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Social
News Headlines 25/3
Bach Mai
hospital saves life of baby with measles
The
The baby, Dang Truc
Chi from Thanh Tri District in Ha Noi, was brought to the hospital one month
ago with symptoms of measles, such as high fever, a rash, a serious cough and
sniffling.
The faculty
director, Nguyen Tien Dung, said that measles had attacked her lungs and
destroyed her immune system.
"That's why
the baby was given emergency aid with a respiration machine, an antibiotic
injection and an antibody containing drugs and Vitamin A," explained
Dung.
"The condition
of the girl has improved after one month of treatment. She can now breathe
normally and breastfeed," added Dung.
Her three-year-old
brother was hospitalised the same day with measles. He was, however,
discharged one week ago as his condition was not very serious. Both Chi and
her brother haven't been vaccinated against measles yet, while their mother
has been given the vaccine.
Dung added that his
faculty had recently seen many cases of children under one with measles.
Dung said that
parents should vaccinate their children against measles as that was the best
way to prevent the disease. Children who show symptoms of measles should be
brought to the hospital without delay to enable close supervision.
Previously, the
hospital had received a 24-day-old baby with measles. However, the baby's
case was not severe, and it was discharged from the hospital a few days
later.
The Ha Noi Health
Department has reported a total of 347 measles cases from 296 of the 577
communes and wards of the city since the beginning of 2014. The disease
mainly affects children under the age of two and those who have not been
vaccinated.
Fatal skin
condition found in Quang Ngai
A resident has been
diagnosed as infected with a potentially fatal skin disease in the
The health centre
of Ba To District,
The 37 year-old
patient, identified as Pham Van Troi, was sent to the health centre on March
19 with blisters on his hands and feet and an increased liver enzyme level,
said the head of the centre, Dang Thi Phuong.
Troi hails from Ba
Dien Commune, Ba To district. He was one of four members of his family to
contract the deadly disease in 2012, with one of them dying.
The disease has
killed 24 out of 240 people infected with it since it first appeared in 2011.
Local and foreign
experts, including those from the World Health Organisation, have yet to find
the cause of the disease or devise an effective treatment method, which has
been mostly found to have infected residents of Ba To District.
Transport
firms to submit drivers' health reports
Local transport
companies must send medical check-up reports for coach and taxi drivers to
the Ha Noi Transport Department before April 30.
The move follows a
recent order issued by the department to improve the quality of public
transport. Companies have been asked to work with health centres in the
districts where they are located to quickly conduct the check-ups.
Chairman of the Ha
Noi Automobile Transport Association Bui Danh Lien said that medical centres
would face severe fines if any driver was found using drugs and still
received a certificate.
Dao Minh Tuan,
deputy director of Mai Linh Taxi, told Kinh Te Do Thi (Economic & Urban
Newspaper) that most of the company's 4,000 drivers had valid medical
certificates, so the company would send reports to the department as ordered.
However, Nguyen
Hong Minh, director of Nguyen Minh Taxi Company, said that 40 days was not
long enough for transport companies to carry out the instructions.
Deputy director of
the department Nguyen Hoang Linh said the transport department would request
that the health department mobilise more staff and medical facilities in
districts where many transport companies were located.
Random inspections
would be conducted and transport companies would have to end labour contracts
with drivers if they were discovered using drugs, he added.
The city has more
than 3,000 companies offering bus and taxi services.
Bodies of
gold miners found after collapse
Authorities in
Hoang Hoa, chief of
the secretariat of the district people's committee, confirmed to Viet Nam
News yesterday that the remains of two illegal gold miners were found on
Saturday.
Hoa said
authorities and families are continuing to search for the remaining victim.
Illegal gold mining
remains a problem in the district, despite the efforts of authorities.
Five gold mines
have collapsed since last April, killing 12 people, according to authorities.
Expatriates
want to bridge Vietnam-US cooperation
Deputy Foreign
Minister and head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (OV) Affairs
Nguyen Thanh Son is undertaking a visit to the US and Canada to meet with OV
communities.
During the trip,
from March 10-27, Son hopes to further strengthen the cooperation between
While in the
Son met with
entrepreneurs, local authority leaders and social operators in
Representatives
from several enterprises said they hope the committee will protect their
interests and support them in completing administrative and legal procedures,
allowing them to devote more time and energy to investing in
Several members of
the communities said they are willing to serve as a bridge between US firms
and those in
During a working
session held between Son and the management boards of the
The official said
following his
A comprehensive
plan to improve green spaces, parks and gardens in the capital has been
announced by the city's People's Committee.
According to the
plan, 18 new parks and gardens will be built and 42 existing areas will be
upgraded around the city.
The area includes
the districts of Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung and a part of Tay
Ho.
Authorities plan to
build new green parks and upgrade existing ones, including Dong Da Park,
The plan also aims
to increase the green tree rate in old apartment complexes up to at least one
square metre per person, a rate which the city has been struggling to achieve
since the introduction of the Viet Nam Construction Standard in 2008.
At the same time,
seven park zones are planned in the extended urban core area, which runs from
the
Me Linh district's
Quang Minh – Chi Dong zone is expected to be transformed into an area of
industrial ecological parks, helping local people to continue making a living
from the land.
Constructions of
sport parks for professionals as well as public use will get underway in the
Van Khe – Me Linh and Xuan Canh – Dong Hoi zones, including stadiums, indoor
and outdoor games complexes and a multi-functional cultural centre that may
be used for the Asiad Games in 2019.
In the Van Tri –
Son Du and Co Loa – Viet Hung zones, the city will build entertainment parks
in an effort to promote tourism, while the Yen Thuong – Ninh Hiep and Trau
Quy – Da Ton zones will plant trees for research and conservation purposes.
Ministry
urges haste on flood-proof homes
The Ministry of
Construction has urged authorities in Mekong Delta provinces to speed up
construction of flood-proof residential clusters to relocate people living in
flood-and erosion-prone areas.
The programme has
not been progressing as rapidly as expected, Deputy Minister of Construction
Nguyen Tran
He said raising of
the foundations of eight clusters in Dong Thap, Vinh Long, and Can Tho city
had not been completed.
In An Giang, Dong
Thap, Kien Giang, and Hau Giang provinces, 15,000 additional houses planned
for the programme had not been built, affecting progress, he said.
He urged local
authorities to focus on the these projects so that the foundations could be
raised, embankments built by the second quarter of this year, and people
moved out of flood-prone areas by the end of this year.
He called for
drafting regulations to manage and ensure environmental and hygiene standards
at clusters which are already occupied.
According to
figures released at the meeting, more than 35,500 families threatened by
floods and erosion have been moved into flood-proof clusters and elevated
areas or embankments.
These are among
55,463 households identified as residing in flood- and erosion-prone areas in
the delta, and 177 projects to resettle them are under way in eight
provinces.
Of them 76.6 per
cent have clean water supply and 87.5 per cent have power supply.
These flood-proof
clusters had enabled locals to minimise losses during the annual flood
season,
The ministry also
encouraged residents living in temporary shelters in flood-proof clusters to
build their own houses using plans approved under the programme.
In the first phase
of the programme (2001 – 2005) around 1,000 clusters to house 150,000
families were built on a total area of 3,000ha in the provinces of Long An,
An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, and Hau Giang and Can
Tho city.
In the second phase
a further 178 are being built to resettle 52,000 households.
Police
arrest man for growing weed
The police in the
northern port city of
Do Hai
Eight bags of
methamphetamine, one box of marijuana and a large amount of fresh and dried
marijuana were seized from the house.
The police officers
also found 23 marijuana plants growing on the third and fourth floors of the
house, of which 16 were about one metre tall.
Phu Yen
hosts aquaculture fest
The 2014 Viet Nam
Aquaculture Festival will be held in the central
The event will
include investment promotion and trade development activities, tourism
promotion, conferences and an aquaculture exhibition with over 400 stalls.
The Binh Thanh
District People's Committee in
The two apartment
buildings, block IV and block VI, have begun to sink and now lean towards one
another. Residents will be relocated to a 1,050-apartment building in Binh
Thanh's Ward 12.
Speaking at a
meeting held on Thursday, Duong Hong Thang, deputy chairman of the Binh Thanh
District People's Committee, said the urgent relocation had been organised
because the two blocks were in danger of collapse.
The district will
publicise an official relocation plan by March 25.
Each relocated
household will be given VND6 million (US$280) to cover the transport cost of
relocation.
Thang said the Binh
Thanh District People's Committee was calling on investors to rebuild the two
blocks.
The HCM City
People's Committee has assigned responsibility to the district for rebuilding
the two blocks within the next three years, he said.
The district has
also begun a project to prevent river erosion in the Thanh Da area and help
rebuilt-apartment buildings, Thang said.
Since 1996 the HCM
City People's Committee has been planning to relocate households at the two
blocks, but it has proven difficult finding investors as the potential
profits are small.
The Thanh Da
apartment building complex, which was one of the city's first apartment
buildings, was built in 1960's and has 22 blocks on a total area of 22.7ha.
Each apartment in the complex has an average area of 80sq.m
Nghe An
builds new bridge over dam
Construction of a
bridge spanning Kha Ang dam in the central
Construction of the
bridge is set to cost VND41.9 billion (some US$1.97 million) and is scheduled
to be completed within 36 months. The bridge is located in
In September 2013,
five people were killed after a car carrying seven passengers was swept away
by swollen floodwaters surging over the Khe Ang dam spillway.
The new bridge is
expected to support local businesses, while ensuring the safety of local
residents during floods.
More jobs
to be created this year
The nation's
workforce will reach 54.87 million in 2014, with more trained workers and
fewer unskilled labourers to meet the country's economic restructuring and
raise the competitiveness of businesses.
This forecast was
revealed in the latest newsletter on
The newsletter
reported that the economy would create more jobs this year compared to 2013,
especially in the fields of processing and manufacturing, construction,
retail and wholesale, and hotels and food services.
It also said the
unemployment rate in urban areas has remained constant, while job
opportunities in agriculture will see continued decreases due to the process
of urbanisation and industrialisation.
MoLISA forecast
that this year's GDP growth will be on the recovery track, although it might
not reach a record high. The GDP growth is predicted to reach 5.8 per cent,
slightly higher than that of the previous year of 5.4 per cent.
The ministry also
forecast that the number of participants in unemployment insurance would see
a dramatic increase, at 85-90 per cent of the total number of participants in
compulsory social insurance, thanks to the extension of those eligible to
apply for unemployment insurance.
Until the end of
last year, unemployment remained serious. According to the General Statistics
Office, 900,000 unemployed people were recorded in the last quarter of last
year, an increase of 48,000 against the same period the previous year.
During the same
period, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15-24 continued to see a high
increase, with 5.9 per cent. The rate is especially higher among university
and college graduates aged 20-24, with 20.75 per cent.
The rate of permanent
unemployment (those out of work over 12 months) among the unemployed is also
reportedly high, at over 44 per cent, more than double that in the same
period in 2013.
Good
practices key to sustainable growth
Good agricultural
practices (GAP) are considered the main strategy for developing
Clean farming
techniques are still a novelty in the country, despite the known presence of
war-time chemicals and the continued use of sprays and even fertilisers that
can contaminate produce.
Slowly, throughout
This includes using
more farm-made mulch and trying to develop ways of growing crops without
having to resort to chemical sprays. In other words, "organic", a
word people are using more and more in the West as they hunt out stores and
supermarkets that sell such produce, even if it is usually more expensive.
The end result is
produce that can be "certified" to be safe and free from all
poisons. The boxes of produce and sometimes the individual items of fruit,
are given labels stating that they were grown in toxin-free soil and without
harmful sprays to repel insects.
Already in Ha Noi
there are a dozen or so organic food outlets. Some of them are topped up
daily with first class produce, some of it co-produced by French nationals on
farms in nearby hill regions.
However, the
introduction of the so-called "new" GAP system in
This was revealed
at a conference on GAP and the trend towards growing safe fruit and
vegetables held in Ha Noi on Tuesday.
Acting director of
the agricultural ministry's Cultivation Department, Pham Dong Quang, said
that the ministry had set up a legal framework and an itinerary to apply GAP
based on the Law on Food Safety issued in 2011.
Farmers wanting to
join the scheme will have to change some of their farming habits, even if the
cost of doing so is more expensive.
Nguyen Thi Kim
Oanh, head of Ha Noi Safe Food and Vegetable trading floor transaction
division, said there was a great demand for safe vegetables, but little was
being produced, despite much investment.
Oanh said slack
management had even led to poor quality fruit and vegetables being sold at
big supermarkets, including Big C and Metro.
"This
seriously affects customers' belief in food quality. Once they are disappointed,
they will lose interest in trying to buy safe, quality produce, even if they
have the money," she said.
She added that some
farmers had been growing quality produce, but they did not know where or how
to market it.
Nguyen Thi Tan Loc,
an expert of the Vegetables Research Institute, said that places for cleaning
and bundling the vegetables were limited.
Most of them did
not have modern production lines or equipment to handle big orders for export
- and for supermarkets and restaurant chains.
Loc said that seed
for quality crops often had to be imported at high expense.
The Ministry of
Agriculture is developing policies to help farmers resolve their difficulties
in selling safe vegetables, such as encouraging social organisations and
co-operatives to set up production chains to take care of the whole process.
Last year, more
than 570 VietGAP certificates were issued to enterprises for producing
vegetables, fruit, rice, tea and coffee.
Effective
water, energy use urged
Deputy Prime
Minister Hoang Trung Hai yesterday called for effective use and management of
water and energy at a national meeting in Lai Chau province to mark World
Water Day.
As a locality
through which the Da River runs, Lai Chau is home to the country's biggest
hydropower plants, such as Lai Chau, Son La, and Hoa Binh.
He cautioned that
water resources were at risk of drying up due to the booming population and
growing demand for water and energy. The world demand for energy would jump
nearly 50 per cent by 2035, so the water supply needed for energy generation
would see an approximate rise of 20 per cent.
The failure to effectively
coordinate amongst each other would lead to countries and localities becoming
engulfed in conflicts of interest, he warned.
Statistics reveal
that
With a system of
crisscrossing rivers and lakes, the country holds huge potential for
developing hydropower, one of the major sources that contribute to energy
security, socio-economic development, and national modernisation.
He acknowledged
that building new hydropower plants did have a downside, such as environmental
pollution and susceptibility to climate change.
Hai lauded the
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the provincial People's
Committee for their media campaigns highlighting World Water Day, which urged
the members of the public to amend their dire habits regarding the efficient
use of water and energy and promote sustainable practices.
Corn co-ops
ease farmers' concerns
In a poor district
in the Cuu Long (
Situated in the
north of Long An, Duc Hoa District has a total area of more than 42,000ha, of
which over 50 per cent is made up of rice paddies.
But with its poor
grey soil and water shortages, the district ranks among the lowest in the
province in rice productivity.
"Since growing
rice yields low profits to farmers, the province has adopted policies to
restructure agricultural production by planting maize and sesame,"
Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of the province's Agriculture Extension Centre,
said.
But a disconnect
between production and consumption has perpetuated production inefficiencies,
with farmers usually faced with price drops following a bumper harvest and
vice versa, he said.
These problems have
been addressed effectively by the Ecofarm Corn Project, which has brought
together many small farmers to reorganise production and bring higher incomes
to locals, he said.
Initiated by the
extension centre and the Ecology Farming Corporation (Ecofarm), the project,
which began in late 2012, also targets improving the quality of the soil and
improve the long-term productivity and sustainability of agricultural
production.
The company
provides farmers with seeds and organic fertilisers at competitive prices on
credit until harvest besides machinery to improve efficiency.
Agricultural
experts work directly with farmers in the fields to make sure that their
production techniques conform to standards, transfer technology, and sort out
problems that may arise.
The project assures
the purchase of maize products and by-products from farmers through
contracts, Nguyen Dac Thanh, head of the Duc Hoa District Agricultural
Extension Centre, said.
One innovation that
has been introduced under this model is the conversion of maize waste into
biochar, which is used to improve soil quality and help protect the
environment, he said.
Funded by the Viet
Nam Business Challenge Fund (VBCF), the project has brought together more
than 100 maize farmers under three co-operatives, Nguyen Hong Quang, Ecofarm
chairman, said.
Three months ago,
for the first time, they planted maize on 103ha. The harvest began a few days
ago and the co-operatives hope to get higher yields than normal, he said.
Huynh Van Ro,
chairman of one of the co-operatives, My Hanh Bac, said: "At the
beginning, we felt insecure about the new model. However, now, after the
harvest season began, we feel excited to see productivity going up by more
than 30 per cent."
Nguyen Van My, a
member of the co-operative, said: "I was worried in the beginning, but
no longer. Productivity is estimated to reach eight tonnes per hectare, one
tonne higher than previous crops."
Mai Thi Rang,
chairwoman of Tien Dat Co-operative, said for a long time farmers used to
borrow at high interest rates to buy inputs. The project is helping farmers
significantly cut costs, she added.
Thanh said since
farmers had for long worked on their own, collecting them into co-operatives
was not an easy task in the beginning.
But after seeing
the higher efficiency of the new model compared to their traditional methods,
more and more farmers are registering to enrol, he said.
Tung said the
province plans to expand the model to thousands of hectares in future.
In a related
development, the VBCF has agreed to provide a grant of nearly VND9.1 billion
(US$430,900) to the Southern Seed Joint Stock Company for a project to help
2,200 poor farmers, mostly ethnic Khmer living in Cau Ngang District, Tra
Vinh Province, switch from low-yield rice to maize.
Within 25 months
around 1,100ha will be covered.
The VBCF is funded
by the
It is a specialised
fund that supports the private sector in
Ly Van Son,
Ecofarm's deputy director, said maize is a high-demand crop in
Because of the
heavy reliance on imported maize and other inputs, animal-feed prices in
Red Cross
gifts kindergarten
The Viet Nam Red
Cross Society on Thursday handed over a kindergarten to local authorities of
Phu Luong Commune, located in
The school was
built using a VND1.8 billion (US$85,000) grant from the society and the Geos
and Subsea Services Company under the Petrovietnam Technical Services
Corporation (PTSC).
The 300 sq m school
includes three study rooms and two rooms for teachers, and will cater to
around 500 children in Phu Luong Commune.
The commune has
around 1,340 households and 8,632 people, of which more than 47 per cent are
deemed to be living in poverty.
PM urges
public sector clean-up
Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung has instructed all ministers to identify and dismiss
under-performing public servants in order to improve the quality of public
services.
The PM stated on
Wednesday that all ministries and localities must maintain discipline in
public services.
The state agencies
should comply with regulations involving recruitment, training, assessment,
appointment, promotion, and the salary policy of public servants, he
asserted.
The PM also
instructed ministries to issue regulations on commendations and reward those
who detect and denounce any wrongdoings in the public services.
The PM noted that
the Ministry of Home Affairs will issue a policy to dismiss under-performing
public servants, including those who are not of sound character.
Public servants
whose skills and background knowledge are not suitable for their current
position and are not required for another position will also be dismissed.
The ministry will
cut down on public employees whose performance fails to meet the professional
standards required for their positions.
The Ministry of
Home Affairs completed a draft decree to be implemented by 2020, to slash
100,000 employees of State-owned companies and State organisations in
February.
The draft decree is
expected to cost the government VND8 trillion (US$380.95 million).
The public has been
invited to voice their opinion on the decree.
Thanh Hoa
spreads methadone therapy
Methadone treatment
for drug addicts has proved effective in reducing HIV/AID infections in the
central
The obvious effect
of this therapy is the considerable improvement in the physical and mental
health of drug users, according to the Thanh Hoa HIV/AIDS Prevention and
Control Centre. It reported that 74 percent of patients have reduced their
dependence either partly or all together, while 70 percent have gained weight
to a healthier level after three months of treatment.
In a foreseeable
future, the province plans to open another methadone-treatment clinic in Dong
Son district.
Local authorities
are aiming at a wider deployment of the method to treat 2,000 heroin addicts
by 2015, after three years successfully undertaking the methadone treatment
programme – which was first launched in
After a two-year
treatment course, only 14 percent of the patients still use drugs, 2 percent
still clash with their family and a mere 1 percent still break the law. In
contrast, nearly 76 percent of them have been employed.
This treatment has
also proved economical, as its daily cost is about 15,000 VND (0.7 USD) per
person in
The programme has
set out to provide this drug replacement therapy to 80,000 addicts across the
nation by 2015.
Deputy Minister of
Science and Technology Tran Van Tung made the comment during a conference in
By 2015,
The ministry aims
to promote technology commercialisation towards the Silicon Valley Model ,
which is a venture investment fund for assisting newly-started and sci-tech
enterprises in developing their ideas and sample products into commercial
products.
Speaking at the
event, Bora, a venture investor from the
Mekong
Delta stems drought, saltwater intrusion impacts
Mekong Delta
provinces are promptly taking measures to cope with drought and saltwater
intrusion to minimise negative impacts on 700,000 hectares of rice, scheduled
to be grown in April and May.
The Southern
Institute of Water Resources Research forecasts that from March to May this
year, saltwater will intrude about 40 – 50km inland, with droughts becoming
more severe across the Mekong Delta region.
To deal with the
problem, the provinces have prepared rice varieties that are resilient to
climate change and tightened management of harvesting operations.
According to the
Steering Committee for the Southwestern region, Ben Tre province has built 13
temporary dams to prevent saltwater intrusion and improve dozens of
irrigation works. For the long term, it will complete facilities for a
project making its northern saline land usable, in order to protect key rice
areas in Ba Tri and Giong Trom districts.
Tien Giang has
constructed 173 temporary dams and dredged 146 channels while 72 irrigation
works in Dong Thap and Long An have been cleaned out to ensure water supply
for 37,000 hectares of rice vulnerable to drought and saltwater intrusion.
At the same time,
Hau Giang and Vinh Long have improved tens of channels providing water for
38,000 hectares of rice and fruit farm land.
In the
summer-autumn crop this year, the Mekong Delta region plans to cultivate
approximately 1.7 million hectares of rice from April to June. About 130,000
hectares have been planted so far.-
Pioneering
Later this year,
Dr. Nguyen Duc
Chinh from the management board of the National TB Programme said two new
medicines have been accepted so far. By 2018, vaccines that are more potent
than Bacillus Calmette-Guerin will be on offer.
Hospitals
nationwide are offering currently offering six-month therapy for TB patients,
which is expected to be cut down to 3-4 months in the coming time, he said.
Under the national
TB prevention strategy until 2020 (with a vision to 2030) recently approved
by the Prime Minister, Vietnam is looking to control TB levels to below 20
patients for every 100,000 people by 2030 on the road to eventually
eliminating the disease.
By late 2015, the
country expects that the numbers of TB sufferers and deaths will be 187 and
18 per 100,000. By 2020, the respective numbers are forecast to be 131 and
10, with the rate of multidrug-resistant TB patients being kept at below 5
percent.
To realise the
goal,
On top of this, it
will join efforts with countries worldwide to detect, treat and curb the
cross-border spread of TB. Training courses both at home and abroad will be
held while the enforcement of laws on TB prevention will be strengthened.
In the
Its yearly rate of
TB infection is reduced by 3-5 percent. Up to 90 percent of patients with
sputum smears that test positive for acid-fast bacilli are treated
successfully, while the rate of deaths has been brought down to 0.3 percent.
Last year, the province detected and treated over 900 TB patients.
According to the
World Health Organisation,
Public
transportation yet to meet demand
The rapid increase
of personal vehicles in
According to Nguyen
Trong Thong, President of the Hanoi Public Transportation Association, a
surge in personal vehicles in the past 10 years and ageing infrastructure
have worsened traffic congestion, especially in major cities like Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City.
In the 2002-2012
period,
Thong proposed
investments be made in the development of mass transit systems, including bus
rapid transit (BRT), metro lines and elevated urban railways.
He also suggested
the State has the financial clout to participate in the building of these
systems in order to lessen the burden on the State budget in the long-term.
It is hoped that
once operational, new public transportation will attract more passengers and
reduce the use of personal vehicles.
The Ministry of
Transport has implemented measures to develop public transit, including
investing in upgrading the bus system and establishing centres to manage and
operate public means of transport.
A Mekong Delta
geographic information system is expected to become a reliable reference
source to serve regional localities in outlining their socio-economic
development strategies.
The system, which
will be up and running in Can Tho city first, will be annually updated with
information concerning natural resources and conditions, disaster forecasts,
and socio-economic performance in the region.
At a working
session between the
He called for the
strong involvement of scientists from regional localities and the Departments
of Science and Technology, Natural Resources and Environment, Agriculture and
Rural Development.
Deputy Chairman of
the Can Tho City People’s Committee Vo Thanh Thong requested the local
Department of Science and Technology to work with relevant units to launch
the project as soon as possible.-
Island
tipped to become fisheries logistics HQ
Co To island in
northern Quang Ninh province looks set to become a fisheries logistics hub
for the entire
Nguyen Thi Kim
Ngan, a Politburo member and Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly,
suggested the idea at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the island
district on March 22.
She noted that Co
To needs to pursue its renovation to improve residents’ living conditions,
promote local sustainable economic development and maintain national defence
and security.
Co To district
includes more than 40 islands with a total area of 4,600 hectares. About
150km offshore from Quang Ninh’s tourism city of Ha Long, Co To has a
population of over 5,000.
Over the past 20
years since its establishment, the island district has seen rapid
socio-economic development and maintained defence-security, stated Nguyen Duc
Thanh, Secretary of the district Party Committee and Chairman of the People’s
Committee.
Co To has obtained
economic growth of between 12 and 15 percent a year. It reached a per-capital
income of 1,200 USD in 2013 against 900 USD in 2010 and 400 USD in 2000.
Fisheries have
become its economic spearhead, with an annual output of 10,000-15,000 tonnes
of seafood while services and tourism make up a major proportion of its
economic structure. The island received nearly 60,000 visitors last year.
In addition, Co To
has improved transport infrastructure, built wharves and ship shelters, and
constructed reservoirs to ensure clean water for 95 percent of the island’s
population.
At the end of last
year, Co To fulfilled the national new rural building programme, escaped from
poverty and was linked up to the national power grid.
To mark its 20 th
anniversary, Co To was honoured with the Labour Order, first class.-
Over 1,000 young
people gathered at a ceremony in
On this occasion,
the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s chapter in the city introduced three
groups of young volunteers. One of the groups will engage in activities
contributing to inner city development.
A second group
specialising in building new-style rural areas will visit suburban districts
to offer advice and teach advanced agricultural techniques to local farmers.
Meanwhile, the
third collection of volunteers will run social welfare activities, such as
helping disadvantaged families repair power lines, offering fire prevention
guidance and providing free medical check-ups.
Following the
festival opening ceremony, a forum was opened for young people to discuss the
ways of building a clean and civilised city.
A report presented
at the event stated that by the end of 2013, the city’s poor rate was 0.8
percent, a large drop from the 8.4 percent rate recorded in 2009.
The national
standard, which was approved by the Government, prescribes that poor
households are categorised as those with an average income of 4.8 million VND
(225 USD) per person per year in rural areas and 6 million VND (282 USD) in
urban areas . Under that standard, the city now has no poor households.
Secretary of the
municipal Party Committee Le Thanh Hai said the city has now set up its own
poverty standard, with poor households categorised as such if their annual
average income is less than 16 million VND (752 USD) per person. Households
earning less than 21 million VND (987 USD) per person are classed as
near-poor.
Under the new
standard, the southern city now has 130,000 poor households (equivalent to
7.12 percent of the city’s total population) and 50,000 near-poor households
(making up 2.73 percent).
Hai added the new
standard is closer to those applied by other regional countries, and called for
all local people to involve themselves in the sustainable poverty reduction
programme.
He asked the local
authorities to pay attention to building effective poverty reduction models
in combination with local socio-economic development, especially the construction
of new-style rural areas .
It is necessary to
better meet poor people’s demand for essential goods and services, such as
housing, healthcare services, education and jobs, Hai suggested.
In addition, he
advised that preferential loans should be offered to accelerate local
agro-aquatic-forestry development and provide vocational training for rural
labourers in line with socio-economic development planning.
Power
plants step up forest planting drive
The Ministry of
Industry and Trade (MoIT) on Saturday launched a forest planting festival at
the Son La Hydropower Plant.
The event, held in
the northern mountainous province of Son La and attended by Deputy Prime
Minister Hoang Trung Hai, is seen as a key component in fulfilling National
Assembly and Government resolutions regarding the planning, construction and
operation of hydropower projects.
Addressing the
ceremony, Deputy PM Hai said planting trees would help stabilise water
resources, thus raising the efficient operations of hydroelectric plants.
According to the
official, between 2006 and 2013 the country completed 205 hydropower
projects, which were built on nearly 20,000 ha of forestry land in 27 cities
and provinces.
However, there have
been only 11 provinces that have so far approved projects to plant trees over
areas of 2,600 ha, according to the Deputy PM.
He also asked
project investors to strictly observe the Government's instructions on
planting forests, while requesting the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development to coordinate with localities in supervising the work.
Pham Le Thanh,
General Director of the Electricity of Viet Nam, said the group considered
planting trees as one of its responsibilities to the community, noting that
planting forests helps prevent erosion, ensures ecological safety and
improves the environment in areas surrounding the forests.
The EVN has
instructed project managing boards to carry out planting forests to help
replace the converted forestry land.
MoIT Minister Vu
Huy Hoang voiced his pleasure with the significant contributions of
hydropower plants to ensuring national energy security, curbing the impact of
floods, irrigating farm lands and helping spur socio-economic development.
Statistics released
by the ministry show that 50,950 ha of forest across the country have been
converted for use in hydropower projects.
Inaugurated in
December 2012, the Son La Hydropower Plant, which is described as a project
that will help assure the nation's energy security, is striving to plant 300
ha of forest which were previously used for power purposes.
Poaching on
in national park
Wildlife poaching
was continuing to blight the southern
Poaching not only
threatened rare animals but also increased the risk of forest fire,
especially during the dry season, he said.
Five poaching gangs
had been detected in the first two months of this year, he said, adding that
local authorities arrested 96 people last year.
Tran Hong Dao, head
of the forest rangers in the districts of U Minh Thuong and Vinh Thuan, said
that residents in the park's buffer zone often caught fish, eels, snakes and
other animals in the forest.
In extreme cases,
violators even attacked rangers, Dao said.
Authorities would
enhance their co-operation with both local rangers and police to protect the
forest, Cuong stressed, and those who violated regulations would be strictly
punished.
Locals have been
encouraged to detect and report poachers, he said.
Recognised as an
The national park
is home to 243 species of plants and 500 species of animals, including a
number of endangered species.
The park has also
been recognised as one of the three highest priority sites for wetland
conservation in the Mekong Delta
Starch
plant makes way for housing
A factory in
northern
However, despite
its bad track record, the company, owned by Son Lam JSC, has now been given
approval to develop a 10- hectare housing complex adjacent to the site.
Provincial
authorities said the factory owners may face a fine of up to VND854 million
(US$40,100) for pollution breaches. It is also likely to be forced to repair
serious environmental damage that it has created.
A report from the
provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment showed that the
factory, located in Dong Bam Commune, had never built a waste-water treatment
system despite commitments made in 2006.
Each year, the
factory is believed to have discharged between 20,000 and 30,000 cubic metres
of untreated waste water into the surrounding environment.
This is reported to
have caused serious pollution to Linh Nham and Mat Rong streams and created a
horrible odour.
Since 2008, the department,
in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Security's Environment Crime
Prevention Police Department, has fined the factory's owners a total of
VND250 million ($11,750) for its slack behavious.
The department said
that it had told factory management many times to stop polluting the
environment, but nothing was ever done.
Last January, it
was discovered that underground pipes had been laid to discharge waste water
into neighbouring streams.
Results of tests
reveal that water samples contained quantities of nine chemicals that were 10
times above approved levels. The factory was fined VND75 million ($3,520) and
ordered to dig up the pipes.
76 year old
woman found to have stone fetus inside her
A stone fetus was
found inside of a 76-year-old woman at the
Scans revealed that
the woman experienced lithopedion, a condition in which a fetus develops
outside of the womb and becomes calcified over time. The calcification
revealed decades of the condition.
We initially
believed she had a stomach bug, said Dr. Le Quang Vinh, the hospital’s deputy
director.
Doctors promptly
conducted surgery to remove the fetus which was comprised mostly of dead
tissue.
Medicine
for mushroom poisoning must be available: DAV
The Drug
Administration of Vietnam (DAV) will import treatments for mushroom
poisoning.
The administration
has received a report from
The administration
has asked the hospital to stockpile necessary medicines.
The
Three died from
poisoning and 10 are in critical condition with serious damage to the liver
and digestive system after a series of blood filtration treatments.
The hospital
contacted other hospitals including
Most patients are
of ethnic minority in remote villages.
Organizations and
volunteers will pass out informational leaflets to these people living
without radio or television, said Dr. Pham Due, director of the
Private
daycare centers in industrial parks to receive government’s support
The government will
financially support private daycare centers following the guidelines of the
Prime Minister’s project to assist and develop nurseries in industrial parks
and export processing zones by 2020.
The project aims to
strengthen the growth of these facilities and contribute to support female
workers with children below 36 months old. From now until 2020, 80 percent
teachers and staffs working in private daycare centers will be professionally
trained.
Seventy percent of
children below 36 months old will receive the opportunity for daycare in
government-run centers. The government will also give assistance to 500
private centers.
The project aims to
train managers, teachers, nursemaids, mothers, and caretakers of children
below 36 months old. There will be policies implemented favoring working
mothers of young children.
The Vietnam Women
Association will work with the Ministry of Education and Training to provide
training courses. Expenses will be drawn from local companies, organizations
and individual donations.
There are 5,590
unlicensed daycare centers in the country, according to the Ministry of
Education and Training.
Only 18.8 percent
of families send their children to public kindergartens and more than 36.7
percent of families send their children to private daycare centers in areas
with industrial parks, according to the Vietnam Women Association. Most
female workers in these areas send their children to unlicensed daycares.
Among 10 provinces
with high amounts of industrial parks and export processing zones, only 16.9
percent have kindergartens, according to the
Professor Nguyen
Thien Nhan, member of Politburo and the president of the Vietnam Fatherland
Front, presented the Second Independence Medal to
The medal was
awarded on behalf of President Truong Tan Sang.
“The hospital
initially opened with 450 beds,” said Professor Nguyen Duc Cong, director of
The hospital has
received a steady increase of patients every year with faster treatment.
Most of patients in
Nhan recalled the
hospital before and after Independence Day especially the “Labor Hero Unit in
the Renovation Period” in 2005, hoping for the hospital to grasp modern and
advanced techniques to become beloved medical clinic for seniors in the
country.
Thriving
businesswoman starts from scratch
Pham Thi Kim Huong,
33, CEO of Industrial Sanitation &Service Co.Ltd is a successful woman of
the first generation to benefit fully since 1986.
Huong currently has
400 clients with 70 percent market shares and provides work for 3,400
laborers. Her service & industrial sanitation businesses started eight
years ago with VND 11 million.
She initially
didn’t enter university because her father experienced a serious traffic
accident.
“In order to save
my father, we owed a huge sum of money from many relatives”, said Huong.
After the incident,
she entered Accounting and Finance College and graduated after two
years. She worked at various companies for a couple years and sent the
salary to her home to care for her father.
For additional
money, she worked at a cleaning service business and eventually quit her job
to start her own. She only had three employees starting out cleaning banks.
She eventually acquired additional contracts and her business grew into the
mecca it is today.
She continues to
study at HCMC Economic University of Business Management Department.
“It is not hard to
run a large company. The hardest part is how to develop in the competition
environment and to have good employees for long contract”, Huong said.
Her slogan is to be
a compassionate businesswoman. Her employees stay with her for a long time
even though they are able to earn more money with other employers. She
cleaned bathrooms with her employees when starting out.
“My mother’s life
is very difficult, she works many jobs to feed six children. She doesn’t
refuse any jobs to earn money. I learned from my mother’s life therefore I
always share the difficulties to my employees,” said Huong.
Da Nang
starts building of e-commerce development center
The Ministry of
Industry and Trade hosted a ceremony breaking ground for construction of the
e-commerce development center in Da Nang City on March 21.
The budget for the
project is VND 340 billion (US$ 16.13 million) covering 4,969 square meters
in Cach Mang Thang Tam Street, Hoa Cuong Nam Ward, Hai Chau District.
The center will
comprise a 20-25 office buildings with high-tech equipment to develop
e-commerce.
The center will be
a link among businesses after completion of construction in March next year.
They will build websites, create software, and train for a human resources
department for e-commerce.
Export
policy increases debt for labourers
Hundreds of young
people in the mountainous areas of Quang Nam Province have taken out bank
loans for work broad only to return in debts for not meeting requirements.
After the husband
of Jo Dech Crich in Proning Village, Tay Giang District died, their family's
financial situation became untenable, as she has to take care of five
children. One of her sons, Clau Hor, decided to join the labour export
programme but returned just one year after arriving at Malaysia. His family
then incurred debts of VND23 million.
Depressed after the
disappointment, he killed himself three months later. "I don't know why
he returned from Malaysia and now I don't know how I will pay such huge
debts," his mother said.
Dinh Van Chenh,
from Son Tay District also returned from Malaysia after just one year.
According to Chenh, the actual work that was promised never materialized. He
had troubles communicating, was made to do heavy labour and earned a small
salary. He said, "The wage was different from what was promised. When
the company went bankrupt, I had to borrow money from other workers. They let
me go because they didn't have any more jobs. Now I'm trying to pay back the
bank."
In 2009, the Prime
Minister gave approval to a labour export project, which sent people from
poor villages to work overseas. It was hoped that the project would reduce
poverty in those locations. Because most of the people in remote areas were
not familiar with foreign languages and were relatively unskilled, they were
provided with 12 months of study.
However, the
reality of learning the necessary skills was not taken into account. Jo Dot
Bun, from Tay Giang District said, "When I signed the contract, it
said I would have to study a foreign language for at least three months. But
I only studied for one week before the company hired me and sent me to
Malaysia."
The director of the
Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Quang Ngai Province
admitted to some shortcomings in the programme. Most of the workers are
considered unskilled, he said. He explained that this is the reason many are
sent back to Vietnam.
But Abing Poi did
not understand why he was sent back. He said, "I only took Sundays off
and they still fired me. Someone called and told me that they would pick me
up in Hanoi. Nobdy picked me up. It made me feel bad."
Giang Tay District
has 115 exported labourers with 39 having come back while 25 out of 100
labourers to Malaysia have been sent back to Son Tay District. Many of these
workers have sunk into deeper depression poverty. The Vietnam Bank for Social
Policies in Quang Nam Province said their amount of bad debt has reached VND2
billion.
Le Hung Lam, the
deputy head of the bank, said, "The cost to send a labourers abroad is
high so with so little wages in return. The labourers have to account
for the expenses very carefully."
National action
plan for green growth
PM Nguyen Tan Dung
has approved the National Action Plan for Green Growth for the 2014-2020.
The plan focuses on
four areas: Institutional building and local-level green growth plan,
reduction of greenhouse gas emission and promotion of clean and recycled
energies, green production, and green lifestyle and sustainable consumption.
Green growth will
be integrated into sectoral and local socio-economic development planning
schemes and plans. Small and medium-size enterprises will be assisted in
improving production and management capacity to save energy.
Resources for the
realization of the plan will come from the State, businesses, domestic and
international communities.
A Green Growth
Coordination Sub-Committee under the National Committee for Climate Change is
responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Planning and Investment,
Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to
allocate the resources and supervise the implementation of the Green Growth
Strategy as well as the National Action Plan for Green Growth.
National
Steering Committee on anti-trade frauds formed
The PM has approved
of the establishment of the National Steering Committee for Anti-Smuggling,
Trade Frauds and Counterfeit Goods.
Deputy PM Nguyen
Xuan Phuc was appointed as head of the committee.
Vice heads included
the Minister of Industry and Trade, a Deputy Minister of National Defense and
a Deputy Minister of Public Security.
The new body is in
charge of crafting strategies and plans to combat smuggling, trade frauds and
counterfeit goods and overseeing relevant ministries and agencies'
performance in the task.
It is also
responsible for directing the coordination among agencies and forces to
timely expose, fight, prevent and handle infringements on the field.
It can send
interdisciplinary delegations to investigate into large-scale cases in key
hotspots.
Source: VNA/VNS/SGGP/VOV/Dantri/ND
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Thứ Hai, 24 tháng 3, 2014
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