About 29 people in Vietnam get HIV every day

An average of 29 people contracted HIV every day in the first five months of this year, announced a meeting yesterday in Ha Noi.

Bac Ninh, Gia Lai, Lai Chau and Nghe An saw more HIV infections than last year.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is also chairman of the Vietnam National Committee for HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control, said that Viet Nam faced a challenge due to reduced international financial support, which heightened the risk of infection for previously low-risk individuals. He encouraged social organisations to continue contributing to the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Viet Nam has successfully kept the ratio of people infected with HIV below 0.3 per cent. The country now has over 213,000 people living with HIV.

New infections declined for three consecutive years after the introduction of methadone treatment for drug addicts.

Storm death toll in central Vietnam rises to 22

The 8th tropical storm which brought torrential rains to the central coastal provinces late last week has killed at least 22 people and injured six others.

Seven other people are reported missing, according to the National Steering Committee for Floods and Storms Control.

Although the rain let up, violent floodwaters and landslides prevented rescue work.

On September 22, rescue workers found the wreckage of a 7-seater sedan washed away by floodwaters on September 19.

The car was found 500m away from Khe Ang dam in Nghe An province’s Nghia Dan district where the incident occurred.

Four dead bodies were retrieved from the wreckage, and rescue forces are trying to search for the last fifth victim.

Seven people were aboard the car when the incident happened. Two people, including the driver, jumped out of the car before it was swept away by the violent torrents of floodwaters.

Elsewhere a strong whirlwind ripped through dozens of houses in the southern province of Bac Lieu on September 22.  

10 houses collapsed and 15 others were unroofed as consequences of heavy rains in the southern province of An Giang on September 21-22.

Heavy downpours are expected to dump on northern border provinces as typhoon Usagi is weakening and heading towards Vietnam.

Quang Tri arrests three swindlers

Police in Gio Linh District of central Quang Tri Province prosecuted three people for appropriating property on Tuesday.

The three arrestees –Nguyen Minh Tuan, Ngo Anh Tuan and Le Dao – forged references, documents and the signature of an official at the provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs as well as seals from a job promotion Center.

They allegedly coerced people who wanted to work in Korea VND85 million ($4,025) each.

The investigation is ongoing.

Cabin attendant caught allegedly smuggling new iPhones

Police arrested a flight attendant working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines on Sunday for allegedly smuggling 50 luxury iPhone 5S mobiles.

The suspect was found carrying the undeclared iPhones after his Paris-Ha Noi flight landed Noi Bai International Airport, said Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung, head of Ha Noi Police's Department for the Investigation of Economic Management Order and Position-related Crimes.

Hung noted that in Viet Nam, there was a huge demand for the iPhone 5S, which was launched late last week in other countries. He said that such a phone could be sold at price of nearly VND40 million (US$2,000) on the domestic market because of short supply.

One policeman dead, two injured in shooting

A shooting at Suoi Tre traffic police station yesterday in southern Dong Nai Province left one policeman dead and two seriously injured, according to a report on the VOV (Voice of Viet Nam) Online Newspaper.

Major Tran Van Son, deputy director of the police station, was hit twice in the abdomen and died two hours later at the provincial Long Khanh General Hospital. Two of the injured, Senior Lieutenant Doan Thanh Phu and Captain Ngo Van Vinh received treatment at the hospital.

The shooting occurred after a dispute between police officials resulted in the men opening fire.

Local authorities are examining the scene and conducting investigations to identify the cause of the death.

Car accident kills two in Phu Yen

A deadly traffic accident in central Phu Yen Province early yesterday morning killed two people instantly.

The victims have been identified as Nguyen Van Doan, 36, from Tuy Hoa City and Huynh Ngoc Trong, 22, from the provincial Phu Hoa District.

The van had been transporting around two cubic meters of lumber when it allegedly sped and collided with a pile of construction soil in the street, causing the victims to die instantly.

Local police are conducting further investigations.

Quang Nam arrests fake seal makers

Police in the central province of Quang Nam on Monday arrested five people for making fake seals and documents.

Hundreds of moulds of bachelor and associate certification stamps were found and seized, along with tools to make fake documents.

