllable speed of
50 kilometers per hour," he revealed.
He
added that four bus stops and ticket stalls have also been added to the route
for the convenience of commuters.
The
Deputy Head of
Earlier,
16-seater vans used to habitually speed on the route in order to pick up as
many passengers as they could.
A
regular commuter pointed out that almost all vans carried nearly double the
number of passengers than required for profit.
Following
the agreement between the two transportation departments, vans will receive
support for the GPS installation, as well as financial assistance.
Le Chi
Thanh, Director of the Quang Ngai-based Thong Nhat transport co-operative,
noted that the agreement would also guarantee profits for van owners and
drivers with stable vehicles and safe passengers.
According
to data, 16-seater vans are involved in 80 per cent of the accidents on the
route between Quang Ngai-Da Nang and Quy Nhon-Da Nang.
Some
77 accidents have occurred in Quang Ngai province during the first six months
this year, killing 75 people and wounding 42 others.
More
than 1 million Vietnamese farmers and families have benefited from a six-year
project on agriculture and rural development jointly launched by the
Vietnamese and Danish Governments, the Danish Embassy announced on December
16.
The 42
million USD project, starting from 2007, came to the northern mountainous
provinces of Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Lao Cai, and the Central Highlands
provinces of Dak Lak and Dak Nong.
With
the aim to accelerate sustainable growth through advances in natural resource
management, agricultural production and market, the project targeted poor
famers in remote areas, especially women and ethnic groups.
According
to Danish Ambassador to Vietnam John Nielsen, thanks to the project, the
poverty rate in the five localities have dropped from 25 percent in 2007 to
10 percent-12 percent this year.
At
least 70,000 poor households in the targeted provinces have had their food
security and income improved, he added.
Through
the Danish Government’s support, poor farmers among ethnic groups are helped
to benefit from the development policy, the diplomat said.
Ministry
asks tax, customs, treasury departments to work weekends
The
Ministry of Finance has just sent a circular to all tax, customs, and finance
departments in the country asking to work all days of the week including
Saturday and Sunday.
These
sectors have been asked to work all seven days of the week, even Saturdays
and Sundays, to facilitate clearance of all tax payments and finish the state
budget revenue plan for 2013. Moreover, more working hours will ease
difficulties arising in tax payment procedures.
HCMC’s
anti-flooding project, known as Project 1547, has seen its capital revised up
from VND11 trillion to VND57.8 trillion since it was announced five years
ago, although most parts of the project remain incomplete.
Nguyen
Ngoc Cong, deputy director of the
Up to
now, only 31 out of 149 kilometers of dyke and one out of nine sewers have
been completed.
Explaining
the capital adjustment for the project to the People’s Council deputies on
Wednesday, Cong said that wrong initial calculations for site clearance,
compensation and material purchase were the cause of the problem.
The
city government is calling for investment for the remaining works of the
project.
Deputy
Vo Van Sen said that flooding in the city has worsened. While the city has
eliminated nine flooding points this year, up to 12 new points have showed
up, proving that the flood control program has been ineffective.
However,
Cong said that new flooding points have arisen because of poor construction
of the environment improvement project along the Tan Hoa-Lo Gom canal, not
heavy rains or floodtide. Currently, there are still eight flooding points
along the canal.
If the
environment project at Tan Hoa-Lo Gom is complete in the third quarter of
2014, these eight flooding points will be eliminated.
Given
climate change, the city between now and 2020 will have to invest in around
1,500 more kilometers of sewers to cope with flooding, Cong said.
Tat
Thanh Cang, director of the HCMC Department of Transport, said that as 65% of
the city’s area has an altitude of less than 1.5 meters above the sea level,
the flooding danger is very high.
The
city is focusing on building eight sewers such as Tan Thuan and Ben Nghe. The
flooding situation will only improve if construction of the sewers is
complete, he said.
Nguyen
Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the People’s Council, said that flooding has
caused adverse impacts on production activities and living standards of
residents, so local authorities should speed up anti-flooding projects in the
future.
20,000
HCMC students set to join running event
More
than 20,000 students from 45 universities and colleges in HCMC will join the
ninth student marathon from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sunday at
The
total value of prizes worth VND35 million will be given to the 20 best
runners in each category: the school having the most participants; three
faculties having the most participants and three team prizes. Each student
who runs in the required time, 25 minutes for males and 20 minutes for females,
will be awarded the title ‘Healthy youngster 2013.’
The
People’s Committee in the central province of Quang
This
had caused great inconvenience for local residents of Hoa Binh and Hoa An
villages to cross the river. As a result, during heavy rains, students in Hoa
An village had to stay at home or be escorted by border guards from Tam Thanh
Station, who deployed canoes to transport students to schools.
The
rebuilding of the bridge was therefore most essential, especially for
commuting during the flood season.
The
Japanese Embassy on December 11 signed a contract on the provision of a
non-refundable aid of US$736,851 for two education projects in
The
first project, worth US$219,927, aims to enhance the educational capacity and
mitigate natural calamity impacts for schools and coastal community in
central
The
second one, valued at US$516,924, is aimed at improving primary education for
ethnic minorities at three Northern and
Skills
of English teachers substandard
The
English skills of many domestic teachers in
Students
that are not specialised in foreign languages often have weak English skills
when they first enter university, but many universities have high graduation
requirements, making it important for teachers to train students even though
their majors may not be in foreign languages.
On
December 11, officials from the Ministry of Education and Training gathered
in Danang to discuss the problems and shortcomings of the national foreign
language 2020 project.
The
project management committee said as of September 30, about 97% primary
school teachers and 90% high school teachers in 42 provinces and cities still
failed to meet the requirements.
Nguyen
Hoang, deputy head of Nghe An Province Department of Education and Training
said, "Teachers' skills were very limited before the project was
implemented, but since they have become more active and hard-working."
Meanwhile,
the representative from Haiphong City Department of Education and Training
said the focus should be put on primary school teachers. Listening and
speaking are two most important skills for primary school students but
teachers often lack these skills themselves.
The
experts agreed that the government should place priority on building a
coherent testing framework for both teachers and students.
Deputy
Minister of Finance Nguyen Thi Minh, suggested hiring overseas consultants to
assess English language skills in Vietnamem. However the vice head of
Vietnam-Oz
project helps over 200,000 eye patients
Over
200,000 visually impaired patients in the central province of Quang
It was
revealed at a meeting in the locality on December 17 to review the programme
which is underway in districts of Que Son, Hiep Duc, Duy Xuyen and Tien
Phuoc.
Of the
patients, over 1,500 underwent cataract surgeries. More than 900 medical
workers in communes, districts and schools have accessed professional
training, offering examinations to around 47,000 students in 56 schools.
The
Australian Government-funded project via the Fred Hollows Foundation in
Deputy
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Huynh Khanh Toan said in the
coming time, Quang
The
province, at the same time, will improve the skills of medical staff in
districts and buy more advanced healthcare equipment.-
Phu
Tho to get 2.7 million USD for water supply improvement
The
northern midland
The
amount will come from the World Bank and the national target programme for
rural water supply and sanitation, said Ha Ke San, Chairman of the provincial
People’s Committee.
During
2014, two projects to supply clean water to local people in six communes in
Ha Hoa and Thanh Thuy districts will be carried out, while 20 water supply
facilities will be installed in schools and 13 others in healthcare stations.
The
provincial rural clean water and sanitation programme is to meet the clean
water demand of the local community in a full and sustainable way, and raise
their awareness of the importance of clean water and hygiene.
It
also focuses on enhancing capacity of communes and villages in making plans
and managing infrastructure works, and supporting locals’ initiatives in the
field, the provincial official said.
In
2013, Phu Tho started work on three water supply systems with a designed
capacity of 8,800 cubic meter of water per day for 11 communes. As many as
1,420 sanitation toilets were built.-
Tien
Giang aids residents in adapting to climate change
The
Mekong Delta
The
evacuation, with a total funding of around 4 billion VND (188,000 USD), aims
to resettle those residents in safer places when the province is among the
localities in the
Apart
from the effort, the province has invested over 85 billion VND (3.99 million
USD) to treat 248 landslide-hit areas with a total length of 15,000 metres
since 2005.
So
far, the province has had 152 areas with high risk of landslide.
Climate
change affects marine and coastal ecosystems through a gradual process,
notably an increase in temperature, changes in salinity levels, acidity,
turbidity and loss of habitat due to higher sea levels.
Scientists
forecast that if the sea level rises by one metre, about 70 percent of land
in the Mekong Delta region will be intruded by saltwater and
Universities
reluctantly move to independent entrance exams
Even
though the Ministry of Education and Training has agreed to let universities
hold their own entrance exams next year, many universities expressed
reluctance.
Around
17 private universities have submitted their enrollment plans to the
ministry. The Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Bui Van Ga, said,
"Public schools are reluctant because they don't lack students, yet they
will face certain risks by holding independent exams."
The
Deputy head of Hanoi School of Business and Technology, said,
"Universities will have to shoulder huge cost. In addition, the results
of those exams aren't valid for every college and university, it can only be
used for the schools that have agreed on the same plans. It's a high
risk."
Some
people worried about adverse impacts, such as some universities setting lower
standards to increase revenue.
Among
public schools, only Vietnam National University of Hanoi has tried to pilot
this programme on small-scale. Bui Duc Hien,from
Head
of Hoa Binh University, Dang Ung Van, also said, "Universities still
have no idea about the number of students who will participate in their exams
and it's possible that many of them won't enroll. Normally, only students
with weak abilities enroll into private universities."
Recently,
private universities have been complaining that, with the same scores from
national university entrance exam, administrated by the Ministry of Education
and Training, students are likely to choose the schools that are cheaper.
Several experts said they should be allowed to recruit students who have
lower scores than required.
Many
think that the ministry agreed to this programme because it wants to help
private universities who are failing to recruit. Ga said, "The laws on
higher education states that universities must independently build their
enrollment plans, so we're also changing the recruitment methods."
Almost
20 percent population infected with Hepatitis B
Dr.
Nguyen Huu Chi, President of HCMC Liver and Gall Bladder Association and
Deputy Manager of Infectious Disease Department at the City Medical University
said at the 5th Annual Hepatitis Symposium organized by Roche Vietnam that
almost 10-20 percent of the population in the country is infected with
Hepatitis B virus.
Dr.
Chi added that most of the patients don’t show any symptoms until their liver
is seriously damaged. Therefore, treatment and cure in the last stages of the
disease proves very costly.
Roche
Diagnostics, the world’s leading vitro diagnostics company, reaffirmed its
commitment to the management of Hepatitis in Vietnam at the Symposium.
The
role of early diagnosis and ongoing monitoring during treatment was a key
topic of discussion by more than 500 healthcare professionals and other
experts at the Symposium, organized by the Liver and Gall Bladder Association
and Roche Diagnostics Vietnam.
In
addition to monitoring treatment, HBsAg quantitative tests in combination
with HBV DNA testing can distinguish dormant carriers from those showing
visible symptoms of the disease, thereby defining more clearly who requires
therapy and frequent monitoring and who does not.
VND46
billion project approved to improve food safety awareness
The
Government has approved a project on strengthening education and
communication on food safety to support the deployment of the Law on Food
Safety and the National Strategy in the 2011-2020 period.
The
project is implemented during 2013-2016 with a total budget of over VND46
billion (US$2.2 million), of which US$2 million sourced from ODA funds by the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The
scheme is expected to raise consumers’ awareness on food hygiene and improve
ethics of food producers and businesses towards protecting people's health.
It
also aims to enhance capacity and skills for professional staff responsible
for food safety management and communication collaborators via training
courses at all levels.
In
addition, the project targets to strengthen co-ordination and integration of
communication strategies on food safety into nutrition, agricultural and
rural development programmes, the public education system, and other related
community programmes to promote the efficient use of human resources,
information and fundings in conveying the messages on food safety to each
target group.
Techno
Japan 2013 kicks off in Hanoi
Local
and foreign scientists and businesspeople are gathering at an exhibition on
Japanese technology and investment (Techno Japan 2013) in Hanoi from December
16-18.
The
event creates a good chance for Japanese businesses to introduce their latest
scientific and technological achievements in information, energy, space,
biology and the environment, as well as study Vietnam’s investment policies,
said Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan.
Along
with Techno Japan 2013, the third international exhibition on security and
safety is being held in the capital to help local businesses enhance their
capacity in the field for sustainable economic development, especially in the
light of global integration.
A
number of workshops related to the field will take place during the two
exhibitions, helping businesses seek partners and investment opportunities.
Jointly
organised by the National Agency for Science and Information Technology under
the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the General Department of
Logistics and Technology under the Ministry of Public Security, the two
exhibitions are part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of
Vietnam-Japan diplomatic ties.
Source:
VNA/VOV/VNS/SGGP/SGT/Dantri/Nhandan
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Thứ Tư, 18 tháng 12, 2013
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