Social
News Headlines 21/6
Soc Son gamblers jailed
Nguyen Ba Tan, a professional gambler, was yesterday sentenced
to a combined 54 months' imprisonment for gambling and organising gambling by
the People's Court of Ha Noi.
The court brought 57 defendants to trial for their alleged
involvement in the biggest gambling case in the northern region in many years.
They were found guilty of gambling offences after the Court
heard that at 1pm on March 14, police in Ha Noi's outlying district of Soc Son
uncovered a large-scale gambling den in Tan Dan commune, arrested 68 people and
seized more than VND600 million (US$28,570).
In addition, 26 handbags containing more than VND500 million
($23,809) were also taken. A gun and ammunition were also reportedly found. The
investigation discovered that the gamblers had been meeting from mid-February
last year.
The regular event was allegedly organised by Nguyen Van Tu, Le
Xuan Huong, Dang Ba Hoa and Nguyen Ba Tan.
The police also searched the house of Tu, who was said to be the
mastermind, and seized VND1.3 billion ($61,900), US$7,000, a gun with five
bullets and 20 machetes.
Hoa received 24 months jail for helping organise gambling. The
police are still hunting Tu and Huong.
Probationary sentences have been handed down to 22 of the
defendants, while the remainder will serve prison terms of 15 to 30 months.
Ministry asks for report on unusual newborn death
The health ministry has requested the health department of the
central province
of Thua Thien-Hue
An article covered by Dan Tri (People's Knowledge) newspaper
last Sunday reported that a newborn delivered by a 23-year-old mother in Thuan
An town of Phu Vang
According to the article, the mother gave birth to the baby at
the Hue Transport
Hospital on June 11, before they were
moved to the Hue General
Hospital
After being administered emergency aid, the baby showed signs of
recovery; however, she died three days later on June 14.
Human trafficker jailed for 10 years
Tran Thi Sa Phay, 31, of Lai Hoa Commune, Vinh
Chau Town
from southern Soc Trang province, was yesterday sentenced to 10 years'
imprisonment for trafficking Vietnamese women into China
The provincial People's Court also confiscated VND217 million
(nearly US$10,200) from Phay, which was the money she illegally earned through
human trafficking, and added it to the national budget.
For each woman sent to China
Phay has helped Zhisheng by sending 10 Vietnamese women to China
Zhisheng, who allegedly began trafficking humans before meeting
Phay, has not been captured and is being hunted by the police.
The labs, which include a high-performing computing laboratory
and human-machine interface laboratory, are funded with VND29 billion ($1.4
million) from the State budget and the university's corresponding capital.
One of the university's laboratories, a radio frequency lab, is
expected to be used for civil and military defense applications and for testing
services for microwave and radio frequency equipment.
One dead after eating black bugs
A man died and twenty others are being treated at hospitals in
the northern province
The victims ate the black bugs caught in rice fields last week.
All of the patients noted pain between the neck and back area and had
difficulty moving.
The patients were later hospitalised with the man dying two days
later.
The case is under investigation.
Ethnic minority students to get scholarships
The Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund of the HCM Communist Youth Union
signed agreements yesterday with schools and enterprises to assist poor and
ethnic minority students nationwide.
Projects that have been carried out in the last 15 years by the
fund include Uom Mam Tuong Lai (Future Incubator), Chap Canh Uoc Mo (Chasing
Dreams), Mo Duong Den Tuong Lai (Opening Ways to Future) and Thap Sang Tuong
Lai (Lighting the Future).
Nearly 50,000 scholarships have been provided to outstanding
students, and two primary schools have been built on Khanh Hoa Province
Ministry gives reasons of broken water pipeline
Substandard pipelines and construction, along with construction
work on the Thang Long Boulevard are the three main reasons for the broken
water pipeline between Da River and Ha Noi.
This was the official conclusion of the Ministry of Construction
(MOC) after checks, tests and analysis carried out by them.
The pipe broke on Tuesday, leaving around 70,000 households in
the capital's Ha Dong, Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai, Tu Liem, Dong Da and Cau Giay
districts without clean water.
This is the seventh time the pipeline has broken since it began
operations in 1997.
The main reason for the broken pipe was its poor quality,
according to the MOC. Some parts of the pipe system came off and the officials
did not adhere to some mechanical norms, leading to the decrease of the pipe's
pressure resistance.
Construction work on the pipe system also did not follow
technological requirements and standards. Moreover, the Thang Long Boulevard's construction
after the pipe system was already completed and the weight of vehicles passing
the boulevard were the indirect reasons for the breakage.
The MOC asked the Vinaconex Clean Water JSC, which was the
investor of the pipe system, to check the overall system's pressure and output
to discover unusual problems and maintain the stable pressure in the system.
The company should set up measures quickly in case of any
problems to prevent loss of clean water and ensure the system protects the
corridor.
The company should complete the necessary procedure to install a
clean water pipeline in the second period to meet the demand of users and for
the development of the city.
Analysing the responsibility of relevant bodies, the MOC said
that the design agency lacked experience in choosing the pipeline and did not
reveal the necessary technological norms during the construction.
The pipeline manufacturer did not choose the right process and
did not conduct tests to prove the pipeline's durability.
The construction agency must take the responsibility for leaving
freestone and concrete in the sand that covered the pipeline.
The construction supervising agency did not undertake close
checks and inspections leading to shortcomings in the construction process.
The project management committee must take the responsibility
for poor quality management.
Immunisation programme to get three more vaccines
Three more vaccines could be added to the National Expanded
Programme for Immunisation (EPI), increasing the number to 14, according to
Nguyen Tran Hien, its head.
The Ministry of Health is considering the addition, which
includes shots against pneumococcus, diarrhoea caused by rotavirus, and
cervical cancer.
But Hien revealed that the approval would come soon because
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) has pledged to provide the
three vaccines for free initially.
He hoped that the ministry would give its approval soon since Viet Nam
The vaccines are very expensive, with the HPV vaccine against
cervical cancer alone costs nearly 80$ per shot.
The three diseases send a large number of children to hospital
in the country.
Hien also said that the combined rubella and measles vaccine
would be provided free to 23 million children aged between one year and 14 in
September to prevent their transmission from children to caregivers, reduce
their incidence in the community, and gradually eliminate them.
The EPI, carried out since 1985, managed to eliminate smallpox
in the 1970s, polio in 2000, and tetanus in 2005.
The incidence of diphtheria has fallen 167 times and that of
pertussis, 428 times.
The programme covers every commune and ward in the country.
There are now nearly 30 infectious diseases globally that are
preventable with vaccines.
WHO estimates that two or three million more children will be
saved if all the vaccines are given to more than 90 per cent of children,
enabling the achievement of one of the UN's millennium development goals of
reducing two thirds of fatalities among children under five by 2015.
Long An tops nation's new childcare index
The southern province
of Long
This was announced at a meeting in Ha Noi yesterday.
Known as the Provincial Child Rights Index (PCRI), the scheme was
set up by the Child Care and Protection Department in co-ordination with the
Centre for Sustainable Development Policy Studies (CSDP).
Nguyen Hai Huu, director of the Child Care and Protection
Department, said that the index aimed at supplying domestic and international
organisations and the public with detailed information about the implementation
of child rights in all provinces and cities in the country.
"Then we can build a safe, friendly and healthy living
environment for the children and reduce the differences in children's living
condition in various areas," said Huu.
The index is aimed at encouraging provinces and cities to pay
more attention to protecting children's rights, he said.
The PCRI assessed provinces and cities on five norms -
investment in child care and protection work; children's health; protection
against being abused, violence and accidents; the rate of children joining
social activities, and the numbers that go to school.
Vu Ngoc Anh, director of the CSDP, said that the index had some
limitations as the norms did not represent all factors related to child care
and protection.
A research team will continue to improve the index, for
instance, by supplementing the index with the rate of children able to access
clean water and standard toilets, the rate of those who join forums and clubs,
he said.
Violations rampant in fertiliser trade
More violations of regulations governing the fertiliser industry
were being detected among individuals and businesses, badly affecting
agricultural production, said the general secretary of the Viet Nam Fertiliser
Association, Nguyen Hac Thuy, yesterday in Ha Noi.
Speaking at a conference on fertiliser management and a
sustainable agriculture development strategy, Thuy said relevant authorities
had failed to tackle fake and sub-standard fertilisers.
In 2008, 100 cases of low quality fertiliser were detected in 31
provinces and cities nationwide. In 2013, that figure reached over 1,300.
Many "producers" used soil and ground up bricks and
stones to make fertiliser, Thuy said.
"The management and control of fertiliser production has
not been good enough," said Nguyen Duy Luong, vice chairman of the Viet
Nam Farmers Association.
Luong suggested tightening the management of fertiliser
production and enforcing strict punishments for violations of regulations.
Cao Hoai Duong, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Fertiliser
Association, said that appropriate punishment for those who broke the law was
the best deterrent.
Duong also said that training farmers how to identify quality
fertilisers was very important.
Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung
Hai applauded the contribution that fertiliser production had made to the
country's agricultural development.
He asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development to issue guidance for farmers on organic and
inorganic fertilisers.
He also asked the Ministry of Public Security and Market Watch
forces as well as inspectors from local departments of Agriculture and Rural
Development to keep an eye on the situation.
Island healthcare needs more funds
The National Steering Committee for Sea and Island Healthcare
has proposed the Government allocate more funding to invest in health sector
infrastructure and equipment for 11 island-based hospitals.
The committee requested priority to be given to investing in sea
and land-based emergency vehicles to transport patients to mainland hospitals.
Health centres along coastal communes would also be upgraded to
meet the national criteria, the report said.
Head of the committee and Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim
Tien said the project to improve healthcare services on the islands comprised
of two phases.
In the first phase of 2013-15, the Health Ministry and the
Ministry of National Defence would complete surveys on healthcare facilities,
doctors, health staff and the health demands of people in remote areas only
reachable by sea.
The ministry was preparing for emergency cases that would
require sea transport and administering first aid when needed, she said.
The second phase would last between 2016 and 2020.
Nguyen Nam Lien, deputy head of the ministry's Department of
Planning and Finance said the training of health staff at the nation's islands
had been much improved.
As many as 60 doctors have been trained in maritime medicine,
while 100 divers have been trained in safe diving in the North East sea area.
Thousands of fishermen have also been trained in administering first aid.
More than 1,640 patients have received timely first aid, 32,070
others have been given treatment and 758 have received surgery. Five
helicopters have also been mobilised to transport patients to mainland
hospitals.
Lien said many health facilities located in coastal communes
were inadequately equipped and not meeting national standards. The healthcare
services were not operating effectively, especially during the stormy seasons.
The committee has also asked the Government to develop a policy
to give allowances to health staff at islands and supply enough drugs to ships
to deliver first aid.
Awards honour effective work by VN NGOs
Phung Ba Loc, a resident of Huong Tra District in the central
city of Hue
He was given 50 chickens and training from the organisation's
staff on how to raise them.
"My condition does not allow me to do manual labour, but
with this support I can still earn a living," Loc said.
The Hearts for Hue Fund is running a number of projects,
including providing loans to poor families, educational support for poor
students, vocational support for people with disabilities and Agent Orange
victims, and healthcare for poor children in the city.
"We always carry out surveys to find out what local
residents need before we start a project and commit funds," said Nguyen
Trong Khanh, head of the Hearts for Hue Fund.
The fund's approach and effective, transparent practice has
earned it the honour of being chosen as one of the 12 most outstanding
Vietnamese NGOs in the final round of the Viet Nam NGO Awards 2014, organised
by the Research Centre for Management and Sustainable Development (MSD) and
Resource Alliance.
The awards, which are the first of their kind, are to honour
local NGOs for their efforts to practice good accountability, transparency and
resource mobilisation.
"In Viet
Nam
"In this context, transparent and mutual accountability are
crucial tools for building strong and sustainable organisations and effective
development," she said.
The awards were not only a competition among NGOs, they were
also a process in which NGOs were judged on their competency, operations and
sustainable development. The idea was to inspire NGOs and multi-stakeholders to
promote and practice transparency and mutual accountability, Linh added.
The awards process took eight months, during which time MSD
provided training for NGO candidates on transparency and accountability. The
NGOs then submitted their documents which were evaluated by independent
assessors.
These assessors evaluated the NGOs performance and also acted as
consultants for the organisations to improve their operational quality.
"Practicing transparency and accountability is the
responsibility of all social organisations, and it's also the most important
principle of out organization," said Khanh from the Hearts for Hue Fund.
"I think the awards can play a crucial role in promoting
transparency and accountability among Vietnamese NGOs," he said.
Pham Kieu Oanh, founder and CEO of the Centre for Social Initiatives
Promotion (CSIP), one of the 12 finalists, shared Khanh's opinion.
"Our principle is that we have to explain each penny of our
donors' money that we spend, and how that money can make a change or profit to
the community. In all of our projects, we always ask our contractors to do the
same," Oanh said.
"This culture should be maintained and developed among all
social organisations," she added.
Forty-two Vietnamese NGOs submitted their applications for the
awards, and the sponsors of the competition said they highly appreciated the
idea.
"The awards recognise the effort and achievement of
organisations and showcase them as good practices of transparency,
accountability and resource mobilisation. I hope this will radiate widely for
the development of civil society in Viet Nam
Ashvin Dayal from the Rockefeller Foundation, another award's
sponsors, said he saw the success of the award in its organisation process.
"The organisers have also invited experienced and reputable
people and experts in the field to be members of the assessment panel. The
evaluation process was very transparent and accountable. I think that is the
success," he said.
The Viet Nam NGO Awards 2014 Ceremony will take place on June
20, 2014 in Ha Noi. It will reward the best three organisations in each
catagory, and besides the publicity, they will receive VND 100 million
(US$4,700) each. These organization will also be eligible to particpate in the
Global Awards – an international competition for NGOs organised by Resource
Alliance.
Gia Lai leads Central Highland in modernising rural areas
The Central Highlands province
of Gia Lai
There are now five communes meeting all 19 criteria, including
building infrastructure, improving production capacity, protecting the
landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and culture
identities.
Three communes have satisfied 15-18 criteria, while 32 others
reached 10-14. Local authorities are striving to have 25 communes fulfilling
all criteria by the end of this year.
To realise this goal, the province has encouraged residents to
donate land for building and upgrading roads, schools, and irrigation
facilities.
It has also zoned off areas for growing key crops such as
rubber, coffee, pepper and sugar cane, while paying special attention to animal
husbandry.
With a total investment of nearly 5 trillion VND (238 million
USD), the three-year national target programme on building new-style rural
areas has brought a new face lift for the Central Highlands province, with
better healthcare, education and security.
The rate of poor households has slid to 16.9 percent from 23.7
percent in 2011. Many communes such as Dien Phu and An Phu of Pleiku city have
no people living under the poverty line.
With a total area of more than 15,500 square kilometres, Gia Lai
is home to over 1.2 million people (based on 2009 statistics), including 34
ethnic groups such as Bahnar, Xo Dang, Thai and Muong.
Noi Bai airport intensifies customs checks
Customs officials at Noi
Bai International
Airport are boosting their inspections
of passengers, luggage and cargo from all flights arriving at the airport,
especially those from South America , during
the 2014 World Cup.
The move aims to fight against those who plan to take advantage
of the large volume of passengers through the airport during the football event
to slip cocaine into Vietnam
Vice Head of the customs office there, Nguyen Van Chien, said on
June 19 that experienced staff have been sent to the site to heighten the
effectiveness of the work. He added all information about passengers and goods
on flights touching down the airport from South America
must be scrutinised.
Over the recent past, the office has detected and addressed many
cases of drug trafficking from South America .
Notably, local customs officers seized 3.6 kg of cocaine carried by Philippine
passenger Camacho Silo Emmanul on a plane from Sao Paulo ,
Brazil , which transited via Singapore
Since the beginning of this year, the airport’s customs force
has handled 16 smuggling cases.
Robot programming contest launched
A robot programming contest was launched on June 18 in Hanoi
The first robot programming contest was held in 2013 with the
participation of 9 teams at FPT University in Hoa Lac High Tech Park in Hanoi
This year, each team will include 3-5 students. Registration is
no later than June 30.
This year's prizes include the first worth VND 15 million (US$
707.5), the second worth VND10 million (US$ 471.6) and the third worth VND 5
million (US$ 235).
Students who participate in developing products in SMAC
Challenge will have the opportunity to work and cooperate with FPT Technology
Committee right after the contest.
Methadone therapy programme proves successful
The proportion of drug addicts nationwide to join a two-year
methadone treatment programme is 93 percent, with nearly 16 percent of them
continuing to use drugs, albeit at a lower frequency, according to the Ministry
of Health.
The percentage of patients who are at high risk of depression
slid to 15 percent from 80 percent after one year of treatment. Many have
gained weight and seen their physical and mental health stabilise. Only one
case of HIV was reported out of the 1,000 patients surveyed, a health ministry
survey showed.
Meanwhile, the rate of legal violators has dropped to 1.3
percent from 40.8 percent.
This sort of therapy has also proved economical, according to
the preliminary survey in 11 provinces and cities. It showed that a person with
a heroin dependence wastes 230,000 VND (10.8 USD) per day for buying drugs
(around 84 million VND or 4,000 USD per year). In comparison, the cost for
methadone treatment ranges between 6 and 8 million VND.
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said the ministry is
striving for a wider applications of this method to treat around 80,000 drug
addicts nationwide by 2015.
Additionally, it will call for the Government and sponsors’
financial support to ensure sufficient medicine for 30,000 patients in the near
future, Long said.
Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has long been carried out
in more than 80 countries and territories, benefiting over 1 million drug
users.
This programme was initially piloted in Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City
Overseas Vietnamese in Germany
The Overseas Vietnamese (OV) in Germany
highly appreciated the Vietnam Coast Guard for their courage and spirit of
embracing every hardship to fight against China ’s
wrongful actions in Vietnam
This remark was made by Nguyen Van Thanh, member of the OV
Association in Leipzig, Germany at an event held in Hanoi on June 19 to present
the force with VND 310 million (US$14,570).
He also handed over EUR 1,000 to the guard as gift from the OV
Association in Bittefeld , Germany
The OV community in Germany
has organised meetings in front of the Chinese Embassy in Berlin
twice to protest against China ’s
illegal placement of its oil rig, Haiyang Shiyou 981 within Vietnam
The OV will continue providing support to fishermen and on duty
law enforcement forces, he affirmed.
Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Commander of the Vietnam Coast
Guard expressed his thank to the OV community in the two cities, saying that
the good deeds, together with recent nationwide support for the forces, fuelled
the guard’s determination to protect the country’s sea and islands.
On the same day, the force received VND350 million (US$16,450)
from the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) under Vietnam
Electricity.EVNPT also presented US$16,450 to the Fisheries Surveillance
Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vietnamese in Japan ,
Laos ask China
Vietnamese communities in Japan
and Laos have demonstrated
their sense of solidarity with compatriots at home in protests against China , which illegally towed its oil rig Haiyang
Shiyou-981 into Vietnam
Around 200 Vietnamese and Japanese citizens in red shirts
marched from Jygyo Park to the Chinese Consulate in Fukuoka
prefecture, waving banners and posters to demand China
pull the rig out of Vietnam
They made representations in both English and Japanese to the
Chinese Consulate General, saying that the rig’s operation ran counter to
international law and practices, and seriously violated Vietnam
They asked China
to stop its illegal acts by withdrawing the rig and escort ships
unconditionally, and respect maritime freedom in the East Sea
On June 17, the Vietnamese Association in the northern Lao province of Udomsay
Phi Van Mai, Chairman of the association, said Vietnamese
residents stand ready to do their part to safeguard Vietnam
Despite Vietnam’s protests since early May, China has expanded
its scale of operation and moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds
north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, still 60
nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic
zone.
As of June 17, China
Worse still, Chinese fishing ships escorted by a coast guard
vessel formed a line to block and disturb Vietnamese fishing boats which were
catching fish as usual, at about 30 nautical miles from the rig.
These countries include China ,
Bangladesh , India , Indonesia ,
the Philippines and Vietnam , a group of scientists at the Free
University of Brussels, the Kenya-based International Livestock Research
Institute, Oxford University , and the Chinese Center
Areas at the highest risk of the H7N9 epidemic are those located
in China ’s eastern and
southeastern coastal localities, the Bengal region – including Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal –
the upstream area of the Hong (Red) and Mekong
Rivers in Vietnam ,
and many remote and isolated places in Indonesia
and the Philippines
H7N9 is the second bird virus alongside H5N1 to have emerged in
recent years through live markets, where traders and shoppers come in close
contact with infected chickens and ducks, according to AFP.
Regarding the possible spread of the H7N9 virus from China to Vietnam ,
Tran Dac Phu, head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health’s Preventive Health
Department, has said, “The epidemic can penetrate into Vietnam
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no
evidence that the H7N9 virus is being transmitted from human to human.
From the beginning of this year, more than 120 people in China
In April alone, five H7N9 patients died in Guangdong Province
Compared to H5N1, the H7N9 strain is difficult to be detected,
researchers said, explaining that poultry infected with H5N1 usually show
symptoms of the avian flu while those contracting H7N9 usually do not indicate
any signs of the disease.
Therefore, the H7N9 virus is hard to be controlled, as seen in
southern and central China
There has been evidence showing that the main source of pathogen
is live poultry markets and small farms in areas where livestock can often
contact wild birds, they said.
Many Vietnamese health experts have also warned about the danger
of the H7N9 virus.
Compared to H5N1, H7N9 causes pneumonia to develop more rapidly
and induces a higher fatality rate among patients, up to 70-80 percent, Dr.
Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central
Tropical Diseases
Hospital
Similar to H5N1, the H7N9 virus first attacks one lung and then
the other, thereby causing breathing problems. It seems that the heart and
kidneys are less vulnerable to the new strain, but patients have signs of more
muscle loss, Dr. Kinh said.
As there is no known vaccine against the H7N9 strain, the main
precautions are maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands thoroughly with
soap, and using nose and throat solutions, the Health Ministry advised.
Fewer job openings in financial services
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Anh of Dong Nai Province
One bank said she unqualified and had no experience, and the
other four never responded.
Through her relatives, Anh heard about an opening for a public
relations professional at a provincial hospital, for which she interviewed and
was later hired.
A report from the Institute
of Manpower
This year, 40 per cent of new graduates are expected to get a
job unrelated to their major or will remain unemployed.
Tran Anh Tuan, head of HCM City
Tuan said there had been fierce competition among new graduates
for jobs, especially people from the provinces who have moved to big cities to
look for work.
The banking field is among the top five with the highest number
of people who have been laid off, amounting to nearly 36 per cent of its
workforce since last year.
The need for workers in the field for the first six months of
the year fell by 18.16 per cent, Tuan said.
Finance, economic and banking will continue to see a drop in
recruitment for the rest of the year.
The city will need 150,000 employees for the remaining six
months, but most of these positions will be in sales, services, electronics-IT,
textiles, tourism-hospitality, engineering, construction and communication.
Employment in accounting and auditing has also seen a downward
trend.
The need for human resources in these two fields will account
for only 6 per cent of the city's total human resources recruitment over the
next three years.
Despite the falling numbers, more than 25 per cent of 13,930
surveyed high school students have chosen economy and finance, following the
first choice, engineering technology.
The Academy of Finance has received 4,700 applications for this
enrollment season, and the Banking
Academy
Although universities and colleges have been warned about
over-enrollment, they have continued to increase their enrollment quotas for
these fields, Tuan said.
Hospitalsin need of sewage systems
Reportsfrom local health authorities showed that only about 54
per cent of thehospitals were equipped with wastewater treatment systems, the
Ministry ofHealth has said.
Speakingat a meeting on environmental protection in healthcare
services on Wednesday,Associate Professor Nguyen Huy Nga, director of the
Health EnvironmentManagement Agency, said among hospitals equipped with
wastewater treatmentsystems, the central hospitals accounted for 73 per cent of
the total,provincial hospitals for 60 per cent and district hospitals for 45
per cent.
Currently,95 per cent of the hospitals nationwide collected and
classified hazardoussolid waste every day.
Accordingto the agency, the management of wastewater in
hospitals and health clinicsremained difficult.
Manyhospitals and health clinics are facing a shortage of funds
to build newwastewater treatment systems. Many wastewater treatment systems at
hospitalswere downgraded and needed to be upgraded or rebuilt.
Thecost of a treatment system was between VND200 million
(US$9,520) and VND80billion ($3.8 million), depending on the volume of
wastewater of hospitals andhealth clinics.
Ashortage of qualified staff for medical waste management was
another problem,it said.
ColonelTran Trong Binh, deputy chief of the Ministry of Public
Security's Departmentof Environment Crime Prevention Police Department, said
the violations of theenvironmental protection law in the healthcare services
were complex,especially violations of medical wastewater and hazardous solid
wastes.
Thedepartment, together with the inspectors of the Ministry of
Natural Resourcesand Environment, has discovered more than 60 cases of
violations of hospitalsnationwide.
Ofwhich, some were serious. For example, in August 2007, the
inspectors foundthat Bach Mai Hospital , Viet Nam -Germany
Hospital and Cancer
Hospital
Anothergeneral health clinic in southern Ha Noi was found to
have thrown foetusesafter abortions and placenta into its gas hole. The clinic
was fined VND223million ($10,620) for its violation.
DangVan Loi, deputy chief of the Department of Pollution
Control, suggested thatconcerned authorities should cooperate to implement
regular inspections ofhospitals and health clinics.
TheMinistry of Natural Resources and Environment should work
with the Ministry ofHealth to organise training courses on environmental
protection for healthstaff, especially those at district hospitals, to minimise
the activities thatpollute the environment.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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