The group had been tracked by police since August last year. Now, alleged ringleaders Tran Ngoc Sy, Nguyen Thanh Le and Nguyen Ba Than have been detained and charged with forging the seals of authorised agencies and organisations.

Two other suspects, Tran Huyen An and Huynh Duc Tri, are being held for further questioning in the police inquiry. Quang Nam Police have informed residents about the case and promised people who bought fake certifications clemency if they hand the documents over to police. The hotline to report to is 0510.3852589.

Nine become ASEAN media, security officers

Nine Vietnamese candidates have made the lists for Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at the 9th ASEAN CIO/CSO Awards in 2013.

The director of Da Nang city's department of Home Affairs, Dang Cong Ngu and eight Vietnamese candidates will receive the CIO titles at the award ceremony in HCM City today.

The ASEAN CIO & CSO Awards, which is the first event of its kind in the ASEAN community, was organised by the International Data Group (IDG) and aims to honor outstanding individuals responsible for information management and security.

Programme helps disadvantaged youth

More than 8,000 disadvantaged students have received performance-based tuition subsidies under a three-year programme funded by the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid.

The US$3million programme was implemented by the East Meets West (EMW) Foundation between 2010 and 2013 and targeted poor students from 67 high schools in 12 provinces across the country.

The programme has motivated schools to engage disadvantaged youth by funding tuition expenses for each student. Funds are then reimbursed to the school after students complete the academic term.

Speaking at a ceremony held yesterday to mark the end of the three-year programme, Nguyen Minh Chau, Country Director of EMW, said the model could be replicated across Viet Nam.

Programme statistics show that only 4.5 per cent of beneficiaries dropped out of school during the three years, mainly due to poor performance and economic hardship.

Volatile birth rates a challenge for VN

Ten years on from implementing the Population Ordinance project, the country faces a number of new challenges including volatile birth rates across different provinces and cities, gender imbalance at birth and an ageing population.

Director of the Ministry of Health's General Office for Population and Family Planning Duong Quoc Trong made the claims at a conference in Ha Noi yesterday to review results of the Population Ordinance implementation.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan chaired the event.

The Population Ordinance project was issued in January 2003 by the National Assembly Standing Committee and came into effect four months later.

Despite remarkable achievements such as decreasing infant and prenatal deaths and ushering the nation into a golden population period, the workforce remained limited in quality, said Trong.

The golden population period refers to the present time when the majority of the population are of working age. However, this is the only a period in the course of population transition and challenges lay ahead.

"This period offers abundant labour resources and creates an opportunity to generate a large number of materials for the future, but there will be great challenges if workforce quality does not improve," he said.

In 2009 only 13.4 per cent of youths aged 15 and over received professional training, whereas the rate in Japan was 43.9 per cent and 40.4 per cent in South Korea, according to general office statistics.

Gender imbalance at birth remains high with 112.3 boys born for every 100 girls last year.

In addition, services to improve the population's quality of life including pre-marriage health checks, pre-birth diagnoses and new-born screening, plus social security for the elderly was still limited, especially in remote mountainous provinces, said Trong.

Another problem is the increasing number of people leaving the country. By 1999, around 4.5 million people had emigrated – equal to around 6.5 per cent of the total population - and by 2009, the number had reached 6.5 million people, equal to 7.5 per cent.

In HCM City, the number of emigrants was equal to 30 per cent of the city's population, whereas the rate in Ha Noi and Da Nang was 10 and 6.4 per cent respectively.

To overcome the challenges, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien proposed giving priority to remote and mountainous areas in supplying reproductive healthcare and family planning services.

Information dissemination should also be improved to narrow the birth rate gap in different provinces and cities, he said.

Relevant bodies should set up measures to lengthen and take advantage of the golden population period, as well as to hasten updates to the Law on Population.

"The law will form an important base for solving new challenges appearing on the horizon," said Tien.

Speaking about the population's future duties, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said workers should learn from the experiences of Japan and South Korea, who had both suffered workforce shortages.

"If population policies are not suitable and timely, it will be difficult to change the situation, so the sector must find ways to maintain a sustainable workforce scale," he said.

In Vietnamese tradition, offspring take care of their parents when grow old, thus the population sector should join hands with the education sector in giving children training so that they have good awareness on the social security needs of the elderly, he said.

The population sector should also co-ordinate with labour and health sectors to lengthen the golden population period until at least 2061 and take full advantage of the period, he said.

"For every population policy, encouraging each family to have two children is the best policy for ensuring a stable population," said Nhan.

Police study tourist sex-offence crimes

Police officers in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and neighbouring localities attended sex-offender workshop here that ends today to learn how to track down and identify tourists who exploit children.

The two-day workshop is the first offered by the Vung Tau City's Criminal Police Department and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Gender issues related to child sexual exploitation were also discussed.

Zhuldyz Akisheva, country manager of UNODC's Viet Nam office, said that battling child exploitation by tourists required a coordinated domestic, regional and international response.

Travelling child sex offenders pose a significant law enforcement challenge, she added.

Offenders often travel away from their usual home location to prey on vulnerable children, she said, adding that they are often go undetected.

One of the counter measures developed in the Mekong sub-region is called Project Childhood, an initiative organised by UNODC, INTERPOL and World Vision.

The five-year project ending in 2014 is funded by the Government of Australia through the Australian Agency for International Development.

The project, which covers Viet Nam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, supports strong law-enforcement responses to bringing travelling child sex offenders to justice.

Increased knowledge of law enforcement and regional and international co-operation helps governments to better equip themselves to identify and counter child sexual exploitation in travel and tourism.

World Vision works with governments and communities to prevent children from becoming victims of sexual exploitation in tourism by raising awareness and building community resilience.

Public campaigns, training and telephone hotlines, used by governments, communities and tourism industries, all contribute to better awareness on the vulnerabilities of at-risk children.

Vietnamese life expectancy four years longer after a decade

Vietnamese people's life expectancy increased considerably for the past decade, from 69 in 2002 to more than 73 in 2012.

The information was released at a conference on population in Hanoi on September 24.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) forecast that by 2050 Vietnam will rank third in Southeast Asia in terms of life expectancy (80.4 years), followed by Singapore (84.1) and Brunei (81.1).

According to the General Office for Population and Family Planning (GOPFP), life expectancy in Vietnam grows at a rate higher than elsewhere in the world, for instance, from 40 in 1960 to 73 in 2012 compared to 48 and 69, respectively.

GOPFP General Director Duong Quoc Trong said Vietnam’s population will reach 90 million people by November 1, 2013, due to its annual growth of 924,000 people, and 93 million by 2015, or 2 million less than estimated.

However, gender imbalance at birth remains high with 112.3 boys born for every 100 girls.

The Ministry of Health will develop the Population Law. The draft law will be submitted the National Assembly by 2014 with many new contents, such as purchasing sperm and ova, surrogate and surrogacy and artificial insemination.

US further support Vietnam’s biotechnology application

The US will continue to aid Vietnam in researching, experimenting and applying biotechnology towards commercialising the technology outcomes in the country as well as the international market.

US Deputy Chief of Mission Claire Pierangelo made the affirmation at the sixth annual seminar on biotechnology in agriculture, which was co-organised by the US Embassy and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in Hanoi on September 24.

The importance of biotechnology in increasing crop productivity, promoting safer and greener farming environment, mitigating climate change impact and ensuring food security was  underscored by US and Vietnamese officials present at the seminar.

Biotechnology is the best solution to the creation of plant and animal varieties with highest economic value as well as environmental protection, said Tran Xuan Dinh, Deputy Head of the Plantation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnam was urged to take concrete steps and measures and push ahead the biotechnological application to deal with such challenges posed by climate change as salt intrusion into rice farming areas, especially in the Mekong Delta, the region most vulnerable to sea level rise.

Agricultural biotechnology application has been diversified in the world over the years, allowing more than 16 million farmers, as calculated by 2011, to enjoy higher produce output and lower production cost.

Vietnam strives for complete social welfare system

The people’s low participation in social and health insurance systems, a risk of pension funds shutting down in a decade, an aging society and social insurance management incompetence have posed pressing issues to state agencies in time of building a complete social welfare system in Vietnam.

These issues were also debated at a seminar in Hanoi on September 24 during which Japanese experts share social welfare experience with Vietnamese researchers, ministry and National Assembly officials.

The event was jointly held by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Addressing the function, VASS Deputy Director Nguyen Giang Hai described social welfare as a core policy that is decisive to stable and sustainable development of a country.

It also contributes to reducing inequality and harms caused by risks in the daily life for each individual and the whole community, Hai added.

Participants agreed that in Vietnam health and social insurance coverage still remains low.

Professor Hiroi Yoshinori from Japan’s Chiba University suggested the formation of local funds covering medical check-ups and treatment for their people and the funds should be managed by provincial authorities or mass organisations.

President of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Andre Leu has vowed to help Vietnam’s organic farming sector achieve a sustainable, environmentally-friendly development.

While meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on September 24, Leu said the IFOAM will develop schemes to forge closer links between the Vietnam Association of Organic Agriculture and their counterparts in the region and beyond.

The move is to get the Vietnamese wider access to organic farm produce, he noted.

Deputy PM Phuc, for his part, hailed the IFOAM’s active operations in the region and the world over the past time, which, he said, has benefited consumers, producers and the environment.

He said he hopes the organisation will help develop Vietnam’s organic farming, especially those related to policies, technical assistance, training, certification, market expansion and trademark advertising.

Vietnam, US promote innovative research

Scientists and institutional managers from Vietnam and the US have gathered at a George Mason University seminar in Virginia to discuss ways of promoting innovative research.

The September 23 seminar is a part of the Joint Science and Technology Cooperation Committee’s 8th meeting (JCM8).

They emphasized the importance of sci-tech cooperation as a key pillar in comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and the US.  

They shared information and experience in improving public-private partnership efficiency during research.

US businesses said one of Vietnamese science and technology’s major challenges is its limited presence in the public sphere. The private sector is generally only interested in research when it is certain any resulting innovations can be used for material gain.

Delegates from the two countries also discussed mechanisms for expanding bilateral cooperation in science and technology.

Pink-eye disease spreads in localities

The number of people suffering from pink-eye disease (conjunctivitis) has increased rapidly in many localities in Vietnam due to the rainy season.

Since the beginning of September, more than 100 patients, mostly children, have visited the eye hospital in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho each day to seek conjunctivitis-related check-ups and treatment.

The patients mainly come from Can Tho and other Mekong Delta provinces, including Hau Giang, Soc Trang and Vinh Long.

In the central province of Binh Dinh, its eye hospital has reported more than 1,110 cases of pink-eye disease over the past four days.

The central city of Danang has also counted more than 300 cases of the disease due to unhygienic water source as a consequence of the recent eighth storm.

Local healthcare agencies have stepped up educational activities on how to prevent the disease, particularly keeping personal hygiene, and urge patients to seek treatment at medical stations.

Laos honours Vietnamese for post-war assistance

The Lao government has honoured 63 Vietnamese collectives and 148 individuals for their efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts who died during the war in Laos.

At a ceremony in Hanoi on September 23, Deputy Defence Minister and head of the Lao Government’s Special Working Commission Lieut. Gen. Chansamon Channhalat presented the Friendship Order, the Friendship Medal and the Ministry of Defence’s certificates of merit to representatives of the recipients.

He thanked the Vietnamese Party, State, Government, army and people for offering Laos whole-hearted support in any conditions and at any time.

Every success in Laos ’ past struggle for independence and current development process has been attached to the solidarity and valuable support from the fraternal Vietnamese people, he said.

He said the collectives and individuals’ excellent work in searching for and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts has helped tighten the special friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Nutrition manual for HIV/AIDS carriers published

A manual book on care and nutrition support for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) has been introduced to health workers to enable their better food counseling services to these people.

The book was introduced at a conference co-hosted by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) and the HIV/AIDS Prevention Department in Hanoi on September 23, with the participant of health workers from 12 cities and provinces nationwide.

According to NIN Deputy Head Le Danh Tuyen, HIV infection in Vietnam spreads mainly among high risk groups, including drug users, prostitutes and homosexual people.

The virus can worsen the malnutrition that has already attacked the infected, weakened their immune system and increased opportunistic infection vulnerability, he said.

The manual, compiled by the NIN and the HIV/AIDS Prevention Department in coordination with international organisations, is expected to help local health staff improve their counseling for both PLWA and their families regarding nutrition issues.

Govt moves to strengthen child adoption practices

The Government has urged ministries and local authorities to set up a database for child adoptions and make a list of children living in social care centres in order to protect adopted children, particularly in cases with foreign adoptive parents.

It has also asked the Ministry of Justice to work with local authorities to monitor and protect Vietnamese adopted children abroad.

The ministry will provide advice on finding families for children with disabilities and serious diseases in an effort to lift adoption rates in cities with large numbers of orphans. Cases of child abuse such as sexual exploitation and child labour will be punished according to law.

The Government has asked the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to profile children in disadvantaged circumstances at social care centres to relocate them to new homes. The Ministry of Public Security will be responsible for verifying the origin of abandoned children for adoption.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be responsible for promulgating procedures on child adoption through its foreign-based offices and protecting adopted children abroad.

The Law on Child Adoption was promulgated in 2010. Vietnam is also a member of The Hague Convention of Child Protection and International Co-operation in Child Protection.

Men called to ensure gender balance

International and domestic experts have sought for men’s broader involvement in dealing with gender imbalance at birth as it has become a burning issue in the country’s family planning work.

A symposium was held in Hanoi on September 23 with a focus on gender imbalance that has increased in Vietnam with the ratio of 112.3 boys to every 100 girls at birth in 2012.

The situation would have negative effects on social life and security as well as the nation’s sustainable growth, said Vice -Chairman of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association Leu Vu Dieu.

At the event, co-organised by the Vietnam Farmers’ Association (VNFU), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Vietnam Women's Union, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam A Thur ErKen cited the shortage of 117 million women in the world, mostly China and India, in 2010.

He blamed uncontrolled abortions and the use of advanced technologies to select gender at birth, which has become popular in many countries including Vietnam, leading to the current serious gender disparity.

The General Department of Population and Family Planning (GDPFP) estimated that Vietnam will have around 2.3-4 million more men than women by 2050.

Co-management plan to protect Soc Trang's mangroves

More than 3,000ha in the Mekong Delta city of Soc Trang's mangrove forest will be co-managed by local authorities and Vo Thanh Van Hamlet coastal forest co-management group, which includes over 750 local residents.

This means that local communities will share decision-making power, management responsibility and accountability. The move aims to provide local communities with legal access to natural resources in protected forests while ensuring that the resources are used sustainably.

It is part of a Vietnam-Germany technical co-operation project that started in 2007 with the goal of protecting the coastal wetlands of Soc Trang province for the benefit of the local population.

The forest co-management model has played an important role in mangrove forest protection in recent years. Thanks to policies that limited access to forests and mandated sustainable use of resources, the mangrove areas in Soc Trang have been protected while local people have enjoyed higher incomes from them, according to Bianca Schlegel, the project technical consultant.

IAEA offers Vietnam nuclear plant management skills

Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have shared experience in the management of nuclear power plant project under the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) contract with Vietnamese relevant agencies.

At a seminar held in Phan Rang-Thap Cham city of the south central coastal province of Ninh Thuan on September 23, participants analyzed the risks and feasibility of the EPC contract, the importance of early appraisal and risk distribution, safety management of nuclear power plant and so on.

The seminar, part of the IAEA cooperation technical project, aimed to help Vietnam build its first nuclear power plant in the province.

The experts also shared other countries’ experiences of the duties and responsibilities in an EPC contract and lessons learnt from the operation of nuclear power plants.

Those from France, Finland and Canada also talked about nuclear insurance, the relations between investors, contractors, consultants and local authorities and the procurement, design appraisal, licensing and construction supervision process.

Poverty rate expected to drop to 7.6% by year-end

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has predicted that Vietnam’s poverty rate will fall to 7.6% by the end of this year and to 2% in 2014.

The figures were released at a conference held by the National Assembly (NA) Committee for Social Affairs in Hanoi from September 23-25.

The event aimed to review the MoLISA and the Health Ministry’ budget spending in 2013, make budget estimates for next year and, collect opinions on adjustments to a number of laws.

Participants highlighted the MoLISA’s achievements in vocational training, job generation, child protection, and incentive policies for the poor and social-policy beneficiaries.

The MoLISA reported that more than 990,000 were employed after the eight months of this year, meeting 62% of the yearly set target. Over 1 million workers are expected to be trained in 2013.

However, many delegates noted with deep concern about the gap between the rich and the poor and between urban and rural areas, adding that poverty reduction should be ensured on a sustainable basis.

While touching upon salary and employee recruitment, MoLISA Minister Pham Thi Hai Chuyen pledged greater attention to job creation, poverty reduction and people credited with revolutionary service.

Binh Dinh refutes story on damage from water release

Local authorities in the central province of Binh Dinh's Tay Son District yesterday rebutted a report released by the media claiming that the An Khe – Ka Nak Hydro-power Plant released a large volume of water into Cat Stream which damaged up to 2.5-3 hectares of agricultural land during the eighth tropical storm of the season.

Speaking to a Vietnam News Agency reporter, deputy chairman of the district People's Committee Do Van Si said that the plant had released water according to plan.

After the hydro-power plant released water at full capacity of 50 cubic metres per second into the stream in 2011, reportedly damaging about 2.5ha of State-owned and agricultural land, the management board were forced to sign an agreement with the district People's Committee.

Under the agreement, it committed to not release water at the speed of 50 cubic metres per second during the rainy season.

It also remedied the consequences caused by releasing water, including compensating local farmers and building a bridge over Cat Stream for local people.

Nguyen Van Cuong, head of the plant's Administrative Office, said that they only released water at 25 cubic metres per second during the rainy season so it could not affect the upper reaches of the stream and agricultural land.

Last body's name identified in Dak Lak

Local police yesterday identified Vu Trong Bach, 32, as the last of seven victims who were swept away by a flash flood triggered by the eighth storm in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak.

His body was discovered on Monday afternoon near the Ea Sup Thuong Reservoir.

He was swept away while swimming across a local stream near the reservoir to get home after harvesting maize last Saturday.

Local authorities have provided nearly VND10 million (US$473) in support to each family of the victims.

In another development, the last body from a car, which was tragically swept away by floodwater in the central province of Nghe An last week, was discovered on Monday afternoon after a five-day search.

The body of 9-year-old Vo Ba Hai, the last of the five victims, was found floating in the Lam River, 100 metres away from the Khe Ang Dam, by local residents from the province's Anh Son District.

The driver of the car allegedly ignored flood warnings, resulting in the tragedy, according to initial findings.

The investigation of the case continues.

United Healthcare breaks ground for new plant in Vietnam

United Healthcare broke ground for a new manufacturing plant at the Hi-Tech Zone on September 21 in Ho Chi Minh City.

The VND219 billion (US$10 million) plant will provide high-quality treatment devices for heart diseases. The HCMC People’s Committee will provide VND91 billion ($4.3 million) for the first seven years and the Ministry of Science and Technology will give VND47.5 billion for the construction of the new plant.

The new plant will be able to produce 18.000 bare metal Stent units annually satisfying 12 percent of the demand, and 60.000 non-drug and drug eluting balloon units.

It will provide medical tools that will be 80 percent cheaper than imported ones in the market.

The factory is following the whole manufacturing technology transferred from United Healthcare Inc., USA. It is expected to operate by the first quarter of 2016 to help reduce import of medical equipment and treatment charges for cardiovascular disease persons from average and low income families.

Foreign doctors must have practising licence in VN

The HCM City Department of Health will continue to carry out inspections on the use of foreign doctors at private health clinics and illegal touts outside hospitals.

Cosmetic centres in the city will also be inspected until the end of this month.

The department will check dental centres and health clinics located near large hospitals, including Cho Ray Hospital, University Medical Centre and Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology.

According to Dr. Bui Minh Trang, chief of the city Health Department's inspector, no private health clinics in the city have registered to use foreign doctors.

Under the regulation, foreign doctors who want to work in private health clinics in Viet Nam have to have a practising licence issued by the Ministry of Health.

However, the department still has discovered that foreign doctors are working at many health clinics.

Two private health clinics including Hiep Hoa in Tan Binh District and Apollo in District 1 use Chinese doctors that do not have a licence to practise.

They also have used drugs that are not allowed in Viet Nam and have posted false advertising.

Authorities withdrew licences and imposed fines on the clinics. The Chinese doctors have also been deported.

Trang said that he and his colleagues had faced difficulties in inspection at private health clinics, especially ones that use foreign doctors illegally.

Most of the information about the clinics had been found in the media, he added.

Some TV channels had aired false advertising claims from these clinics, Trang said, adding that these adverts had attracted more clients

Vietnamese Seed Fund presents 20 scholarships to bright students

The Vietnamese Seed Fund, an academic sponsorship fund co-organized by Nhan Dan Newspaper, on September 24 gave away 20 scholarships to students who come first in the university entrance examination in Hanoi.

The fund presented 20 scholarships worth VND20 million (US$960) each to excellent students who come from disadvantaged families. Of them, Bui Chi Huong, from Co Loa Commune in Dong Anh District in Hanoi and studying in Post and Communication Institute of Technology, is living with his 80-year-old grandmother as his parents died of cancer a few years ago.

Nguyen Huu Tien, who passed the entrance examination for the Medicine University with qualifying score of 29.5, comes from a low income family as his parents work as laborers.

Another good example is Tran Thanh Hoang from Van Phuoc Commune in Van Ninh District in the central province of Khanh Hoa, who had to borrow money for his studies, after he came first in the entrance examination for Nha Trang University.

Vietnam Women Prize awarded to ten individuals, five teams

The Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) on September 23 announced the winners of the Vietnam Women Prize, which went to ten individuals and five teams who have achieved pre-eminence in public life.

VWU also marked their 83rd anniversary, during which they introduced Creative Women Day.

This year, the winners have been selected for both excellent models in scientific research and those who overcame daily difficulties to become successful woman in society and support other unfortunate persons in the community.

Ten individuals received the prize including Dr. Khu Thi Khanh Dung, Vice Director and Chief of Neonatal Department at National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi; Pham Thi Huan, Director of Ba Huan Company; Giang Pao My, Chairman of Lai Chau People’s Council; and Pham Thi Viet Nga, Director of DHG Pharmaceutical Joint-Stock Company.

Ten teams including female staff of the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute; female medical workers in Le Huu Trac National Institute of Burns; and members of Women’s Union in An Giang Province won the prize.

On the occasion, an exhibition themed to highlight Women’s Rights and Economic Background will display 38 exhibits in Vietnamese Women’s Museum from October 1.

The Hanoi International Women’s Club (HIWC), a non-profit group whose membership is open to all expatriate women living in Vietnam, gave Female Vision Award 2013 to Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, founder and director of Action to the Community Development Center to acknowledge her efforts in promoting people with disabilities.

Having been born with glass bone disease and confined to a wheelchair throughout her life, Nguyen Thi Lan Anh has overcome her difficulties to help people with disabilities living in Vietnam.

Through her project Xuong Rong Van No Hoa (Cactus Blooming), her center provided people with disabilities in Ba Vi and Soc Son Districts in Hanoi with law consultation and access to preferential loans.

Nguyen Duc Kien scam to go on trial later this year

A number of big corruption cases in Vietnam will be prosecuted this year, including the scam related to Nguyen Duc Kien, one of the country’s most powerful tycoons.

The information was given by Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission Nguyen Ba Thanh at a meeting with voters in Danang City on September 23-24.

The Ministry of Public Security has recently completed their year-long investigation into the violations by Kien, who was the founder of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB). Three major real estate assets owned by Kien and his wife have been seized.

The charges against Kien are as follows: Illegal business, extortion, asset appropriation, tax evasion and intentional breach of state regulations on economic management. These alleged crimes have had serious repercussions in Hanoi and HCM City.

The case has stirred up public concern over the past year due to its major size and the seriousness of the violations that involved several bank leaders.

According to Thanh, “The case of Nguyen Duc Kien will be brought to court later this year. The trial of many complicated cases need to be carried out in many phases, depending on the inspection results. The big cases with the inspection results announced will be on trial in June 2014,” he added.

Thanh received many voters’ questions about corruption issues. Voter Le Xuan Lan from Phuoc My Ward said fight against corruption should be more drastic, adding that rampant corruption is among reasons hindering the country’s development.

Meanwhile, Minister of the Public Security Tran Dai Quang was cited by the government website saying that inspection of corruption case in Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will be completed soon for the prosecution and trial scheduled to take place by the end of this year.