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Social News 23/1
The US Department of State has announced that it is now
accepting applications for its Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (UGRAD)
for emerging student leaders from
The programme offers study at a
Participants will engage in local community service projects
and take part in cultural enrichment activities. The host institutions will
also provide participants with academic skill development classes.
In addition, participants who do not meet the host institution
language requirements will be eligible for two to four weeks of intensive
English language instruction in the
The programme is managed and funded by the Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs under the US State Department. The
application deadline is February 27, 2015. For further information, please
visit the UGRAD website.
The
The southern
The emergency aid will be delivered through a consortium of
nongovernmental organizations led by Movitel under the Viettel Group and
working closely with
According to a representative from the embassy,
Currently embassy personnel are working closely with the
INGC, Movitel and others involved in the relief effort to distribute
the relief aid to the victims.
Since January 12, the
The INGC reported that heavy rains and floods affected 137,000
people in Zambezia, Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Tete provinces. In Zambezia
alone, 64 were killed and 4,963 houses, 378 classrooms, 6 medical centres and
51 bridges were destroyed.
Transport Ministry must make clear Long Thanh airport project
Chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee Nguyen
Van Giau proposed, the Ministry of Transport to make clear some issues
related to the investment plan of
Accordingly, the ministry must clarify why
Besides the ministry should make clear problems related to air
traffic congestion and regulations on night flying restrictions.
For
Dressing the above issues, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang
has asked the Airports Corporation of
The Ministry of Transport’s proposal to build
However many NA delegates have expressed concerns over the
project's huge investment capital saying it will burden public debt which has
been on the rise as the project’s first phase is reported to cost VND164,589
billion (US$7.84 billion).
Chicken pox on spreading trend despite not peak season
Though it is not a peak season of chicken pox, the hospitals
reported that, this disease is on the trend to spread out. Not only children
but also adults are infected with the disease which takes often place in
February, March and April annually.
As Children Hospital No.1 is short of vaccine Varilix, many
children have not been injected the vaccine’s second shoot; accordingly they
are on the danger of the disease.
Recently, vaccine manufacturers have launched 2 in 1 products
named Varivax, meaning it will be one shoot instead of two like before.
Doctors advised the parents should take the Varivax vaccine
(one shoot) instead of Varilix but parents are wondering if it is good for
their children.
Last week, some cases of chicken pox were hospitalized in
Children Hospitals in
Around 15 percent of chicken pox cases in hospitals are
suffering skin infection, skin ulceration and pneumonia; even one suffers
critical condition due to pneumonia complication.
The Department of Preventative Medicine, under the Ministry of
Health, said that the disease is caused by virus varicella zoster through
respiratory tract. When a chicken pox patient sneezes or coughs, people
around will be infected with if they inhale the virus. Or people can catch
the disease if they get in touch with an infected person.
Dr. Do Chau Viet from the Children Hospital No.2’s Infection
Ward said that the most commonly recognized chickenpox symptom is a red rash
that can cover the entire body.
Most healthy children (and adults) recover from chicken pox
with no lasting ill-effects simply by resting, just as with a cold or the
flu. However, some children and adults are unlucky and have a more severe
bout and complications, said Dr. Viet.
The Department of Preventive Medicine said that the country
has around 25,000-40,000 infected chicken pox patients per year. In 2014,
more than 20,000 chicken pox patients were reported across the country.
The Department therefore warned that infected people should
soon go to hospital for treatment. People should not scratch to spread the
virus and they should bath with warm water and put clothes in the sun.
The
‘The Story Of Hunger And Hope' photo series captures men,
women and children living in poverty across the world - and those who are
working to alleviate it. Hunger doesn't care if you're from the wealthiest
nation or the poorest. 'It’s about realizing that hunger affects people from
all races, all ages, and from every corner of the globe,' National Geographic
said.
The magazine featured photographer Nguyen Phuc’s photo
entitled ‘Cooker in Black'. Phuc’s photo focuses on a woman preparing food on
the anniversary of a death. This is a tradition of most people in
National Geographic editor’s note says ‘A beautiful look at
the intensity of preparing food. This image has light and drama and moment.
Well done!’
Items in the photo series were selected from 5,000 entries
sent to National Geographic magazine and hunger-relief group Feeding
Police seize 100kg of fake Ajinomoto
Tu Liem District Police on Tuesday seized 100kg of fake
Ajinomoto, a brand of monosodium glutamate, which was being transported by
staff members of a Ha Noi-based company.
The police detained 27-year-old Vu Van Quyet, director of the
company, for producing and distributing fake monosodium for more than a year.
Quyet informed police that the company bought cheap raw
materials from
Residents, water supply firm trade accusations
Residents and the local water supply company are blaming each
other for not having potable water for daily use five years after the former
settled in the Tu Hiep-Ngu Hiep Area.
Pham Quoc Khanh, a representative for the residents, said they
were having to buy clean water from private suppliers or use unclean
underground water for their daily needs.
He said that households that settled in the area in 2010 have
had no clean water supply until now, only a few managed to receive
electricity connections last year.
Khanh said that 40 households in the area have sent several
complaints to the Thanh Tri District People's Committee, Ha Noi Water
Company and Thanh Tri District Project Management Board, but no
solution has been found to date.
The Thanh Tri Project Management Board had sent a team to the
area last May to check the water system, but there was no follow-up action,
he said.
Khanh also claimed that the Thanh Tri Police Bureau and a
temporary market were getting clean water, while the residential area located
between them got nothing.
Some households have to spend VND100,000 (US$5) per cubic
metre of clean water or use unclean water from bore wells, he said.
He blamed a nearby cemetery and a temporary market for
polluting the underground water source that residents are forced to rely on.
For his part, Nguyen Tien Cuong, Director of the Thanh Tri
Project Management Unit, said that his unit had carried out checks to make sure
the entire water system was working and then handed it over to the Ha
Noi Water Company.
He added that the Hoang Mai Water Enterprise had already
connected the local water system with the main water pipeline located under
the Highway 1A stretch at
However, once the Hoang Mai Water Enterprise, a subcontractor
for the Ha Noi Water Company, took over, they discovered pipes that had
been deliberately broken. This was done by the residents, Cuong
claimed.
He also said that the water system was checked in March 2013
and broken pipes found then too. He said 65 per cent of the water was
being stolen out of the system, which was well over the eight per cent
limit of acceptable loss. This prompted the company to cut off water supply.
Despite the conflicting narratives, Cuong promised that the Ha
Noi Water Company and Hoang Mai Water Enterprise would finish checking
the water system and develop a plan within the month to supply clean
water.
Viet Nam News has tried to reach the Ha Noi Water Company and
Hoang Mai Water Enterprise for more information about the problem, but
have so far received no reply.
Rising healthcare demand, new diseases set to tax health
sector
The increasing need for health care would be a major challenge
for the health sector this year, as would changes in disease models,
population ageing and newly emerging diseases such as avian influenza types
H5N1 and H7N9 and the Ebola virus, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien
said yesterday at an online conference.
At the local level, the health care system failed to meet
demand in terms of human resources and medical facilities. Moreover, there
were too few beds in many regions and the balance between medical
specialities varied between localities, according to the health minister.
Last year, the health ministry reported that the health sector
had met two targets set by the National Assembly. The number of beds per
10,000 people was 23 – higher than the target of 22.5 – while the
malnutrition rate of children under five was reduced to 15 per cent, below
the goal of 15.5 per cent.
The sector also achieved 16 of 18 targets set by the Prime
Minister. However, they did not meet the goal of reducing the fatality rate
of children under five to 21 out of 1,000 or ensuring that 73 per cent of the
population was covered by health insurance.
By the end of 2014, the country had 7.8 doctors and 1.9
university pharmacists per 10,000 residents. Doctors worked at 78 per cent of
the country's communal health stations while 95 per cent of communes and
hamlets had medical staff.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam gave instructions to the
sector, asking the health ministry to focus on reducing hospital overloading
and improving service quality.
He also told the sector to improve communal health stations
and human resource training; reform administrative procedure and drug bidding
mechanisms; and expand health insurance coverage.
Seamen rescued off Hoi An
A fishing vessel that met with a mishap on the
The QNa 03185 ship, carrying seven seamen, had been hit by
strong waves, while returning home after a fishing trip.
All property on the ship, worth more than VND300 million
(US$14,200), were lost.
Nguyen Lan, the owner of the ship, said that just when the
ship was about to be submerged totally, another ship named QNa 03925, also
from Hoi An City, reached the spot and saved it.
All the seven seamen were rescued.
Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is willing
to help southern Dong Nai province promote a linkage chain in agriculture,
said Minister Nishikawa Koya at his working session with local officials on
January 20.
To realise bilateral cooperation, the two sides will carry out
specific programmes from June this year, he said, hoping that Dong Nai will
improve administrative procedures and policies in order to support the
business community and Japanese enterprises in particular.
The minister also suggested the province invest more in
upgrading its transport and industrial infrastructure.
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dinh Quoc Thai
told the guest that his locality boasts huge potential for agricultural
development with an area of over 4,600 sq.km farming land, mild climate and
convenient transport. However, the value of its agricultural production
remains low, at about 4,680 USD per hectare annually.
Therefore, Dong Nai is looking to step up collaboration with
Japan in hi-tech agriculture and food industry, he said, adding that the
province wants Japan to invest in its Agropark, transfer technologies to its
biotech application centre, and help train human resources in this field.-
Northern mountainous urban programme launched
A ceremony to launch the construction of facilities of Phase I
of the Northern Mountainous Urban Programme Project was held in Thai Nguyen
city in the
The event drew the participation of Deputy Prime Minister
Hoang Trung Hai, representatives from the Ministry of Construction and the
World Bank, and provincial leaders.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung
Hai underscored the project’s aim to enhance urban infrastructure and
environmental protection efforts, as well as improving the livelihoods of
local residents and ensure sustainable socio-economic development.
He spoke highly of the provincial preparations to implement
Phase I (2015-2016) of the project in a timely manner, adding that the
Ministry of Construction, investors, and project management boards need to
clearly stipulate their missions and roles to assure the programme’s quality
and progress.
The Northern Mountainous Urban Programme Project was approved
by the Prime Minister in Decision 189/QD-TTg on January 25, 2014.
The project is implemented in the seven mountainous provinces
of Thai Nguyen,
The project in Thai Nguyen province, worth 80.5 million USD,
will be carried out over six years (2015-2020) and includes upgrades to roads
and bridges, nursery school construction, and the establishment of resident
resettlement areas.
The project will set the foundation to develop sustainable
northern mountainous urban areas as well as strengthening the capacity of
local authorities for urban planning and management. In addition, it will
become a technical infrastructure model to be applied in other cities.
The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) have provided
preferential loans for 1.4 million poor and near-poor households and policy
beneficiaries in the Mekong Delta region between 2011-2014.
The loans enabled 230,000 of the targeted households to escape
from poverty and 29,000 students to continue their study, and helped create
88,000 job opportunities and build 554,000 clean water supply facilities and
toilets.
The assistance contributed to regional joint efforts to reduce
poverty rate to only 5.7 percent in 2014, heard a conference to review results
of a three-year project to improve service quality of policy credit in the
region on January 20.
After three years, the VBSP had a total credit balance of 22.4
trillion VND (1.12 billion USD), up 5.5 trillion VND since the project began.
The region’s average credit growth remained at 10.76 percent annually, above
the national rate of 7.76 percent.
Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic
Commission Le Vinh Tan suggested several measures to reduce overdue debts for
the VBSP and Mekong Delta provinces, including clearer identification of
benefiting households and more transparent loan procedures.
In 2015, the bank targets a credit growth of 9 percent with
the rate of overdue debts at 0.7 percent, below the regional average.-
Can Tho to accelerate modern rural area development
The Mekong Delta City of Can Tho targets to have five
additional communes meet all 19 criteria of the national “new-style rural
area” building programme in 2015.
The goal was released by Vice Chairman of the city People’s
Committee Dao Anh Dung at a meeting on modern rural area development on
January 21.
The five targeted communes are Vinh Trinh and Thanh Loi in
Vinh Thanh district; Tan Thoi in Phong Dien district; Trung Thanh in Co Do
district; and Dong Binh in Thoi Lai district.
The city expects to assist another 16 over the threshold
between 2016 and 2020, raising the total number of recognised communes to 26
of the total 36 communes of the city.
In order to achieve the 2015 goal, the city has invested 202
billion VND (9.5 million USD) to build primary and nursery schools and
communal houses as well as upgrade market facilities and road system in the
communes, said Pham Van Quynh, Deputy Head of the city’s Steering Committee
for the programme.
Additionally, technological advances have also been introduced
to agricultural production in tandem with establishing large-scale fields and
cooperatives to enhance agricultural productivity and efficiency, thus
raising the living conditions of farmers in the locality.
Between 2016 and 2020, the city intends to funnel more than
4,800 billion VND (228.5 million USD) into developing its inter-commune road
system, a 1,200 kilometre-long irrigation system, and other social services
and facilities in the targeted communes.
In 2014, the city had five communes which met all the
programme criteria, namely Trung An in Co Do district, My Khanh, Giai Xuan in
Phong Dien district, Thanh Thang in Vinh Thanh district, Truong Xuan in Thoi
Lai district.
The remaining 31 communes have met between 10 and 18 criteria.
The national programme on new-style rural area building,
initiated by the Government in 2010, has set 19 criteria for socio-economic
development, political structure, and security and defence protocols,
ultimately aiming to revitalise
Measures include building infrastructure, improving production
capacities, constructing public facilities, protecting the landscape and the
environment, and promoting local traditions and cultural identities.-
Forestry a key economic sector for Tuyen Quang
The northern mountainous
In 2015, the province expects to exploit 6,800 hectares of
forest area generating over 660,000 cubic metres of wood, while planting
another 14,000 ha of forest, raising the local forest coverage to over 60
percent.
To achieve the targets, the province plans to mobilise 90,000
workers in forestation businesses and thousands of local residents to take
part in tree planting.
Tuyen Quang has nearly 447,000 ha of forest land, accounting
for 76 percent of its natural acreage. The province has zoned off nearly 29
percent of protective forests and 11 percent of special purpose forests,
while the remaining 60 percent are production forests.
To date, the province has drawn the attention of strong
investors who apply state-of-the-art technology in their production, such as
the An Hoa Pulp and Paper Mill which has the capacity to produce 130,000
tonnes of pulp per year. Many other companies are also making use of the
abundant material supply in Tuyen Quang to produce furniture, chopsticks,
timber and packaging for both export and domestic consumption.
The provincial authorities have delineated a material area
covering over 209,400 hectares for processing factories. Of the amount,
163,358 hectares is dedicated to the An Hoa Pulp and Paper Mill and 8,000
hectares to the Bai Bang Paper Company.
Tuyen Quang province is also seeking investment from all
economic sectors to develop production forests and protect upstream forests
and the ecological environment, creating a cushion for natural calamities.
In addition, the province contracted local households to take
care of 18,600 hectares of forest, improving their livelihood.
In recent years, forests have played an important role in
reducing poverty, reducing the impact of floods, and preserving ecosystems in
Tuyen Quang province.
First solid waste treatment plant in Ly Son island on trial
run
A solid waste treatment plant in Ly Son island district, the
central
With an average daily capacity of 15.5 tonnes, the plant, the
first of its kind in the island district, can handle a remarkable volume of
daily and production waste discharged from locals, said Le Hoai An, head of
the district’s Natural Resources and Environment Division.
The plant was built on an area of 2 hectares in An Hai and An
Vinh communes at a cost of 30.7 billion VND (1.5 million USD).
Once put into official operation, the plant will contribute to
improving the living environment for local residents and marine creatures,
said An.
Family planning sector urged to improve local level efforts
Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien urged the General
Department of Population and Family Planning to improve its services at the
local level while attending a conference in
The official hailed the sector’s 2014 efforts to reduce the
birth rate by 0.01 percent and have a ratio of 112.2 boys per 100 girls,
compared to 112.5 boys in 2013.
The department successfully managed its human resources and
called for assistance from the Government, localities, organisations, and
individuals to ensure social welfares across the country, Deputy Head Nguyen
Van Tan said.
However, restrictions remain, such as low wages for
collaborative staff and a reduction in its communications budget, affecting
the outcomes of population and family planning programmes.
Looking forward, Minister Tien asked the department to provide
high-quality family planning services and popularise measures against
unplanned pregnancy.
In 2015, the sector aims to reduce the crude birth rate by
0.01 percent and increase the rate of pregnant women receiving prenatal
health check-ups to 15 percent from the current 10 percent.
The department proposed the Government increase its investment
in population-related work and ratify the gender imbalance control project
between 2014 and 2020 while adopting policies to support impoverished ethnic
minority women and calling for international assistance in the field.
Telemedicine project gets approval
The Prime Minister has given the nod to a telemedicine
project, which will be carried out at the
The project will be implemented in three years with total
investment of 8 million EUR funded by the German Government.
Accordingly, a telemedicine centre will be established at the
Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital, providing such services as online
consultations, teleradiology, and health check-ups and treatment from a
distance for general hospitals in Yen Bai and Thanh Hoa as well as some of
their district-level hospitals.
All the hospitals are equipped with necessary facilities to
join the project, which is expected to ease overloads at central-level
hospitals and increase the quality of health check-ups and treatment in local
ones.
Health sector warns of A/H7N9 outbreak
The Preventive Health Department under the Ministry of Health
is warning the community of high avian influenza A/H7N9 outbreak risks,
especially during the winter-spring season of this year.
The Ministry has warned individuals not to use poultry or
poultry products with unclear origins; immediately report ill or dead poultry
to local authorities or veterinarian facilities; and seek timely medical care
if experiencing fever, cough, chest pain or breathing difficulties.
According to the WHO, there is a high possibility of
additional infection cases in humans during the winter-spring season and
could result in an outbreak.
The announcement advises those travelling to countries with
known avian influenza outbreaks to avoid poultry farms, areas where poultry
is slaughtered, or contact with animals in live bird markets, or contact with
any surfaces that appear to be contaminated with faeces from poultry or other
animals.
The WHO recommends practicing frequent hand washing with soap
and following food safety regulations.
It also targets no commune with poor families accounting for
25 percent of total population.
To achieve these goals, the city will speed up the
implementation of poverty reduction policies by including them in
socio-economic development, new-style rural building and infrastructure
investment support programmes for ethnic minority areas.
It will also give priority to facilitating the poor’s access
to fundamental social services in a bid to help them escape from poverty on
their own.
According to Hanoi’s poverty criteria for the 2011-2015
period, the city currently has over 34,400 poor households and nearly 44,640
near-poor ones, accounting for 1.91 percent and 2.48 percent of its
population, respectively.-
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 1, 2015
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