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Social
News 30/10
USAID
Assistant Administrator for Global Health to visit Vietnam
Dr. Ariel
Pablos-Mendez, Assistant Administrator for Global Health at the U.S. Agency
for International Development (USAID) will pay a working visit to
During his time in
He will then meet
with leaders of
During his visit,
Dr. Pablos-Mendez will speak to and interact with leaders, lecturers and
students at the Hanoi School of Public Health on the topic ‘the Future of
Global Health’ from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m, on October 31, 2014.
Drunk
driving cause 70 percent of road accidents in Vietnam
Drunk driving is
the cause of 70 percent of traffic accidents in
According to
statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 70 percent of
male Vietnamese drink alcohol and one in every four men use the drinks at
dangerous level which is equivalent to six glasses of beer per day.
Besides strict
anti-drink law, the official called for more awareness raising campaigns on
the negative impacts of the excessive consumption of alcohol on health and
traffic safety. He urged State agencies, organisations and companies to ban
alcohol consumption during working hours.
On the global
scale, the abuse of alcohol drinks results in more than 2.2 million deaths.
Around 30 percent of traffic accidents are related to alcohol use. In
addition, the excessive consumption of alcohol is also a main cause of
non-communicable diseases in the world as well as in
Funds
allocated for evacuation plans during natural disasters
The Prime Minister
has approved the allocation of VND239 billion (US$11.5 million) for urgent
evacuation plans in areas threatened by natural disasters in 24 provinces
nationwide.
Statistics from the
Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that 7,077 households with more
than 33,000 residents had to be evacuated quickly from areas at high risk of
flash floods and landslides this year.
Flash floods and
landslides occur frequently in mountainous areas during the rainy season.
Since 2000, hundreds of such natural disasters have hit
Vietnam
ranks first at ASEAN Skills Competition
It was followed by
The six-day
competition drew about 300 young workers, under the age of 22, from 10 ASEAN
member countries competing in 23 occupational skills and two performance
skills.
18 million
USD raised for
The organising
board of the 2014 Mekong Delta Economic Cooperation Forum (MDEC 2014)
scheduled for early next month in Soc Trang province has raised 385 billion
VND (18.1 million USD) for the region’s social welfare fund.
The donation
includes 50 billion VND (2.1 million USD) for a project to build a hospital
in Duyen Hai district, Soc Trang province, the organising said on October 27.
The MDEC 2013 held
in Vinh Long attracted a total capital of 4 trillion VND (188 million USD),
while capital raised for social welfare activities in the region hit nearly
600 billion VND (28.2 million USD).
This year’ annual
event, the eighth of its kind in the region, will take place from November 5
-11with focus on restructuring the agricultural sector and building new rural
areas in the region.
It aims to draw and
propose measures, mechanisms and policies to boost trade promotion as well as
introduce the region’s potential to domestic and foreign investors,
especially those operating in agriculture and rural development
related-sectors.
The forum will also
analyse and discuss orientations and plans to foster economic links between
the regional localities and others across the country.
A series of
workshops and conferences on how to promote the restructuring of the
agricultural sector and the construction of new-style areas in response to
climate change, and what are roles of banks in these works, will be organised
during the event, according to the organising board.
The Mekong Delta
comprises of 12 provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of
40,000 square kilometres and a population of 18 million. It is the country’s
rice producer.
Hai Phong
port customs discovers smuggled elephant tusks
Customs officers at
the northern port city of
They said the
contraband was hidden in sacks of rubber gloves inside a container
transported by ship Ability V.0011S, which entered the city’s GreenPort
Terminal on October 23.
Nguyen Sy Trang,
Deputy Director of the department, said the freight was imported into
The customs
department and wildlife protection organisations will examine the confiscated
tusks to clarify their origin, he added.
Over the last three
years, the Hai Phong Customs Department uncovered more than 10 tonnes of
elephant tusks smuggled into
Ivory trade is
banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as Vietnamese law.
Cows
donated to ethnic minority households in Dak Nong
As many as 1,000
breeding cows were handed over to ethnic minority households in seven
districts and towns in the Central Highlands
This is part of
VinGroup’s corporate social responsibility programme to donate 5,000 breeding
cows to poor ethnic households in the five
Accordingly, each
province will be gifted 1,000 breeding cows and provided training on how to
look after them.
The programme is
expected to improve living conditions in poor rural areas, helping residents
develop production, generate income, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.
Riverbank
erosion forces evacuations
The erosion of the
Climate change,
strong flooding and illegal sand mining changed the river flow and eroded the
riverbank, a process that was likely to continue, local authorities said.
People living
beside the river in five affected communes had to move to safe areas after
13.46 km of riverside land were eroded, including a road, said Thanh Binh
People's Committee deputy president Nguyen Thi Phien.
The district
authority moved the road to a new position 100-200m from the eroded area and
proposed that the provincial government allow the construction of an
embankment to protect 500 houses in Binh Thanh commune from the riverbank
erosion. The 666m embankment would be made of reinforced concrete and cost
the local government VND 75billion (US$3.5 million).
The district
government also proposed the province finish constructing new residential
areas to provide accommodations for people from the affected communes.
The Kien Giang
Province People's Committee has approved construction of a sea dyke along the
Rach Gia city coast at an estimated cost of VND390 billion (US$18.6 million).
To be carried out
in 2016-20, the work, beside a 3.9km embankment, will also see an arterial
road elevated to run on top of the dyke, construction of two bridges, and
installation of sewer and water supply systems.
The work, a
response to the threat of climate change, will be undertaken by the city
People's Committee.
More than 385km of
land along rivers, canals, and the coast have been eroded in the Cuu Long
(Mekong) Delta
Submerged coastal
forests that help prevent erosion have seen their areas decline. In many
places they have disappeared altogether, according to the department.
Lam Hoang Sa,
deputy chairman of the Kien Giang People's Committee, said the province was
drafting a plan to revive and enlarge the forests, possibly by next year.
The People's
Committee has instructed competent agencies to study the eroded spots,
consolidate river banks and carry out afforestation to prevent further
erosion.
It is also
encouraging farmers to develop production models in which trees are planted
to check erosion.
Ultra-running
fad reaches Vietnam
Lately, young
Vietnamese people have taken to the trend of ultra-running, which has
recently swept across
Describing the
appeal of this pass time, one student of the
Another student
said that it is a cheap and interesting new way of travel, which can be done
on a regular basis. He added that the groups that travel together have a
chance to learn about culture and can travel as far as 100 kilometres.
Before each
excursion, members of the group scout their route, carefully planning an
itinerary. "Usually we start to walk after running for around 5km. After
that, we intersperse 15-30-minute rests after each 10km so that no one will
be too tired when we reach the destination point," Hoan said.
Many young people
see this activity as a way to stay in shape and experience the country.
Recently, several active members of groups have joined charity work with
ultra-running, convincing donors to sponsor each kilometre with charity
funds.
Nguyen Gia Minh, a
member of VietRunners&Friend Club, said that their club was able to
donate VND7 million (USD333) to VND10 million each month.
ODA Capital
poured in fire prevention & fighting field
The Ministry of
Public Security in conjunction with Ministry of Planning & Investment
organized the conference on October 24 to mobilize foreign investors, aiming
to attract official development assistance (ODA) capital for Public Security
Industry’s development.
The ministry of
public security targets that it will call for the total investment capital of
VND 70,000 to 80,000 (US$ 3.8billion), from now till 2020. The ministry will
mobilize around US$ 200million from ODA capital to equip the science
technology means, aiming to serve community.
The ministry
carried out 29 ODA programs with US$ 156 million from four donors worldwide
including
The ODA capital has
contributed to modernize equipments for the fire prevention and fighting
& rescuing sectors and managing residents as well as supervising traffic.
Of these, the fire
prevention & fighting and rescuing sectors have received around US$
100million from ODA capital.
Medical
workers disciplined for death of 10 year old girl
A medical council
comprising of leading experts in infection, pediatrics and intensive
resuscitation and the city' Department of Health yesterday discussed to
verify the cause of death of 10 year old girl Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung in Hanoi
The medical council
concluded that the girl died from septicemia and shock, neurotoxicity
and supraventricular tachycardia.
From the
conclusion, the medical council asked the
Nurses who took
care the girl were criticized for not informing doctors of the patient’s
health condition.
From the medical
council’s conclusion, the hospital management board decided to issue
discipline to some medical workers involved in the death.
Accordingly 4
doctors and one nurse were criticized in a meeting with all the hospital’
staffs. All members of Surgical Ward are cut down from the emulation prize.
Earlier, the hospital managers have suspended medical workers from work and
asked them to write reports on the incident.
One of the targets
that
Deputy Prime
Minister Vu Duc Dam said that it is a big challenge for the country; however,
the government will determind to complete for people’s health and the
country’s development & stability.
The Deputy PM asked
the Ministry of Health to preside meetings with related agencies to adopt
plan to carry out the target.
The Ministry of
Health’s statistics showed that over 2,000 HIV-infected are being treated
with antiretroviral in the country; the number of AIDS patients and mortality
has decreased dramatically within seven recent years.
However, the
country is facing difficulties in fighting against HIV/AIDS prevention.
The country has
around 12,000 new HIV –infected cases every year. The fund for supporting HIV
fighting is mainly on sponsors. It is estimated that
Therefore, it
should expand the testing networks in local medical clinics to make these
vulnerable people access to the antiretroviral treatment as well as increase
providing information to residents and fight discrimination to people living
HIV.
New
treatment to improve COPD patients
Vietnamese doctors
have applied new treatment called ‘endoscopic lung volume reduction’ - a
minimally invasive non-surgical procedure that involves the insertion of
‘endobronchial valves’- which can significantly improve lung function
measures and quality of life for patients with emphysema and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Medical workers are
performing a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure to insert an
‘endobronchial valves’- which can significantly improve lung function
measures and quality of life for patients with emphysema and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (Photo: SGGP)
Around 4.2 percent
of Vietnamese people aged over 40 reported having been told by a doctor or
other health professional that they had COPD, a progressive disease that
makes them hard to breathe.
Especially, more
inhabitants in major cities such as
Worse, the number
of COPD patients in the country as well as in the world is on upward trend
because of polluted environment. Moreover, smokers are vulnerable to the
disease.
According to the
World Health Organization, over 600 million are COPD sufferers and more than
3 million of them die every year. COPD is the fourth leading cause of
death after heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular accident
To improve COPD
patients’ living quality, physicians of the Army Hospital No.103 have
performed a minimally invasive non-surgical procedure to insert an
‘endobronchial valves’. With the valve/s in place, when a patient exhales,
air and secretions are able to move through the valve and out of the lung
compartment that is fed by that airway. But when the patient inhales, the
valve closes and blocks air from entering that lung compartment.
Professor Hoang
Manh An, the hospital’s director, said that the new treatment has been
applied in many countries in the world. The hospital is the first to carry
out the treatment on many patients in the country.
The hospital will
transfer the treatment technique to other hospitals including Pham Ngoc Thach
in
The Vietnamese
Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE) and the German
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and
Nuclear Safety (BMUB) reviewed their cooperation over the past decade and set
out guidelines for working together in the future on October 21.
MONRE Deputy
Minister Bui Cach Tuyen spoke highly of
Over the past ten
years, the two sides jointly implemented a number of measures, such as
sharing experience in dioxin monitoring, land pollution management, and
personnel training; surveying the state of water reservoirs in Vietnamese
cities; and developing sustainable water exploitation technologies in
mountainous areas, he said.
German Ambassador
Jutta Frasch said both countries’ environments were affected by war, and their
cooperation on environmental issues helped strengthen bilateral ties and
mutual understanding.
BMUB State
Secretary Gunther Adler said
To enhance their
affiliation between 2015 and 2025, the Vietnamese ministry proposed
cooperation focus on water and natural resources, hydrometeorology, geology,
and minerals.
It also asked
In response to
MONRE’s proposals, Jutta Frasch said her country will continue its cooperation
with
Explosion
uncovers overlapping management
The HCMC
authorities have discovered the inconsistency of relevant regulations and
overlapping administration of chemicals after a massive explosion destroyed
the fertilizer workshop of Dang Huynh Co. in District 12 last week.
Speaking at a
meeting here in the city on Wednesday, Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of the
HCMC Police Department, attributed the overlapping management to the fact
that the trading and storage of chemicals are regulated by different laws and
regulations on chemicals, drug prevention, fire prevention and fighting and
environmental protection.
Chemicals are
overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the local departments of
industry-trade. However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
manages some types of the chemicals which are precursors and used to produce
fertilizer like materials at Dang Huynh Company’s workshop.
According to Minh,
police do not have the right to deal with violations in the fields under the
management of the HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and
cannot distinguish hazardous and normal chemicals as it does not have special
testing equipment.
Tet train
tickets for groups available next month
Saigon Railway
Station will allow groups of passengers to make bookings for the coming Lunar
Year holiday, known as Tet, between November 1 and 15.
Thai Van Truyen,
deputy chief of the railway station, said the station is scheduled to sell
tickets from November 21, and ticket bookings for groups can be made in
advance from early next month.
The station will
receive bookings at 8-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
To be eligible for
group bookings, people must be traveling in groups of over 20, and they must
be working in same companies and register for the same train, at the same
time, same departure and arrival stations. Other cases will be considered
later by the chief of the station.
The groups will
have to send member lists, letters of reference and business registration
certificates of their companies to the station. The registration form can be
downloaded from the website www.gasaigon.com.vn.
The HCMC government
will restrict the number of karaoke lounges and dancing clubs in populous
areas, but will seek to gather such facilities in cultural centers and public
entertainment parks.
Under a scheme on
management of karaoke lounges and dancing clubs approved by the city
government, authorities will encourage operational facilities in
densely-populated areas to move to public centers and cultural houses.
Some 420 karaoke
lounges and 11 dancing clubs have been licensed to operate in the city so
far.
The city has not
licensed any new karaoke facilities since 2005 in an effort to tighten
sensitive sectors’ operation to avoid disguised prostitution since 2005.
According to the
scheme, new karaoke lounges will only be licensed upon the consultation and
consensus from relevant State agencies in the city.
‘Uncultured
families’ to be suspended from running homestays in Hoi An
The tourism city of
According to a
temporary regulation issued by the Hoi An People’s Committee on October 20,
local households in the city will not be able to continue operating their
homestays if they are not recognized as “cultured families” for two straight
years.
A “cultured family”
is a family recognized annually by local functional authorities for obeying
the country’s regulations and standards of family unity and equality as well
as cultural values.
According to the
regulation, the Hoi An People’s Committee also has the right to suspend hosts
who violate environmental sanitation rules; do not have certificates proving
their attendance in classes on local culture, communication skills and
homestay operations within 12 months since opening; or only provide
accommodation without cultural activities.
The committee’s
temporary regulation said hosts are required to offer tourists the chance to
experience local culture during their homestay by organizing cultural
activities.
Moreover, eligible
hosts for homestay services include households consisting of at least two
generations who have been recognized as “cultured families” by the city’s
People Committee and have at least one member who can speak English. The
family must have obeyed the country’s laws as well.
Each household
running a homestay can have a maximum of five rooms, each of which have to be
registered and managed by local authorities.
According to the
committee, the temporary regulation aims at guiding local homestay services
in order to preserve and improve local traditional cultural values, as well
as to ensure the sustainable development of local ecological and cultural
community tourism services.
The Hoi An People’s
Committee also requested that related agencies put an effort into managing
the homestay industry.
Long An
strives to protect Lang Sen Wetlands Reserve
The southern
province of Long An is undertaking efforts to protect its Lang Sen Wetlands
Reserve, which lie in the pristine Dong Thap Muoi (Plain of Reeds) in the
Mekong Delta.
Lang Sen literally
means wetlands with many lotus flowers. Located in Vinh Loi and Vinh Dai
communes in Tan Hung district, the reserve covers approximately 5,030ha,
including a 1,500-hectare island and 50 ha of lotus plants.
According to
studies conducted by the
It is home to 156
kinds of plants, over 160 species of animals and 114 plankton species, with
20 species listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and several included in the
International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened
Species.
In addition, Lang
Sen provides an ideal habitat for migratory and non-migratory birds, like
storks, cranes, and cormorants.
However,
agricultural production is reducing the area of natural wetlands, thus
impacting on the populations of flora and fauna.
The rapid
development of alien species such as pistia stratiotes and water hyacinth is
also negatively affecting the reserve’s ecosystem.
Besides, timber
exploitation, fishing and illegal hunting are pushing several animal and
plant species into the brink of extinction, including pythons, grass snakes,
cobras, and yellow turtles.
To protect the
reserve, the provincial People’s Committee instructed the management board to
restore the natural landscape and ecosystem, and promote scientific research
and tourism.
The province
encouraged local residents and communities to participate in conservation by
providing housing and land for cultivation.
It also invested in
upgrading infrastructure to support the development of ecotourism.
In the near future,
the Lang Sen Wetland Reserve management board will continue its sound
management of plant and animal species, improve the capacity of the reserve’s
staff, and prohibit production and exploitation methods that harm the
sustainability of the reserve and the integrity of the ecosystem and biodiversity.
The province also
pledged to accelerate education and communication efforts in the local
community, to intensify international cooperation and to use foreign
assistance in effective environmental protection.
Project
successfully promotes participation in environmental protection
A Danish-funded
project in the central province Thua Thien-Hue has successfully increased the
participation of local fishermen in protecting Tam Giang lagoon.
The 600 million VND
(nearly 28,600 USD) project, funded by the Danish Government’s Public
Participation and Accountability Facilitation Fund, has been implemented in
Quang Thai and Quang Loi communes since early 2014.
Quang Thai and
Quang Loi are home to more than 890 households who earn their living on
fishing and aquaculture on 1,500ha of the lagoon.
So far, the project
has run seven training courses to improve local residents’ techniques in
fishing, aquaculture, and the protection of fisheries resources.
It has also
provided local residents with financial support to make 20 fish cages and
five fish sanctuaries which serve as habitats for aquatic species to settle
and reproduce.
Nguyen Bon, a
fisherman in Quang Loi, said on the same water surface area he can now earn
more than 10 million VND (over 476 USD) in two fishing seasons each year,
which has tripled compared to traditional methods.
Project Director
Tran Giai, Vice Chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue Union of Science and
Technology Associations, said fish cages and sanctuaries could triple
residents’ income and minimise the negative impacts on the environment.
The success of this
project is a model for a sustainable development in the area.
Tam Giang lagoon is
part of the Tam Giang-Cau Hai lagoon system, the largest of its kind in
Son La
exerts more efforts to protect biodiversity
The northern
mountainous
Under the plan, the
province will protect four existing nature reserves namely the 6,311ha Copia
in Thuan Chau district, the 18,020ha
It will also build
a new reserve on an area of 20,000ha in Muong La district and a 247ha culture-tourism-environment
preservation zone in Phu Yen district.
The Muong La forest
boasts its high biodiversity with many endangered species, notably black
gibbons that are now only found in
Son La is now home
to nearly 634,000 of forest, including 610,000ha of natural forest. The
province expects to increase its forest coverage to 55 percent (779,600ha) by
2020.
Careful
conservation protects Ha
The authorities and
people of the
On December 17,
1994, UNESCO designated the bay a World Heritage site of globally outstanding
value in terms of natural landscape. The recognition was extended in 2000,
and in 2011 Ha Long Bay outranked 261 other landscapes from all over the
world and was voted one of the seven new natural wonders of the world.
The recognition
acknowledges the bay’s exceptional rock cave and limestone mountain system
which took millions of years to form, as well as its outstanding
biodiversity.
Scientists
identified more than 500 species of high-level plants in the bay, which spans
1,553km2 and includes 1,969 islands of various sizes. Half of the plants have
medicinal properties and could potentially be used as medicine. Experts also
observed 66 species of amphibians and reptiles, 77 species of bird and 22
species of mammals.
Over 570 species of
seabed creatures, around 180 coral species, over 150 species of fish, nearly
150 species of seaweed and sea grass, and 19 species of aquatic plants were
identified in the bay and neighbouring Bai Tu Long Bay and Cat Ba Bay.
The preservation of
the rich ecosystem is considered urgent since the rapid socio-economic
development of modern life has left behind the first signs of damage.
Therefore,
environmentally harmful activities have been prohibited, including the
shipping of used coal, cement, woodchips and rocks. In addition, mining,
sorting and transporting coal in the core area of the bay is no longer
allowed.
Hundreds of
households that lived on the bay have been resettled to onshore locations,
while age-old fishing villages were rearranged to ensure no ugly scars are
left behind.
To ensure the bay’s
ecosystem is healthy, coastal water is regularly tested, while rubbish
floating on the bay is gathered for onshore treatment.
The application of
cutting-edge science and technology, like the global positioning technology
GPS, the wimax system, and geographical information systems are widely used.
Equipment is used to filter oil discharged by ships operating on the bay with
a view to keeping the ecosystem healthy.
In August 2014, the
provincial People’s Committee approved plans on Ha Long Bay’s environment
with a vision towards 2030.
It laid a special
emphasis on the protection of the environment and the application of
environmental standards certified by
By 2020, Ha Long
Bay and Ha Long City aim to take the lead in environmental protection and
green growth efforts.
By 2030, they both
strive to become an ASEAN-standard green growth centre, with Ha Long Bay
becoming a leader in sustainable natural resources and environmental
management.
The province has
cooperated with local and international nature conservation agencies,
research institutes, universities, and scientists to research and enhance the
bay’s values in terms of biodiversity, culture, history, geography and
geomorphology.
Since becoming the
world heritage site, Ha Long Bay has welcomed nearly 25 million visitors,
contributing to turning Quang Ninh province into a tourism magnet.
According to Pham
Thuy Duong, Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, tourism aims to
generate resources for conservation.
Nature has bestowed
priceless values upon Ha Long Bay, and with appropriate conservation efforts
the bay can live up to UNESCO’s recognition, Duong said.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Tư, 29 tháng 10, 2014
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