Another fatal case of A/H1N1 reported in Thanh Hoa
A 12-year old girl from Thanh Hoa province has died of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, also known as swine flu, Dr. Nguyen Hong Ha, Deputy Director of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, announced on April 23.
This was the third fatal case ever reported since the beginning of 2013.
According to Ha, the child patient was admitted to hospital when she was in critical condition. Her blood test proved positive for the H1N1 virus, but doctors could not save her life with Tamiflu drug.
Earlier, two other victims of the disease were both from the northern province of Yen Bai, aged 23 and 46, respectively.
Local people are advised to have medical checkups when they have some flu syndromes.
Four students on one bike die in collision
Four students were killed yesterday, April 23, in a traffic accident on a stretch of the 18A National Highway through Dai Yen Ward in the northern province of Quang Ninh’s Ha Long Township.
Four students were killed yesterday.
The accident occurred after a truck collided with the students’ motorbike.
The victims were all tenth graders from Nguyen Binh Khiem High School. The case is under investigation.
HCM City hosts Lower Mekong Initiative meeting
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State will jointly host the Third Regional Working Group Meeting of the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) in HCM City on April 25-26.
About 90 officials from the US, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam will attend the event.
Six panel discussions will take place, focusing on the six key cooperation areas of the environment and water, health care, education, connectivity, agriculture-food security, and energy security.
Two other sessions will examine closer coordination and information exchange amongst LMI member states.
A workshop on the public-private partnership (PPP) model will be held on the sidelines of the meeting.
Extra buses ready for national holidays
The Ha Noi Bus Station will add 500 coaches to its fleet during the coming Reunification Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1) holidays, said director Nguyen Hoang Trung.
The company also has measures to deal with the increase of passengers during peak days, said Trung.
Over 3,000 trips last week were added to serve travel demands during the Commemoration Day of Hung Kings – the founder of the nation – (April 19).
UNFPA supports training for village-based health workers
The Ministry of Health and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on April 23 launched Circular No. 7 defining the criteria, responsibilities and duties of village-based health workers, including ethnic minority midwives.
According to Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien, the maternal and infant fatality rate in mountainous areas is 3-4 times higher than those in the delta regions. Over 50 percent of women in Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Lao Cai provinces give birth at home.
Tien said health workers, especially those involved in maternity and infant care in mountainous and ethnic minority areas, are always in short supply.
Rough terrain, different customs and cultures, lack of equipment and appropriate policies hinder their work, he added.
Village-based midwives help reduce the fatality rate of women and babies in mountainous and far flung regions.
The newly issued circular officially recognises ‘village-based midwife’ as a type of health worker at a communal level, entitled to training and pay. It manifests the strong commitment of the Vietnamese Government to the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of minimising maternal and infant deaths.
UNFPA Representative Mandeep K. O’Biren said the model of training village-based health workers, including ethnic minority midwives, and their official roles in the system should be expanded to mountainous and difficult areas.
By successfully carrying out this work, Vietnam can achieve the MDG on health in ethnic minority groups, both in rural and urban areas, she added.
Japan helps nation prepare for floods
The second phase of Viet Nam’s ‘society resilient against disaster’ project was launched yesterday with the signing of an agreement between several Vietnamese provinces and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).
The deal will see the Government of Japan develop an integrated flood management (IFM) system in Viet Nam to counter water-related disasters.
The investment is worth Y$393 million (approximately US$4.17 million) spread across central level and the four provinces. Japanese experts will be sent to Viet Nam to help the country transfer technology while Vietnamese partners will receive training in Japan.
Vietnamese agencies involved in the project include the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and authorities from the central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh and Thua Thien Hue.
The phase is being funded by JICA, who will also provide machinery and equipment.
“Japan has a long history and experience of dealing with natural disasters. I hope this project can utilise that knowledge and contribute to the reduction of flood risks in the central provinces while increasing the resilience of society against the dangers,” said JICA Viet Nam Chief Representative Tsuno Motonori.
The first phase of the project was carried out by JICA from 2009 to 2012. It was successful in its aims, including the formulation of an Integrated Flood Management Plan in Thua Thien Hue Province and the preparation of guidelines on community-based disaster resilience management.
Malaria control remains big challenge
Malaria control in Vietnam remains a big challenge as there are nearly 20 million people living in malaria-endemic areas, accounting for 22.5 percent of the total population.
Nguyen Van Binh, Head of the Health Ministry’s Preventive Health Department, made the statement at a ceremony to launch World Malaria Day (April 25) in the central and Central Highlands regions, which are the country’s hotspots of malaria.
In 2012, seven of the eight deaths of malaria nationwide were reported in these regions, Binh said.
The situation was attributed to low capacity of the grassroots healthcare system, people’s awareness in preventing malaria, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, cross-border exchanges in hyper-endemic areas seasonal movements, Binh added.
According to Tran Cong Dai, an expert of the World Health Organisation in Vietnam, early diagnosis, correct and timely treatment, sleeping in insecticide-soaked mosquito nets and spraying anti-mosquito chemicals are basic preventive measures.
The Government needs to continue its investment in malaria control efforts in order to maintain achievements and completely eliminate the disease in the future, he said.
The ceremony was co-organised by the Quy Nhon Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology and the People’s Committee of central Phu Yen province in Song Hinh district on April 23.
Danlait milk given all clear over quality
The Viet Nam Food Administration under the Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed that Danlait, a goat milk product imported by the Manh Cam Company, has met quality standards.
Speaking at a press conference on the product, Le Van Giang, deputy head of the administration, said that the milk’s quality has been certified by the health ministries of both Viet Nam and France.
According to Giang, Danlait is a food supplement but the importer had wrongly labelled it as baby formula.
Authorities have not yet revealed if they have fined the Manh Cam Company for the violation.
Truck crash kills one, injures three
A truck driver died when his truck got out of control and crashed into a tractor on National Highway 14 early yesterday morning in southern Binh Phuoc Province.
Two other people in the truck and the driver of the tractor were injured as the truck slammed into it, pushing it more than 10 metres.
Killed was Hoang Van Hien, 30, from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
Police are investigating.
Vietnam reviews climate change investment
A conference was held in Hanoi on April 23 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, to collect opinions on evaluating investment activities and public spending on climate change.
Vietnam has joined a number of initiatives in accordance with the Convention of the United Nations (UN) and Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Many national policies have been revised to incorporate climate change issues into environmental management work, biodiversity preservation and other interdisciplinary goals such as poverty reduction.
To date the country has received US$1.2 billion in international aid for climate change adaptation. Experts say investment in this area is expected to increase, but there is a lack of policies and coordination capacity, creating a bottleneck in the implementation process.
According to Pham Hoang Mai, head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment, domestic investment in climate change adaptation is still restricted.
Thomas Beloe, a UNDP representative, suggested that Vietnam should take a more proactive approach to climate change, particularly to promote green/low carbon development.
A tough challenge for developing countries, including Vietnam, is how to mobilise sufficient financial sources to deal with climate change, said Murray, a World Bank representative. Therefore, the country should classify climate change-related costs in order to improve the quality of spending on climate change response.
VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA