Japanese encephalitis cases increase in Vietnam
Because
of increasing trend of Japanese encephalitis cases in the country,
Vietnamese Ministry of Health issued June 27 some warning of the
disease.
The Ministry asked people to practice environment
hygiene to eliminate residence of mosquitoes. Cattle rearing farms
should be removed far from houses. People should use mosquito nets and
not let children to play near cattle farms. When a child has a high
fever, they should be taken to a medical clinic for timely treatment.
The Ministry said vaccination against Japanese encephalitis is one of effective preventative measures.
Tran
Dac Phu, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine, said that
Japanese encephalitis is a disease spread through mosquito bites.
Symptoms usually take 5-15 days to develop and include fever, headache,
vomiting, confusion, and difficulty moving. Encephalitis occurs mainly
in young children under 15 years old.
At present, the Ministry is
urging local health authorities to administer vaccination against
Japanese encephalitis for children.
As the disease develops
complicatedly, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien made an unscheduled
visit to the Central Children Hospital in Hanoi. Do Thien Hai, deputy
chief of the hospital’s Infectious Disease Ward, said that since the
beginning of the year, the hospital admitted 130 cases of Japanese
encephalitis; six of them had to put on breathing machines.
In
2013, around Japanese encephalitis cases accounted for 8 percent of
total encephalitis, this year the proportion is up to 30 percent.
Accordingly
Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien urged the Hospital to coordinate
with the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the
ministry’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment to provide
training course on prevention.
These facilities have to take
samples from districts for testing to verify the cause of increasing
cases of Japanese encephalitis.
Hue Hospital succeeds in treating cancer with stem cell
Doctors of Hue Central Hospital have used stem cell transplantation to successfully treat a cancer patient of the last stage.
The
Hue Central Hospital announced on June 26 that its doctors have cured
Le Thi Sau, 52, who was suffering ovarian cancer in the last stage, with
stem cell transplant.
The operation is the success of the
scientific project “Using stem cell in breast cancer and cervical
cancer” managed by Professor Nguyen Duy Thang, deputy head of the
hospital.
Adult stem cells have been used to treat certain cancers
through bone marrow transplants. In this therapy, the stem cells that
give rise to the different blood cells in the body are transplanted into
the bone marrow of the patient, where they regenerate the blood.
The project was given green light to carry out in the Hue Central Hospital by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Professor
Nguyen Duy Thang said the success of this method will pave the way for
next operations on breast and ovarian cancer patients.
In the time
ahead, the hospital continues to treat two other cancer female patients
with the stem cell treatment. It is hoped that the treatment will save
many cancer patients.
Quang Ngai Obstetrics pediatrics hospital kicked off
An obstetrics and pediatrics hospital has been kicked off in the central province of Quang Ngai on June 28.
The
five-storey hospital, covering an area of 24,600 square meters will
offer 300 beds and a range of health services with the total capital of
VND500 billion.
The provincial Department of Health inaugurated the first stage of a traditional medicine hospital on the same day.
It includes 50 beds and is expected to reach 150 beds by the second phase in 2015-2018 period.
Stakes rise for students during World Cup
University students, who already live on a tight budget, fall into debt over bets on World Cup matches.
They
usually start off small. A student from Hanoi University of Business
and Technology said, “University students don’t have much money, so we
just bet small items or amounts of money to make the game more
interesting. I guess we are also trying to show our predictions skills.”
Another
student of HCM City Electric Power College said they would bet for
meals. However, as the tournament continues, the stakes tend to go up.
The
average bets on World Cup games have increased to something around
VND2-3 million (USD95-142) per match. He said, “I wanted to earn some
money to go out with my girlfriend but I lost. I keep betting though,
borrowing from friends in order to make up for my losses.” He went on to
say that the surprising results of Spain’s match, or the one between
Italy and Costa Rica cost him a lot. In the end he had to pawn his cell
phone and laptop to pay off his debts.
Mai, the owner of a
convenience store said, “I’m not a professional in the matter, but I do
know that most students who live here are poor. They are still into
betting, though. They go to big shops to pawn their motorbikes and cell
phones. They come to me when they want to pawn electric fans or rice
cookers. There was one student who had to make an escape because he owed
money to some bad people.”
Some students even resort to using
their tuition fees to bet on matches. Some of them feel the consequences
when they are unable to take their exams.
Nguyen Le Tuan Khang, a
student from Nha Trang City, lost a bet and persuaded his friend to rob
a woman in order to pay back the money. Khang was caught and sentenced
to two years of in prison. His friend was sentenced to one year.
Vietnamese fishermen save 11 Malaysian sailors off Truong Sa
Fishermen
aboard three Vietnamese fishing boats rescued 11 Malaysian sailors
whose barge broke down off Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on
Sunday, the Vietnam National Search and Rescue Committee reported the
same day.
At about 3:00 pm, the Vietnamese vessels found barge
HUB18, with Malaysian nationality, drifting about 134 nautical miles off
Phan Vinh Island, part of Truong Sa in the East Vietnam Sea.
The
barge, which is about 160 meters long, was carrying 131 containers. Sea
conditions were rough, as it was raining heavily and the wind was
especially strong.
The fishermen aboard two local vessels from
south-central Binh Dinh Province, BĐ 97105 TS and BĐ 95698 TS, came
alongside the drifting barge and rescued nine Malaysian sailors from it.
Meanwhile, another vessel from central Quang Ngai Province, QNg 97068 TS, saved the other two foreign sailors.
The
local vessels then sent SOS signals and reported the rescue to the Nha
Trang Coastal Information Station, which in turn informed the incident
to search and rescue agencies in the region.
Upon receiving the signals, another Vietnamese fishing boat, BĐ 95698 TS, came to the scene to provide help.
Competent
agencies from the Vietnam National Search and Rescue Committee are
coordinating with the three Vietnamese fishing boats in towing the barge
to a safe place and taking care of the Malaysian sailors, pending the
following steps to be taken.
Motorbike-taxi drivers give first aid to traffic victims
A
group of motorbike-taxi drivers in Binh Duong Province have formed a
team to give free first aid to victims of traffic accidents.
The
group has gained some notoriety among the community of Di An Township
because of their willingness to arrive quickly at crash sites and give
aid, regardless of weather conditions.
“I’ve been part of this
group for five years. Before, I felt helpless when I would see people on
the street injured and in pain. Now I know how to help because of
training. There were even times that victims of accidents were
unintentionally made worse by efforts of those not trained in first
aid,” said Pham Ngoc An, one motorbike-taxi driver who joined the group.
He
added that he is also more confident to step forward as a witness when
there is an accident in which the one who caused it denies culpability
The
group was set up under and an initiative of the Red Cross. Teams are
provided with first aid training, and has helped over 2,000 people.
“On
the weekends there are a lot of drunk drivers. The mixture is not good
and it leads to a lot of accidents. Sometimes there are several we hear
about at once and respond to, even though they may be in different
locations,” said An.
Even though most motorbike taxi drivers
struggle to earn a living for themselves, they have not hesitated trying
to save others’ lives.
“A month ago or so, I helped carry a
victim to the hospital, where he was treated. He was so grateful that he
came back to find me and give me some money. I refused though,” said
Nguyen Van Tan, from Thanh Hoa Province.
It has not always been
easy for the teams to operate, however. Phan Tuan Thao, Chairman of Di
An Ward Red Cross Association, said, “At first, there were incidents in
which family members or friends of victims misunderstood the intentions
of our teams. Some have even been attacked trying to help. But, as the
community continues to recognise the work we are doing, it has become
easier to get funding and even provide uniforms for those who take
part.”
Vietnamese doctor receives Int’l recognition
Dr.
Duong Quang Trung’s research project on cognitive radio was named the
Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Communications (ICC)
in Sydney, Australia.
The ICC is a flagship conference in the
field of wireless technologies and communications. Dr. Trung’s research
project involved an intelligent wireless radio capable of being
programmed and configured dynamically.
The conference attracted
2,500 scientists from 74 countries and territories around the globe, who
presented 991 papers selected from 2,608 entries.
Last year,
Trung also won first prize with another research project on cognitive
radio at the 77th Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Vehicular Technology Conference (IEEE VTC) in Dresden, Germany.
Trung
is a lecturer at Queens University in the UK and his 120 research
projects have been published in 53 magazines along with more than 70
international conference yearbooks.
Fire ravages bar in downtown HCM City
A
fire broke out at Bar Canalis in District 3 of downtown HCM City on
Saturday. The fire started on the second floor and quickly spread to the
front of the four-floor bar.
No injuries were reported. Since there was heavy rain, fire-fighters brought the fire under control in half an hour.
The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained. The total damage has also not been assessed.
Boat carrying diesel catches fire
A boat used to catch cuttle fish suddenly caught fire around midnight on Saturday.
The boat belonged to 43-year-old Pham Cuong of Tam Giang Commune, Nui Thanh District of Quang Nam.
It was anchored on the Truong Giang River. Cuong was nearby when the boat caught fire. No one was injured.
Fire-fighters
could bring the fire under control only after four hours. Apparently, a
short circuit caused the fire and spread rapidly due to the seven
tonnes of diesel that the boat was carrying.
Damage is estimated at VND3.5 billion (US$164,000).
Lao national caught with medicinal drugs
Border officers of Bo Y, yesterday, detained a 26-year-old Lao national carrying 1,500 tablets of methamphetamine into Viet Nam.
Kham Xi, 26, was caught red-handed while transporting the drugs.
It
is unclear where the tablets were being brought from. Xi said he was
hired by a Vietnamese to carry the drugs into the country.
He is currently being detained to get more information.
Rare trees in natural reserve cut down
Forest
rangers in Dak Nong Province have confirmed that at least 113 rare
trees were recently cut down in the Nam Nung Natural Forest Reserve Area
in Dak G’long District.
This came to light after complaints were filed by residents of Quang Son Commune in the district.
Local
authorities, in cooperation with forest range officers, discovered some
of the logs that had been chopped but not yet removed from the site.
The case has been transferred to the provincial police for further investigation.
New Urban Area opens more roads
HCM
City’s Department of Transport has approved plans to spend more than
VND333 billion (US$15.6 million) to upgrade and expand Tran Nao Street
connecting Thu Thiem New Urban Area in the city.
The project,
which would connect Nguyen Van Huong Road with Tran Nao-Luong Dinh
Cua-Arc Avenue intersection, would be built on the area of nearly 40,000
square metres during a two year period.
The road is expected to
measure more than 1.31km long and 30 metres wide, consisting of six
lanes and a speed limit of 60 kilometres per hour for road users.
A drainage system, lighting and underground 110kV electricity grid will also accompany the new tree-lined street.
The Traffic Urban Management No2 Centre under the city’s Department of Transport will fund the project.
Meanwhile,
the city’s People’s Committee has agreed to allocate nearly 400,000
square metres of land of Thu Thiem New Urban Area for an outside company
to build four main boulevards in the area.
This includes the Arc Avenue, Lakeside Avenue, Riverside Avenue and a subway connecting eight functional areas in Thu Thiem.
The construction, with a total capital investment of VND12 trillion ($571.4 million), is expected to finished by February 2017.
VJA statement opposes China’s wrongdoings
The
Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) on June 29 released a statement
protesting China’s illegal placement of oil rig Haiyang Shiyou- 981 in
Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf.
The
association demanded China respect international law, withdraw its oil
rig from Vietnam’s waters, halt violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty over
the sea and islands, and stop the use of force that seriously threatens
the lives of Vietnamese fishermen, fishery resource surveillance and
law enforcement forces.
China’s actions have complicated the
situation, fueling tensions in the region and threatening maritime
security and safety in the East Sea, it said.
The association
called on the international press community, including the Chinese press
to better understand the situation and denounced the dangerous actions
of provocations which infringe international law, firstly the 1982 UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and violate Vietnam’s
sovereignty over its EEZ and continental shelf.
It also
reiterated Vietnam’s stance on resolving disputes by peaceful means on
the basis of international law, equality and mutual respect in the
common interests of the two countries’ people as well as for peace in
the region and the world at large.
“The association believes that
all countries, large or small, are equally responsible for common peace
and security and they need mutual respect and trust,” the statement
said.
PM greenlights plan to set up rail, road buffer zones
A
plan to clean up the illegal homes and shops sitting just inches away
from road and rail lines throughout the country has been approved by
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
The plan aims to reduce the many
deadly accidents caused by so many squatters living and doing business
next to busy traffic corridors.
The Directorate for Roads has been ordered to co-operate with localities to remove all illegal buildings.
It
has also been told to submit plans to evict and compensate those who
are moved to provincial People’s Committees before June 30 next year.
The
Ministry of Transport’s rail management agency has been told to finish
building barriers to close unofficial level crossings nation-wide by
2017, Dung said.
The agency has also been asked to improve the
quality of official level crossings nationwide, including erecting
traffic signs to warn and inform the public.
It has been told to
ensure safety at the junctions between railroads and national highways
between Ha Noi and HCM City within two years.
The budget to implement the plan has been financed from the State budget, local budgets and other sources.
The
transport ministry has been told to send an annual report to the
Government about the implementation of the plan before January 31.
Seven
ministries including construction, finance, planning and investment,
and public security have been asked to co-operate with the transport
ministry to implement the plan.
HCM City signs pact with Rhone-Alpes Region
A
comprehensive cooperation agreement was signed between HCM City and
France’s Rhone-Alpes Region during a visit to the region headed by Le
Hoang Quan, chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, last week.
The
Agreement on Cooperation between HCM City and Rhone-Alpes Region in the
2014-2017 period highlights four priorities between HCM City and the
Rhone-Alpes Region, including the development of a sustainable economic
partnership, development cooperation, cooperation on training, cultural
exchanges and training of young staff.
Addressing the signing
ceremony, Quan said the renewed agreement on bilateral cooperation
indicates the two sides’ efforts to enhance cooperation and match the
potential of both Rhone-Alpes Region and HCM City.
In December
2012, HCM City and the Rhone-Alpes region signed a number of agreements
to enhance cooperation during talks between the deputy chairman of the
HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Tin, and Bernard Soulage, vice
chairman of the Rhone-Alpes Regional Council.
They included a
cooperation agreement between HCM City, the Rhone-Alpes Region and the
Lyon Urban Community on urban-related areas and an agreement between HCM
City and Lyon on installing a lighting system for the main post office
in Saigon.
On Thursday, Quan opened the “HCM City Days in Lyon
City and Rhone-Alpes Region” festival, while the HCM City delegation
introduced a music show called “Songs from the City Named after
President Ho Chi Minh” at the Palais de Mutalite in Lyon.
Programme raises funds for children with genital deformities
A
fundraising drive was held in Hanoi on June 28 as part of an ongoing
charitable programme providing surgeries for Vietnamese children with
congenital and other abnormalities of the genitalia.
The
organizers of the drive aimed to raise US$80,000 to cover expenses for
operations for 32 children nationwide, bringing the total number of the
programme has benefited to 106.
In 2006, with the first successful
operation performed by Italian professor Roberto Decastro and his
colleagues on Phung Thien Nhan, a young boy with genital deformities,
inflicted after he was abandoned by his mother and attacked by wild
animals.
Since 2010, a group of leading US and Italian experts has
been traveling to Vietnam annually, providing free health check-ups for
388 children and conducting surgeries for 74 disadvantaged children
nationwide.
This June, the group will arrive in Vietnam to carry
out their sixth operation term and provide surgeries for 32 needy
children.The programme also covers all expenses of travel and
accommodations for families of these patients.
So far, less than
the full US$80,000 needed has been collected to fund the cost of this
year’s surgeries for the children and the programme needs additional
support to help them.
Those wishing to donate can transfer their
donation to the account of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation and
inform the fund via email chuongtrinhthiennhan@gmail.com or hotline:
0942.95.95.98.
SPELL awards scholarships to 40,000 students
The
Scholarship Programme to Enhance Literacy and Learning (SPELL) recently
awarded scholarships valued at US$3.7 million to roughly 40,000
disadvantaged children in seven central provinces.
SPELL was
launched ten years ago by the East Meets West Foundation (EMW) with the
aim of assisting the country’s low-income students gain a solid
education and get a good job.
The programme has helped students
from some of the poorest families in the seven central provinces and
cities of Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue, Danang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai,
Binh Dinh and Phu Yen.
It has been instrumental in reducing the
number of drop-outs in over 85% of the junior secondary schools, raising
the final examination pass rate to 97% and assisting innumerable
students win national and provincial educational awards.
Vietnam
Education Promotion Association Vice President Tran Xuan Nhi praised
SPELL’s assistance as a motivation for students to study well and its
remarkable contributions to the national educational system.
In
2010, a sister programme, SPELL Goes To College (SGTC) was launched,
helping students pursue their educational goals at universities. The
programme has so far supported 130 poor students in realizing their
dream of studying at universities.
Remove stinking chicken farm: residents
Environment
pollution caused by a chicken farm in Thu Thua District of the southern
province of Long An, has affected the health and lives of numerous
households for many years.
According to local residents, the chicken waste of Minh Dung farm causes a stink while attracting a large number of flies.
The privately run Minh Dung farm is currently raising 30,000 chickens.
Pham
Thi Tam, a resident, said there were so many flies because of the
environmental pollution from the chicken farm and the situation had
existed for years.
Many of the roughly 200 households have to hang up mosquito nets when they have meals to keep out the flies, she said.
The smell from the chicken waste was really terrible, she added.
“We
asked local authorities on numerous occasions to remove the chicken
farm to safeguard the health of residents, but no measures have been
taken yet,” she said.
Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh
Thanh commune in Thu Thua District, Le Quoc Viet, said the chicken farm
owner promised to handle the environmental pollution and remove the farm
before today following the provincial People’s Committee’s order.
However, he said, during a recent inspection it was discovered that the farm owner had failed to keep his promise.
The
provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment has done
regular inspections and asked the chicken farm owner to deal with the
environment pollution, but the situation had not improved much, said the
department’s Deputy Director Huynh Thi Thep.
If the farm owner
did not co-operate with local authorities in removing the farm, the
department would propose stricter measures, she said.
Circular aims to curb groundwater exploitation
Individuals
and organisations wanting to exploit groundwater in areas where water
levels have decreased for three consecutive years, are required to
register with the local People’s Committees by July 15.
The move
followed Circular 27/2014/TT-BTNMT recently signed by Deputy Minister of
Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Thai Lai, aimed at controlling
the over-exploitation of groundwater resources throughout the country.
Lai
said that individuals or organisations were also ordered to register
with the committee at commune or district levels if they wanted to drill
for water in both urban areas and residential zones in rural areas,
where it was located on soft ground.
The circular said that there
were several areas where registration was mandatory before groundwater
sources could be exploited, including areas with a lot of limestone;
delta and coastal areas interlaced between fresh water and salt water.
In
addition, individuals or organisations, owning bore wells, with a depth
of more than 20 metres and a capacity to supply below 10 cubic metres
daily, had to register with People’s Committees at commune or district
levels before exploiting groundwater sources, Lai said.
The
ministry assigned all departments of Natural Resources and Environment
nationwide to quickly make a list of areas required to register before
they begin drilling for water, he said.
Lai added that the
People’s Committee at commune or district levels had to send feedback to
individuals or organisations within 10 days of receiving the
registration papers.
Lai asked the People’s Committee at the
provincial levels and the Department of Water Resources Management to
cooperate with relevant agencies to implement the circular.
Overall global drug use prevalence stable: UNODC report
Drug
use prevalence is stable around the world, with around 243 million
individuals, or 5 percent of the world’s population aged 15-64 having
used illicit drugs in the past year, according to the 2014 World Drug
Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Meanwhile,
problem drug users numbered about 27 million, roughly 0.6 percent of
the world’s adult population, or 1 in every 200 people, said the report.
UNODC called for a stronger focus on the health and human rights of all drug users, but particularly those who inject drugs.
“There
remain serious gaps in service provision. In recent years, only one in
six drug users globally has had access to or received drug dependence
treatment services each year”, stated UNODC Executive Director Yury
Fedotov, stressing that some 200,000 drug-related deaths had occurred in
2012.
The UNODC said sustainable success in drug control required
firm international commitment. A balanced and comprehensive approach
addressing both supply and demand should be backed up by evidence-based
responses focusing on prevention, treatment, social rehabilitation and
integration.
According to the report, heroin remains a major drug
of concern in several countries in Asia including China, Malaysia,
Myanmar and Vietnam. After showing a dramatic increase between 2008 and
2011, heroin seizures levelled off in 2012 and 2013 suggesting a stable
trend, but remain at a very high level with over 9 tonnes seized per
year.
In the first six months of 2014, Vietnamese police seized
14.1kg of opium, a sharply decrease from the amount of 83kg in the same
period last year.-
Dong Thap partners with Netherlands in hi-tech agriculture
The
Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap has benefited from its cooperation
with Netherlands partnership to develop hi-tech agriculture.
A
delegation from the province recently made a fact-finding tour to the
Netherlands to study the country’s agriculture techniques, especially in
flower growing.
During the trip, Dong Thap officials signed an
agreement with the Demokwekerji Westland company and the Vietnam
Business Centre in the Netherland, under which the two Dutch partners
will conduct a feasibility study for the establishment of a hi-tech
agriculture centre in the province. This project has already been
approved by the Dutch Ministry of Economy.
The visit was also a
good chance for Dong Thap experts to seek partners and concrete ways to
apply the latest farming techniques suitable with the local climate and
soil.
Notably, during the recent Vietnam visit by Dutch Prime
Minister Mark Rutte, the Vietnam Business Centre in the Netherland
reached a deal with Sa Dec city of Dong Thap on cooperation in flower
growing, trade and tourism.
Also on the occasion, the Dong Thap
People’s Committee and business players from the Netherlands set up a
working group comprising Vietnamese and Dutch experts for the
development of new plant varieties and training of agriculturalists for
the province.
The Netherlands pledged to assist the southern
province with the import of new flower varieties and restoration of
specialty species of Sa Dec, which is the largest supplier of flowers in
the southwestern region.
Health sector to widen coverage
The health sector will focus on improving the quality of medical services and benefits for insured patients.
These
are part of the sector’s efforts to increase the country’s health
insurance coverage to 75 percent by 2015 and 80 percent by 2020.
Speaking
at a meeting in Hanoi on June 26 to mark the Vietnam Health Insurance
Day which falls on July 1, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said that
positive changes in the revised health insurance law that was adopted
by the National Assembly on June 13, would be important steps to achieve
the goal of health insurance for all.
“Changing from voluntary to
compulsory payments would help in handling the shortcomings in the
current health insurance policies and in increasing the health insurance
coverage of the population,” she said.
The insured patient’s
benefits would be improved by efforts to simplify the health insurance
procedures and by upgrading the examination and treatment services,
especially for the poor, ethnic and minority people or those living on
islands and in difficult areas, according to the minister.
Tien
said that the country still faces many challenges such as access to
medical services and the quality of check-up and treatment, which need
to be resolved for meeting the increasing demand for healthcare. More
than 30 percent of the population is not covered by medical insurance,
and the inadequate awareness of people regarding health insurance laws
and regulations were also problems in achieving universal health
insurance coverage.
The ministry’ statistics shows that the number
of medically insured people increased by 15 million after five years of
implementation of the health insurance law. The country had 61.7
million medically insured people, totalling nearly 70 percent of the
country’s population by end of 2013.
The health insurance fund has
paid more than 42 trillion VND (2 billion USD for examination and
treatment during 131 million visits by insured patents in 2013, compared
to more than 19 trillion VND (900 million USD) during 102 millions
visits by insured patients in 2010.-
VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND