The group prize in the Creative Ideas for Applied Science category was awarded to the department of urology at HCM City’s Binh Dan Hospital led by Dr Pham Phu Phat for their research on laparoscopic partial nerphrectomy for treatment of small renal tumours.

Phat said: “Technical advances prevent the removal of a whole kidney for patients with renal tumours unlike in the past. The treatment method helps preserve renal function.”

Patients recover within two or three days after a laparoscopic partial nerphrectomy, he said.

He wants to train doctors at district-level hospitals in remote areas around the country and young doctors in this procedure to popularise it.

The prize in the Beautiful Living category went to five individuals for their socially useful actions that have inspired other people to follow suit.

Nguyen Ngoc Dieu founded the Ngoc Dieu Rehabilitation Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long.

It has been providing free rehabilitation and treatment for poor children with cerebral palsy in many provinces around the country for many years.

Tran Thi Ngoc Nu, chief lawyer at the HCM City Association for Protection of Children’s Rights, works pro bono with child victims of abuse.

Nguyen Thi Xuan is a nurse at the Dermatology Hospital in Bac Ninh Province and works with leprosy patients.

Vi Thi Thuan is the founder of the Thuan Hoa Social Welfare Centre in Hoa Binh Province and has provided vocational training and jobs for women including many with disabilities.

Le Thi Lan Anh is an English teacher. Herself a victim of Agent Orange, she teaches poor and disabled children for free at her home in Hanoi.

The KOVA Prize also honoured eight students for outstanding research and 132 poor students at public universities for consistently excellent academic performances.

The KOVA Prize was set up by former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh and Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Hoe, chairwoman of the KOVA Paint Group in 2002.

A place like home for leprosy patients

For the patients who are treated there, Van Mon Leprosy and Dermatology Hospital in northern Thai Binh Province is so more than just a hospital.

VNS