Midwifery investment can save millions of lives of women

The State of the World’s Midwifery 2014 report released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam and the Ministry of Health (MOH), reveals that having midwives at the bedside of each pregnant woman in the world can save millions of lives.

However, still major shortages in the midwifery workforce in 73 countries surveyed for this report, including Vietnam, exist. Countries where these services are most desperately needed. The report recommends new strategies to address these deficits and save millions of lives of women and newborns.

The 73 African, Asian and Latin American countries represented in the report account for 96% of the global burden of maternal deaths, 91% of stillbirths and 93% of newborn deaths, but have only 42% of the world’s midwives, nurses and doctors.

Still, almost 300,000 women the world over lose their lives every year while giving life. Every two minutes, a woman dies of complications during her pregnancy or childbirth.

Health experts say that midwives play a crucial role in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 (decrease child death) and 5 (increase maternal health and universal access to reproductive health).

According to the MOH, the midwifery force in Vietnam is estimated at around 23,000 people, meeting only 83% of demand and it is not evenly distributed by population and region. The proportion of midwives in the current total population is at a low level (3.5 midwives/10.000 people). Approximately 5% of communal health centres (equivalent to 517 communes) in the remote mountainous areas do not have maternity staff. Around 17% of women-mostly living in remote and coastal areas-do not yet have access to reproductive health care services.

"Midwifery and midwifery practice play a crucial role in Vietnam’s maternal and newborn health care system. A skilled midwifery workforce with high competencies, motivated and supported by the health care system, is key to successfully reducing maternal and newborn mortality and contributes to achieving MDGs 4 ,5 and 6," said, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien.

"Investing in human resources for health, especially for midwives, is one of the soundest investments a country can make. When midwives are properly trained, empowered and supported, they can contribute significantly to saving many lives of people, mothers and newborns, as well as improving the nation’s economic and social productivity. This is a highly cost-effective public health strategy", emphasized Arthur Erken, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam.

Vietnam has made very impressive progress towards achieving the MDGs and has been successful in meeting most of them. In the area of reproductive health in particular, Vietnam has made substantial progress in strengthening safe motherhood and newborn health services. In addition, the National Competencies for Midwives, developed and introduced in line with the International Confederation of Midwives' recommendations, and the National Programme of Action (NPA) for strengthening nursing and midwifery services 2012-2020 approved over the past years showed the strong commitment and efforts of the Government in strengthening the national health workforce and achieving the health-related MDGs.

Deputy Health Minister Tien said that the shortage of midwives has driven maternal and infant mortality in the nation’s 62 poorest districts 3-4 times higher than the national average level.

Giving birth at home without support from professional medical staff has become prevalent in many areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.

Vietnam has about 2.4 million pregnant women each year, however, only 1 - 1.2 million children are born in which there are over 1 million cases of abortion and obstetrical  accident, thus seriously affecting the quality of the population and women's health.

MDGs are coming closer to 2015, however, Vietnam is still in a fix to deal with the shortage of midwives in remote and mountainous areas.

Opportunity for Vietnamese construction workers in Japan

Vietnamese workers will have the chance to work in the construction industry in Japan as the North-East Asian country is recruiting large numbers of builders to replace Chinese labourers.

The information was revealed by Nguyen Gia Liem, Counsellor and head of the Management Board of Vietnamese workers in Japan.

Liem added that Vietnam currently has nearly 20,000 trainees working in 63 different fields in Japan, ranking it second among 15 countries sending guest workers to Japan.

According to a recent survey in Japan, Ihime prefecture needs around 1,000 trainees in seafood processing and garment making, while Ibaraki prefecture desires to receive more Vietnamese trainees. Ibaraki only has 200 Vietnamese trainees among a total of 3,000 foreigners working in the locality.

The Japanese Government plans to expand recruiting trainees as of April 2015 in order to have an additional 70,000 foreign workers in construction.

Currently, 1,600 Vietnamese trainees are currently working in construction, Liem said.

A representative from the Vietnam Aviation Services Co. Ltd said since early this year many Japanese partners asked the company to supply labour forces. Meanwhile the Labor Export-Trading and Tourist Company (SOVILACO) reported that it has sent more than 300 tailors to Japan over the past 3 years.

This year, Vietnam plans to send 11,000 trainees to Japan.

Fujitsu-JAIMS Foundation offers scholarships to VN students

Japan’s Fujitsu-JAIMS Foundation is offering scholarships to Vietnamese students to attend a management programme entitled “Global Leaders for Innovation and Knowledge”.

The scholarship includes tuition, airfare and a cost-of-living allowance.

The four-month training course features a multi-campus network in in Japan, the US (Hawaii), Thailand, and Singapore, beginning from February 2015.

The programme cultivates innovative leaders with practical wisdom through learning management theories, liberal arts, and methodology and practice.

Applicants must meet three requirements such as a bachelor’s degree, a minimum of three years of relevant full-time work experience and TOEIC score of 750.

The application deadline for the programme is September 1, 2014.

So far, the foundation has granted 468 scholarships to students from Asia-Pacific countries, including 24 in Vietnam.

Thai group grants scholarships to 50 Hanoi students

Thai Siam Cement Group (SCG) on July 11 in coordination with Tuoi Tre Newspaper and the Hanoi Youth Union presented scholarships to 50 poor high-school students excelling in their studies.

Each scholarship includes VND3 million in cash and a backpack choked full with clothes, notebooks and a souvenir.

Earlier on July 4, SCG and Tuoi Tre newspaper granted 350 identical scholarships to outstanding students in 7 south-eastern provinces of Vietnam.

The “Sharing the Dream” scholarship programme aims to support Vietnamese youth pursue their studies and fulfill their life’s dream of obtaining a good education and getting a good paying job.

Niwat Komarn, executive country director of SCG in Vietnam, said the company is committed to assisting both youth and the country to obtain economic sustainability.

This is the first scholarship programme that SCG has implemented in Vietnam and “Sharing the Dream” model will be implemented in other regional countries, he said.

Approximately 200 academic scholarships were presented to disadvantaged Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) and Cambodian residents from Ta Keo, Kandal, Phnom Penh and Pray Veng provinces on July 13.

The Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund joined forces with Peace Travel JSC from Cambodia and the Vietnamese An Giang province Women’s Union to provide the scholarships along with roughly 1,400 other gifts including free medical check-ups and medicine.

At the presentation ceremony in Phnom Penh, Truong My Hoa, former Vice State President and President of the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund elaborated on the values of tradition of patriotism and the great contribution of OVs in Cambodia during the nation’s past struggles.

Hoa expressed hope that the OVs community in Cambodia will stand united to overcome difficulties and continue to contribute to the nation’s national construction and defence.

Youth interested in sea, island sovereignty protection

Nearly 500 young people in the northern province of Nam Dinh gathered on July 14 to hear the tradition of the Vietnam People’s Navy as well as the sea and island sovereignty protection strategy, especially after China illegally placed its drilling rig inside Vietnam’s waters.

This was one of practical activities held by the local youth towards the 50 th anniversary of the first victory of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

On August 2 and 5, 1964, the Vietnamese navy attacked the US destroyer Maddox in the Tonkin Gulf, shot down eight aircraft and arrested the first US pilot Everett Alvarez in northern Vietnam, starting the force’s tradition of “Winning the first battle”.

Participants were also briefed about the current national and regional situation, China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s waters, as well as the policies and viewpoints of the Party and State in dealing with the East Sea issue.

The event offered a good chance to raise young people’s awareness, understanding, solidarity and responsibility in safeguarding and affirming the sacred national sovereignty over seas and islands.

On this occasion, the Naval Service and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Nam Dinh chapter presented 12 gifts to fishermen and families whose members are defending the national sovereignty.

Mekong Delta eyes yielding rice crop

The total summer-autumn rice output in the Mekong Delta, the country’s largest rice producer, is estimated to reach 9.5 million tonnes, up nearly 200,000 tonnes higher than the same crop last year.

So far, the region has finished harvesting 740,000 hectares or 43.5 percent of its total rice area.

According to the Vietnam Food Association, with the current rice price of between 5,300 and 7,100 VND (25-33 US cents), farmers will enjoy a 26 percent benefit.

The Mekong Delta region comprises of 12 provinces and one centrally-run city with a total area of 40,000 square kilometres and a combined population of 18 million.

State budget for anchorage project in remote island

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the allocation of State budget to the second phase of an anchorage project in Ly Son island of the central province of Quang Ngai.

The ministries of planning and investment, and finance will earmark the money for the province to realise the scheme in the 2014-205 period.

The project is to complete a shelter for around 500 vessels, helping fishermen mitigate the risks of natural disasters and build infrastructure for the sector.

Fifteen nautical miles from mainland, the island district of Quang Ngai covers an area of 10.32 square kilometres where 5,575 household are based, earning their living by seafood catching and garlic planting.-

Binh Dinh’s largest fishing ships launched

Two largest fishing vessels in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh with capacities of 1,200 CV and 1,400 CV were launched in Hoai Nhon district on July 13.

Each of the vehicles is 22.7 metres long and 6.7 metres wide, and able to store up to 50 tonnes of catch.

Tran Cong The, a ship owner, said using a 45 CV vessel for fishing at sea like he did in the past was not profitable, not to mention an array of imminent risks. Therefore, he decided to spend bank loans and his own savings on this new ship.

The other owner, Vo Van Khuong, said he hopes the new vessel will help him and his crew stay longer at offshore fishing grounds so as to harvest better catches and avert avoidable threats.

Following the launch, the new ships with 30 fishermen on board started to prepare for their first fishing trips from July 15.

Vietnamese in Laos pray for territorial integrity

The Vietnamese community in Laos gathered at a pagoda in Vientiane capital city to pray for national territorial integrity following China’s illegal positioning of its Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

The ceremony saw the participation of representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy, associations of Vietnamese businesses operating in Laos, and Lao monks.

Participants showed their feelings towards soldiers who are safeguarding the country’s sea and island sovereignty, while condemning China for disregarding and violating Vietnam’s territory. They demanded China withdraw its oil rig from Vietnam’s waters.

Lao monks prayed for the Vietnamese living in peace and joining hands with the Lao people to build the special relations between the two countries.

At the beginning of May 2014, China illegally dispatched the rig as well as a large fleet of armed vessels, military ships and aircraft to Vietnam’s waters and positioned the rig at 15 degrees 29 minutes 58 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 12 minutes 06 seconds east longitude. The location is 80 miles deep into Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

Despite Vietnam’s protest, China expanded its scale of operation and moved the rig to 15 degrees 33 minutes 36 seconds north latitude and 111 degrees 34 minutes 11 seconds east longitude, 60 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

China’s armed vessels aggressively fired high-power water cannons at and intentionally rammed against Vietnamese public-service and civil ships, causing damage to many boats and injuring many people on board.

Chinese ships have continuously encircled, constrained and driven away Vietnamese fishing boats and even injured Vietnamese fishermen, threatening their lives.

On May 26, Chinese ship 11209 sank a Vietnamese fishing vessel while it was operating normally in its traditional fishing ground near Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago.-

Locals rejoice over construction of suspension bridge

Hundreds of people in a mountainous area of northern Ha Nam province have expressed their joy over the construction of a suspension bridge which commenced on July 12.

The Nam Cong bridge, which is 110m long and 2m wide, is being built in Thanh Liem district at a total cost of 9.1 billion VND (over 433 USD).

It is expected to have a 25-year lifetime.

Once operational, the bridge will benefit as many as 1,500 inhabitants, including 200 students.

The work is part of a 931 billion VND (44 million USD) project to build 186 suspension bridges in 28 cities and provinces in the northern, central and Central Highlands regions.

Outlined by the Ministry of Transport, the scheme aims to help inhabitants in mountainous and far-flung areas of the country improve their living standards and mitigate the risks of traffic accidents, especially during the flood season, said Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong.

The plan is also to deal with the fact that 40 percent of over 1,940 suspension bridges across the country are in need of urgent repairs or reconstruction, according to the ministry.-

Oversea youths visit President Ho Chi Minh’s hometown

A delegation of 170 young overseas Vietnamese from 26 countries around the globe on July 13 toured the central province of Nghe An and visited the hometown of late President Ho Chi Minh.

The young expatriates explored the relic site dedicated to Hoang Thi Loan – President Ho Chi Minh’s mother, and the Kim Lien relic site where they had a chance to visit the house in which the great national leader was born and grew up.

Saly Truong, 19, from the Czech Republic, said she is moved to see with her own eyes the simple life of President Ho Chi Minh and his family, which she has only known of through books and newspapers.

Sharing Saly’s feeling, Nguyen Hai Trieu from Slovakia said through the trip, he has more motivation to study harder so that he can contribute to the development of Vietnam, following the example of the great leader.

The tour was part of activities in the framework of the annual Vietnam Summer Camp organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs.

The programme aims to create opportunities for young oversea Vietnamese to get better understanding about the history, culture and tradition of their homeland, thus fostering the solidarity between oversea Vietnamese with their fellows at home.

The youngsters will travel across Vietnam and engage in a series of activities until July 27.-

Women’s Union presents gifts, scholarships in Cambodia

As many as 1,400 presents and 200 scholarships as well as free health check-ups and medicine were presented to poor Cambodians and overseas Vietnamese in Cambodia during a programme held on July 12-13.

Jointly held by the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund, the Women Union of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang and Peace Tour Company, the programme was held in four Cambodian localities of Phnom Penh , Takeo, Kandal and Prey Veng.

Speaking at a ceremony on July 13 in Phnom Penh , former Vice President and President of the Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund Truong My Hoa reiterated the contributions of the Vietnamese community in Cambodia during the past struggles for independence as well as the current national construction and defence.

She said she believes the community will promote the tradition of solidarity and make further contributions to their homeland.

The programme, which also saw the engagement of Cambodian Senator Mean Sam An, was part of activities to realise a cooperation agreement between the Vietnam Women’s Union and Cambodia ’s Women for Peace and Development Association.-

Upgrade on Quang Tri Martyrs Cemetery inaugurated

A ceremony was held on July 12 to inaugurate the upgrade work at the Road 9 National Martyrs Cemetery in Dong Ha city, the central province of Quang Tri.

The Road 9 National Martyrs Cemetery is the resting place of over 10,000 soldiers who laid down their lives during fierce battles in the war against American invaders.

The upgrade of the cemetery began since July 2011 in two phases a total cost of 81.6 billion VND (3.9 million USD).

Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Education and Popularisation Dinh The Huynh, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, and Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh were present at the inauguration ceremony.

The leaders offered incense and paid floral tributes to the fallen soldiers who scarified themselves for national liberation.

They also visited the Truong Son National Cemetery and Quang Tri imperial citadel to commemorate the deceased on the occasion of the 67th Vietnam’s War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27, 1947).

Fresh water plant underway in Mekong Delta province

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has kick-started the construction of a clean water plant in Duyen Hai district of southern Tra Vinh province.

The facility worth over 14 billion VND (665,433 USD) is being built on an area of 8,790 square metres in Truong Long Hoa commune.

Of the money, 11 billion VND is sourced from the national target programme, while the remaining from local budget and the project beneficiaries’ contributions.

The project is scheduled to be put into operation in May 2015, which is able to supply clean water for over 2,000 households, schools, health stations and others in the area.

Recently, the Mekong Delta province has worked on a 145-billion-VND (6.81 million USD) project to provide clean water for impoverished Khmer inhabitants.

Local authorities plan to build seven water supply stations in poor villages by 2015. More than 9,000 Khmer households are expected to benefit from the scheme.

The province has so far built 256 clean water supply stations, including 188 stations serving more than 16,000 Khmer households.-

Flood-proof houses built for central province

The central province of Nghe An and the Central Natural Disaster Relief Fund are working together to speed up the construction of seven flood-resistant community houses in areas vulnerable to the natural calamity.

The fund had earlier supported Nghe An – one of the most flood-prone localities in the country, to build eight similar works.

The 2.7-billion VND project in Hung Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen district, for example, covers an area of 800 square metres with four rooms, a kitchen, a water tank, toilets and other auxiliary facilities. It can accommodate over 400 locals for many days to avoid floods.

Apart from cash raised by different organisations at home and abroad, local authorities every year spend a certain amount of money to upgrade schools, medical stations and people’s committees’ offices which will be used as shelters in case of floods.

Known as the most disaster-prone region and with a high rate of poverty, central Vietnam suffers from numerous types of natural calamities, with annual flood being the most severe.

Poverty reduction project to benefit ethnic Central Highlanders

A World Bank-loaned poverty reduction project is targeting to benefit as many as 540,000 needy local people in the Central Highlands and the central coastal area.

The 165 million USD project aims to reinforce food security, improve infrastructure, encourage self-reliance, and create sources of sustainable livelihoods, among others, in poor communes in the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and central coastal Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces, from now to 2019.

Initial outcomes of the project have been the building of specific mechanisms and policies for mountainous provinces with low education level in a bid to ensure the implementation progress.

The local community has been encouraged to involve in planning, organising and overseeing project activities.

At a forum to launch the project in Pleiku, Gia Lai, delegates proposed stepping up communication works to raise local people’s awareness of joining hands in running the project smoothly for joint productive results.

An official from the World Bank affirmed that the financial institution will maintain a close link with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and local project management boards during the implementation course. The WB will send a team to examine the project progress every six months.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dao Quang Thu stated that this is the largest poverty reduction project in the Central Highlands so it is expected to importantly contribute to the country’s socio-economic development.

A similar project is also being implemented in the northern region with the fresh completion of phase I.

Over the past 20 years, the Government has paid special heed to raising the living conditions of ethnic minority people and obtained considerable outcomes.

However, poverty reduction in the Central Highlands has still been speeding slowly. Nearly 74 percent of ethnic minority people in the region are still living below the Government-classified poverty line. The proportion of children stunted and sick is the highest while the primary school enrolment is the lowest in the country.

The Central Highlands region consists of five provinces, namely Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong. It has a total population of 6.5 million, 45 percent of whom are ethnic minority people.

Nearly 34 million USD to reduce poverty in Ha Giang

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a 33.7 million USD project to eradicate poverty based on promoting production in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

The project’s funding consists of 20 million USD in ODA provided by the International Fund For Agriculture Development (IFAD), nearly 9.5 million USD contributed by the Government and the rest of 4.2 billion USD coming from the benefiting parties.

Under Decision 1125/QD-TTg dated July 9, the five-year project will commence in 2015 under the management of the Ha Giang Provincial People’s Committee.

It aims to increase incomes and minimise the vulnerability to poverty of households in the targeted 30 communes in five poor districts, namely Hoang Si Phi, Xi Man, Quang Binh, Bac Quang and Vi Xuyen, in a sustainable way.

Three components of the project include a process of making plan for market development, the development of goods suitable for the poor and programme coordination.

Hanoi businesses respond to made-in-Vietnam goods campaign

The campaign promoting the consumption of made-in-Vietnam goods has received warmly response from Hanoi-based businesses, it was reported at a press conference in Hanoi on July 14.

Speaking at the event, Le Thi Kim Oanh, deputy head of the National Steering Committee for the campaign said along with raising consumer awareness of using Vietnamese goods, the committee also urged firms to get involved in order to expand their share in the domestic market.

More businesses have organised fairs and mobile selling sessions to bring their goods to remote areas, especially mountainous and rural areas, as part of efforts to further promote the consumption of domestic goods.

A total of 38 fairs and 526 mobile selling sessions were organised in 13 mountainous communes in Hanoi’s four suburban districts in 2013, compared to only 20 mobile selling sessions held in 2009, the first year the campaign was launched.

This year, about 34 fairs and 500 mobile selling sessions will be held in Hanoi to serve the increasing demand of local customers.

In recent years, the Hanoi authorities have taken measures to encourage local businesses to join the programme, such as requiring public administrative agencies to buy domestic goods.

During 2010-2013, the city earmarked 1.5 trillion VND (72.8 million USD) with an interest rate of 0 percent for 57 enterprises and manufacturers participating in the price stabilizing programme which sell essential goods at reasonable prices.

The municipal authorities also promptly addressed difficulties facing enterprises in terms of land, administrative procedures and markets, while assisting them in building trademarks.-

Workshop seeks ways to reduce sugar production cost

Mechanizing the production of sugarcane is viewed to reduce remarkably sugar production cost in Vietnam, which is estimated as among the highest in the world, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on July 14.

According to the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association, the country now farms sugarcane on over 310,000 hectares, with each turning out 5.47 tonnes of sugar.

In the 2013-2014 crop, the sugar output hit a record high of 1.6 million tonnes.

Participants voiced their concern that local growers have yet to grow disease-free varieties of sugarcane, causing rapid degeneration of the plant.

Meanwhile, substandard harvest and transportation has triggered a sugar loss rate of 10-15 percent (it is 1-2 percent in other countries), making the production costly.

To fix the problems, farmers are called to pay due attention to applying intensively modern techniques relating to watering and tending and selecting good varieties.

Sugar factories should produce more products derived from sugarcane to help further reduce the price of sugar.

Vietnam facing challenges of e-waste: official

Vietnam’s high technology industry has made great strides over the recent years but also caused challenges to the environment and human health due to its production activities, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen has said.

At an international workshop on e-waste management in Hanoi on July 14, he said the sector generated 25.5 billion USD in revenue in 2012, up 86.3 percent from a year earlier. Meanwhile, its exports grew by 82 percent to 20 billion USD, accounting for 17.5 percent of the country’s total.

Tuyen pointed out that e-waste in the country is usually recycled through outdated technology, and new products from such waste are only simple such as bottles and plastic bags.

In August 2013, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed a decision regulating the collection and treatment of discarded products which aims to promote a safe and sustainable high-tech industry, the official added.

At the workshop, participants from such countries as Japan, Malaysia, the US, Canada, and Egypt discussed the management of e-waste around the world and sought ways to better the work.

Free eye surgeries for Tra Vinh poor patients

Some 350 eye patients in remote areas of Tra Vinh province recently received free surgeries as part of the Mekong Delta locality’s progamme supporting visually impaired low-income people.

Doctors from hospitals of Cau Ke and Tra Cu districts and the Nguyen Trai Hospital of Ho Chi Minh City performed the operations on July 12 for the beneficiaries, who are those of the Khmer ethnic group in the districts.

Le Hung Cuong from the Tra Vinh Red Cross said the surgeries and medicine, worth over 875 million VND (41,700 USD), were funded by three philanthropists from HCM City.

Over the past couple of years, Tra Vinh has given eye check-ups to more than 17,900 people, mostly from its rural areas.

The local Red Cross and association for support of the disabled, orphans and poor patients have raised fund for eye operations for 2,400 patients.

VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND