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Social
News 15/10
Family
farms key to sustainability
Sustainable family
farming could help solve hunger and food production problems in Viet Nam, UN
food security officials said during a celebration yesterday of the 34th World
Food Day in the northern province of Quang Ninh's Hong Phong Commune.
The commune, where
many households farm together and women play an important role, embodied this
year's theme: Family Farming: Feeding the World, Caring for the Earth. The
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Food and Agriculture
Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and UN Women in
Deputy Minister Le
Quoc Doanh said at the event that to successfully carry out a restructuring
programme in the agricultural sector, family farming needed to play a bigger
role in providing food security and nutrition.
He also defined
family farming as the smallest production unit in agriculture, which is
better equipped to suit specific local conditions and include female farmers
than a bigger producer.
Female farmers have
contributed significantly to the country's food security, and have worked
hard to adapt farming techniques to better handle climate change in
In
As
Many family
farmers, especially subsistence producers, are among the 70 per cent of rural
residents worldwide who lack food security.
To further
celebrate World Food Day, the winners of the National Story Competition on
the role of women in family farming received their awards. The commune also
hosted local art performances, a cooking competition and an introduction of
specialty rice varieties in the commune.
Endangered
pythons released into the wild
Two rescued Burmese
pythons (Python molurus) have been released in the Dong Nai Culture and
Nature Reserve, according to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in
They had been
handed over by the Binh Duong Forest Protection Division in August and were
cared for at the station before being released.
The giant creatures
are categorised as critically endangered in the Viet Nam Red Book.
In the last three
months more than 1,400 individuals from 23 endangered species have been
rescued by the station. They include moon bears, yellow-cheek crested
gibbons, leopard cats, Asian small-clawed otters, pangolins, small Indian
civets, grey-shanked douc langurs, oriental pied hornbills, redbreasted
parakeets, common mynas, and red collared doves.
Fire kills
one in
Flames engulfed a
two-storey house in
The fire was said to
have begun around 8am. It took local firefighters just 40 minutes to
extinguish the last of the flames, but it was long enough to take a life and
destroy the entire contents of the two-storey house.
The cause of the
fire is unknown. The case remains under investigation.
Fishing
boat found carrying explosives
Border guards of
the southern
The boat captain,
Tran Van Dung from Nghe An province, said the explosives, including 14.3kg of
TNT, were intended for fishing in the southern
The case remains
under investigation pending test results of the explosives.
Search
continues for missing crew
Search and rescue
operations are being carried out to find six Vietnamese sailors who went
missing last Sunday, the Viet Nam News Agency reported yesterday.
Shipmates of the
sailors, aged between 18 and 23, saw them jump off the Taiwanese ship they
were working on, 18km off
The body of one man
was found near the coast of the
The Japanese Coast
Guard also discovered three lifebuoys near the city of
The incident is
being investigated by authorities.
In another story,
the body of Nguyen Van Thuong, captain of fishing boat QNg 94301 TS, was
retrieved yesterday, according to the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Border Defense Force.
His body has been
brought back to
Thuong's boat was
hit by
The impact resulted
in eight Vietnamese sailors falling into the sea.
Captain Thuong went
missing, but the other seven managed to swim to the barge and were rescued.
New rule
reduces child patient overload
Patient admissions
at
As part of a
broader regulation on patient transfers, the ministry has allowed city-level
hospitals to send seriously ill patients back to their provincial hospitals
following emergency treatment in the city.
"Treatment at
local hospitals helps patients' relatives reduce costs such as accommodations
and travel. Also, each child often has two or three relatives who can take
care of them during their hospital stay," said Dr Nguyen Minh Tien, head
of the intensive care unit at
Patients who have
chronic disorders or more serious illnesses are often transferred by local
hospitals to city-level hospitals in emergency cases. In addition, many
families in provinces continue to have more trust in treatments at city-level
hospitals.
Prior to the
ministry's regulation, if patients' families travelled to the city for
treatment, the hospital could not turn them down if they wanted repeated
treatments.
But under the new
rule, genuine emergency cases sent from local hospitals are treated first at
city-level hospitals and then transferred back to their hometown if further
treatment can be done there.
Because of patient
overloading, the Paediatrics Hospital No 1 sometimes does not have an
available breathing machine for emergency cases, according to Tien.
The intensive care
unit often treats patients with spinal muscular atrophy, encephalitis or
those with brain damage caused by complications from hand, foot and mouth
disease. These patients need to use respiratory equipment on a regular basis.
"The intensive
care unit doctors had to wait 12 hours one time to have a machine for a
patient with severe dengue fever. Luckily, he was OK," he said.
Patients who only
needed breathing machines should be transferred back to their provincial
hospitals because they had the machines as well, Tien said, adding that the
skills of doctors at provincial hospitals had improved in recent years.
Dr Tang Chi Thuong,
deputy head of the city's Department of Health, said the ministry regulation
had created a legal basis for city-level hospitals to transfer patients to
local hospitals for permanent treatment.
"Provincial
and city hospitals and patients have benefited from this," Thuong said.
For example, a
two-year-old boy who suffered from a rare congenital cardiovascular disorder
had to have surgery and then use a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
machine at Paediatrics Hospital No 1.
After treatment,
the hospital doctors sent information on the boy's treatment regimen and
disease history to the Hospital for Obstetrics and Paediatrics in the Mekong
Delta
"He has now
recovered and no longer needs the breathing machine," said Dr Le Mong
Thuy of Ca Mau Hospital.
In addition,
doctors at the provincial hospitals speak with their city counterparts
regularly about patients' treatment.
In another case, a
six-year-old boy from the Mekong Delta Province of An Giang was transferred
to the local
"The boy is
better and uses a breathing machine one hour each night," said Duong
Thanh Long, deputy head of the An Giang Paediatrics Hospital, adding that
"his parents now trust his hospital's doctor."
Tien of HCM City's
Paediatrics Hospital No 1 said the boy would not have recovered as quickly if
he had remained in
As for other
transferrals, the
Dr Le Tan Ky Phi of
Thuong said that it
was important that city doctors explain the benefits of getting treatment in
their locality or province.
"The (local)
hospitals will also get more experience by doing this," Thuong said,
adding that it would enhance the provincial hospitals' reputations as well.
VN stores
destroyed in
A large fire broke
out at the Ba Coi market in
Andrey Rodygin from
Tatarstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations said the 1,000sq.m market was
rapidly engulfed in flames.
According to
initial reports, the property damage amounts to tens of millions of Russian
Rouble.
So far, no
casualties have been reported.
Russian officials
said an investigation would be conducted once the fire is contained.
12 held for
drug trafficking
The city police
praised the Division for Investigation of Drug-related Crimes in the northern
Hai Phong city yesterday for seizing more than 2kg of methamphetamine in two
consecutive drug busts.
On October 7, Pham
Thi T, 33, was caught in the act of selling 22.3gm of drugs to Nguyen Van H,
25, from the neighbouring
Further
investigations led to the arrest of nine other persons on the same day.
Police also seized more than 1kg of drugs, two digital weighing scales, a
motorbike and VND1.3 million (US$63) in cash.
A day later, Nguyen
Thi H from Quang Ninh was caught while she was illegally transporting 1.3kg
of methamphetamine. A digital weighing scale, two mobile phones and VND 271.5
million (US$13,000) in cash were seized from her possession.
The case is being
investigated further.
Students win ten medals at Int’l Science Olympiad
Vietnamese students
took home three silver and seven bronze medals at the 11th International
Mathematics and Science Olympiad (IMSO) held recently in
This was the first
time
The Vietnamese team
included 12 students from the Hanoi-based Giang Vo Secondary School.
According to the
Ministry of Education and Training, the participation in the contest would
help Vietnamese students get more experience in studying integrated sciences.
The 11th IMSO drew
representatives from 14 countries and territories.
World Food
Day marked in Quang Ninh
The 34th World Food
Day and FAO’s 69th founding anniversary were celebrated on October 14 in Dong
Trieu district, northern Quang Ninh province.
The event was
co-hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) the
Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee and the UN’s Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO).
This year’s World
Food Day themed “Family farming: feeding the world, caring for the earth” is
of great significance to Vietnam since the country’s 10 million farming
households with 30 million laborers, or 70% of the workforce, contributed
only 20% of the national GDP.
According to MARD
Deputy Le Quoc Doanh, the Government is carrying out an agriculture
restructuring programme to help farmers increase their incomes, with a major
focus on applying scientific-technological approaches and restructuring
production, including the provision of preferential loans and investments in
education and scientific research.
FAO Representative
in Vietnam Jong-Ha Bae said in
On the occasion,
the UN Women Country Representative in
Education
UK Day 2014 opens in Danang
Education UK Day
2014 was held by the British Council on October 14 in the central city of
Danang, offering the chance for parents and students to learn about study in
the
Training programmes
in
The alumni shared
with future UK-bound students their valuable experiences in building a
successful career, starting with the right choice of what to study from
undergraduate levels.
A number of
seminars were held to introduce to participants a world of study options in
the
EROPA 2014
to promote formation of ASEAN community
The 60th meeting and
conference of the Eastern Regional Organization for Public Administration
(EROPA) is to take place in
Deputy Minister of
Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan, head of the Steering Committee for EROPA
said the conference themed “Public Administration and Governance in the
Context of Regional and Global Integration” is of great significance given
the South East Asian region aims to build an ASEAN community of solidarity,
dynamism and prosperity by 2015.
He added EROPA
members are expected to discuss the demand for renovating research work and
implementing public administration and governance in the Asia-Pacific region.
EROPA is the first
organization in the Asia-Pacific region which has been formed with the aim of
developing a public administration and promoting socio-economic development
in the region. This is also a forum for policy makers to exchange information
and new initiatives towards an efficient and transparent public
administration.
EROPA now has 10
members at the state level and 50 members that are institutes, public
administration academies and universities, and 229 individual members.
New
Plans for a new
Now that the
initial agreement for the project has been approved, the Ministry of
Education and Training will work to coordinate relevant agenciesand proceed
with construction.
The new university,
principally funded by the Japanese Waseda Health Sciences Education
Corporation,upon completion will provide a four-year university programme in
many medical areas such as rehabilitation nursing, physical therapy,
orthotics and prosthetics.
Construction of the
university should be completed within a two year time frame and it is
expected to create good paying jobs for an academic staff of 80.
Kien Giang
provides shelter for low income households
The southern
The houses were
built at a total cost of VND205 billion (US$9.8 million), funded by the State
budget, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies. As many as 132 houses have not
yet been completed due to a shortage of loans.
72 communes and
three districts in the province met their targets for building houses for
disadvantaged households. Therefore, the majority of people living in remote
areas have a safe roof over their head, providing them the chance to focus on
improving their livelihoods.
A variety of
campaigns such as “Day for the Poor” and social security programmes have been
organised throughout the province to mobilise public support for building
houses for needy families and individuals. Kien Giang province plans to build
over 5,000 houses for the poor by 2019.
The province is
implementing six housing projects with a total investment of VND450 billion
(US$21.4 million), providing shelter for nearly 1,400 low income households.
Winners of
story competition on women revealed
The United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) announced
winners of a story competition to spotlight the important role that women
play in family farming in Vietnam, UN Women said on October 13.
The first prize
went to the article “Vo chong Ly A Sui” (Ly A Sui and his wife) by reporter
Tran Thi Minh at the Fansipan Magazine.
Journalist Pham Thi
Que Ha from Quang
Meanwhile, the
third winner was Le Quang Hoi, Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) newspaper’s
correspondent in Gia Lai province, with “Nu gia lang buoc qua loi nguyen”
(The matriarch who overcomes the curse).
Two consolidation
prizes belonged to a student at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social
Sciences and Humanities and a teacher at the
Launched in July
2014, the national competition on “The Role of Vietnamese Women in Family
Farming” was carried out by the UN Women and the UN Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO).
It was part of the
year-long UN campaign “Empowering Women – Empowering Humanity”.
Hand-foot-mouth disease spreads quickly in city
The number of
hand-foot-mouth cases has been on the rise since early this month though the incidence
of this infectious disease normally peaks in November, said Nguyen Tri Dung,
director of the HCMC Preventive Medicine Center.
In a recent review
meeting on the disease incidence in the city, statistics of the center showed
some 4,700 patients have been hospitalized over the past eight months, up 19%
year-on-year.
Hand-foot-mouth
cases shot up last week in District 6, Binh Chanh, Go Vap and Tan Binh
districts. According to hospitals in such districts, the number of patients
has doubled over the past six weeks.
Dung explained the
incidence of the disease had suddenly surged because the second peak season
of the disease is approaching. Parents have also grown more vigilant and
taken their children to hospital earlier since the media reported on the
death of an 8-month-old infected with the disease.
The number of
children infected or showing signs of illness is still high with 20 -30 kids
admitted to Children’s Hospital 2 a day. Meanwhile at Children’s Hospital 1,
the number is between 30 and 40 children coming for examination, diagnosis
and monitoring, including those from other provinces.
Truong Huu Khanh of
Children’s Hospital 1 said the disease occurs throughout the year, especially
at the beginning of school year.
According to
infection specialists, patients infected with this disease can recover within
one week by taking medicine and being monitored at home.
Symptoms include
fever, fatigue, loss of appetite and sore throat. Ulcers may appear in the
mouth, tongue and gums. There may be rash in the palm, sole of the foot,
buttock or genital.
Severe cases
developing complications may affect the nerves and respiratory system, and
cause death.
Apart from
hand-foot-mouth cases, dengue fever is on the rise in HCMC with five fatalities
reported since the beginning of this year. The number of hospitalized cases
in the last two weeks of September rose significantly though the eight-month
statistics were normal.
Dengue fever cases
in district 2, 8 and 7 more than doubled compared to average levels.
Healthcare
for pets
Since the days of
old, it has been widely agreed that appearance counts as much as the inner
health, as goes a Vietnamese saying that “the tooth and the hair are the
roots of human beings.” This is now also true to pet lovers, who consider the
tooth and the hair of their loveable animals as important as their health.
Formerly, pets,
especially dogs and cats, were taken to the veterinarian only when their
health got worse. Now, more and more people want to bring intensive care to
their furry friends. Many kinds of services dedicated to pet dogs are now
flourishing in HCMC due to the rising demand.
Currently, there
are over 100 hospitals, hotels, spa, fitness and pet care centers in HCMC for
animals with services from affordable to luxury ones. One can spend from tens
of thousands of dong to millions to cater for the health and beauty of their
pets.
Besides traditional
veterinary centers, medical facilities for pets are now equipped with modern
machines for treatment. These centers also provide beauty services such as
cosmetic surgery, tattoos, nail polish, skincare, bathing, fur brushing and
trimming, dental care and so on.
Ngo Quoc Hung,
chief doctor of veterinary medicine in
Pets suffering from
gum diseases, for instance, will have a fever, loss of appetite, affecting
digestion and respiration, Hung explains.
According to the
American Veterinary Dental Society, more than 80% of dogs and 70% of cats
show dental disease by the age of three, which may cause damaging
consequences to their health.
Some pets are
brought to hospital to have their teeth filed like rabbits or dogs.
Meanwhile, others come for common dental problems include tartar, decay and
skew teeth.
In general, pets
are recommended to have regular dental cleaning such as tartar removal and
polishing. Moreover, they can use supplement foods or fake bones to
strengthen their teeth, suggests doctor Lan Phuong from
Regarding serious
dental illnesses, pets will also need clinical diagnosis before surgery like
humans. Blood work, overall health check and radiograph, or x-ray, will be
required. Depending on the weight, age and gender of pets, doctors will
prescribe an appropriate amount of anesthetic and suitable surgical options.
Besides health, the
pet’s appearance is also a concern for owners. Skincare and grooming are two
basic steps in beauty care. After the pores are cleaned by machine to prevent
skin inflammation, the pet hair will be styled according catalogue or owners’
taste.
Most of doctors and
veterinary staff in
Ministry
gathers ideas for future poverty standards
The Ministry of
Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs collected ideas from organisations and
individuals for a set of multi-dimensional poverty standards that will be
applied from 2016 to 2020, said Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen.
Chuyen, speaking to
audience on the weekly Viet Nam Television programme " Citizens ask –
Ministers Answer" on Sunday, said the statistic used to define who is
poor – income – has become unsuitable for Viet Nam. She said she expected the
new poverty standards, based on multiple assessment criterion such as access
to health care and education, to better classify and support poor citizens.
Answering a
question about the differences between policies that support poor households
and near-poor households, Chuyen said there was little difference between the
two.
In rural areas,
people who made about VND400,000 (US$19) per month were listed as poor, while
people who made VND420,000 to 450,000 (US$19.5 to $21) were listed as near
poor.
The Government
would work on creating more policies to support both, she said. At last
month's Government meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered authorised
agencies to make reducing poverty in mountainous and remote areas a high
priority, Chuyen said.
A resident living
in central Nghe An Province asked the minister about his village, where there
were 40 poor households, about 40 percent of the population there. But only
12 households were listed as poor, because the commune set the quota for poor
households at 12 per cent.
Chuyen said the commune's
behaviour was contrary to State and Party policies. Regulations stated that
poor households could make up 30 to 40 per cent of a community.
She ordered
districts to check the communes' lists of poor residents to make sure they
were correct.
Can Tho
makes evacuation plans
More than 1,000
people living in areas prone to landslides would be evacuated from the Mekong
Delta city of
The city plans to
evacuate 1,500 more people from high-risk areas by 2020, and plans to
relocate all residents from landslide-prone areas by 2030.
Hundreds of areas
in the city are at risk from landslides at the moment, particularly along the
Tra Noc, Binh Thuy,
Deputy head of the
city's Natural Disaster Prevention and Control Department, Pham Van Quynh,
said landslides along rivers in the districts of Binh Thuy, Cai Rang, Phong
Dien and Thot Not had been occurring since 2012, causing losses of hundreds
of millions of dong while threatening the lives of local residents.
In Tra An Ward,
landslides had destroyed a 60m stretch of the river bank and caused five
houses to collapse into the river, he said.
Last year, a
landslide at a road leading to
The city was
building 30 resettlement areas for local people in danger zones, prioritising
those living near and along rivers and channels, according to the provincial
Department of Construction.
The city plans to
build embankments to prevent landslides along rivers and channels, and has
allocated more than VND1 trillion (US$47.2 million) in Government bonds to
build an embankment along the Can Tho River.
Guards in
the dock for trade centre fire
Police of the
northern province of Hai Duong have decided to charge three security guards
for negligence in a fire last year that destroyed VND500 billion (US$23.8
million) in property at Hai Duong Trade Centre.
Nguyen Van Tai,
Nguyen Van Tinh and Do Hong Quan were on duty when the huge blaze took place
at the four-storey centre in last September. They will be prosecuted for
lacking responsibility to cause serious consequences following the Penal
Code.
According to the
police investigation, Tai was in charge of security and fire prevention at
the centre beginning 2 a.m. on that day. But Tai spent his time on duty
playing cards with three other people, thereby failing to detect the fire in
time and prevent it from spreading.
Tinh was head of
the security team at the centre and in charge of assigning and reminding
guards on duty of their tasks during the shift. He failed to assign a
sufficient number of security guards at the centre and failed to remind Tai
and his partner to go on rounds, so they failed to detect the fire.
Quan was a member
of the centre's water and electricity team and tasked to ensure the safety of
the centre's electricity system on that day. However, he did not carry out a
full inspection and failed to detect the leakage in electricity that sparked
the fire.
Under Article 285
of the Penal Code, persons found guilty of negligence resulting in serious
consequences could be sentenced to from six months to 12 years in prison and
suspended from their positions for one to three years, depending on the level
of seriousness of their violation.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Tư, 15 tháng 10, 2014
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