Noi Bai airport intensifies customs checks

Customs officials at Noi Bai International Airport are boosting their inspections of passengers, luggage and cargo from all flights arriving at the airport, especially those from South America, during the 2014 World Cup.

The move aims to fight against those who plan to take advantage of the large volume of passengers through the airport during the football event to slip cocaine into Vietnam.

Vice Head of the customs office there, Nguyen Van Chien, said on June 19 that experienced staff have been sent to the site to heighten the effectiveness of the work. He added all information about passengers and goods on flights touching down the airport from South America must be scrutinised.

Over the recent past, the office has detected and addressed many cases of drug trafficking from South America. Notably, local customs officers seized 3.6 kg of cocaine carried by Philippine passenger Camacho Silo Emmanul on a plane from Sao Paulo, Brazil, which transited via Singapore and arrived at the airport.

Since the beginning of this year, the airport’s customs force has handled 16 smuggling cases.

Soc Son gamblers jailed

Nguyen Ba Tan, a professional gambler, was yesterday sentenced to a combined 54 months' imprisonment for gambling and organising gambling by the People's Court of Ha Noi.

The court brought 57 defendants to trial for their alleged involvement in the biggest gambling case in the northern region in many years.

They were found guilty of gambling offences after the Court heard that at 1pm on March 14, police in Ha Noi's outlying district of Soc Son uncovered a large-scale gambling den in Tan Dan commune, arrested 68 people and seized more than VND600 million (US$28,570).

In addition, 26 handbags containing more than VND500 million ($23,809) were also taken. A gun and ammunition were also reportedly found. The investigation discovered that the gamblers had been meeting from mid-February last year.

The regular event was allegedly organised by Nguyen Van Tu, Le Xuan Huong, Dang Ba Hoa and Nguyen Ba Tan.

The police also searched the house of Tu, who was said to be the mastermind, and seized VND1.3 billion ($61,900), US$7,000, a gun with five bullets and 20 machetes.

Hoa received 24 months jail for helping organise gambling. The police are still hunting Tu and Huong.

Probationary sentences have been handed down to 22 of the defendants, while the remainder will serve prison terms of 15 to 30 months.

Ministry asks for report on unusual newborn death

The health ministry has requested the health department of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to confirm and report on the unusual death of a newborn in Phu Vang District.

An article covered by Dan Tri (People's Knowledge) newspaper last Sunday reported that a newborn delivered by a 23-year-old mother in Thuan An town of Phu Vang District died three days after being born.

According to the article, the mother gave birth to the baby at the Hue Transport Hospital on June 11, before they were moved to the Hue General Hospital because the baby was presenting symptoms of not crying, poor reflexes, and lapses in heartbeats.

After being administered emergency aid, the baby showed signs of recovery; however, she died three days later on June 14.

Human trafficker jailed for 10 years

Tran Thi Sa Phay, 31, of Lai Hoa Commune, Vinh Chau Town from southern Soc Trang province, was yesterday sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for trafficking Vietnamese women into China.

The provincial People's Court also confiscated VND217 million (nearly US$10,200) from Phay, which was the money she illegally earned through human trafficking, and added it to the national budget.

For each woman sent to China, Phay was paid CNY20,000 (over $3,200) by a Chinese man named Su Zhisheng.

Phay has helped Zhisheng by sending 10 Vietnamese women to China.

Zhisheng, who allegedly began trafficking humans before meeting Phay, has not been captured and is being hunted by the police.

HCM City university gets new labs worth $7.6m

HCM City International University yesterday added three more labs to its total of 40, with investment capital of VND160 billion (US$7.6 million).

The labs, which include a high-performing computing laboratory and human-machine interface laboratory, are funded with VND29 billion ($1.4 million) from the State budget and the university's corresponding capital.

One of the university's laboratories, a radio frequency lab, is expected to be used for civil and military defense applications and for testing services for microwave and radio frequency equipment.

One dead after eating black bugs

A man died and twenty others are being treated at hospitals in the northern province of Lai Chau after eating black bugs, said Head of the provincial Department of Food Safety and Hygiene Chu Van Ban yesterday.

The victims ate the black bugs caught in rice fields last week. All of the patients noted pain between the neck and back area and had difficulty moving.

The patients were later hospitalised with the man dying two days later.

The case is under investigation.

Ethnic minority students to get scholarships

The Vu A Dinh Scholarship Fund of the HCM Communist Youth Union signed agreements yesterday with schools and enterprises to assist poor and ethnic minority students nationwide.

Projects that have been carried out in the last 15 years by the fund include Uom Mam Tuong Lai (Future Incubator), Chap Canh Uoc Mo (Chasing Dreams), Mo Duong Den Tuong Lai (Opening Ways to Future) and Thap Sang Tuong Lai (Lighting the Future).

Nearly 50,000 scholarships have been provided to outstanding students, and two primary schools have been built on Khanh Hoa Province's Truong Sa Island.

Ministry gives reasons of broken water pipeline

Substandard pipelines and construction, along with construction work on the Thang Long Boulevard are the three main reasons for the broken water pipeline between Da River and Ha Noi.

This was the official conclusion of the Ministry of Construction (MOC) after checks, tests and analysis carried out by them.

The pipe broke on Tuesday, leaving around 70,000 households in the capital's Ha Dong, Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai, Tu Liem, Dong Da and Cau Giay districts without clean water.

This is the seventh time the pipeline has broken since it began operations in 1997.

The main reason for the broken pipe was its poor quality, according to the MOC. Some parts of the pipe system came off and the officials did not adhere to some mechanical norms, leading to the decrease of the pipe's pressure resistance.

Construction work on the pipe system also did not follow technological requirements and standards. Moreover, the Thang Long Boulevard's construction after the pipe system was already completed and the weight of vehicles passing the boulevard were the indirect reasons for the breakage.

The MOC asked the Vinaconex Clean Water JSC, which was the investor of the pipe system, to check the overall system's pressure and output to discover unusual problems and maintain the stable pressure in the system.

The company should set up measures quickly in case of any problems to prevent loss of clean water and ensure the system protects the corridor.

The company should complete the necessary procedure to install a clean water pipeline in the second period to meet the demand of users and for the development of the city.

Analysing the responsibility of relevant bodies, the MOC said that the design agency lacked experience in choosing the pipeline and did not reveal the necessary technological norms during the construction.

The pipeline manufacturer did not choose the right process and did not conduct tests to prove the pipeline's durability.

The construction agency must take the responsibility for leaving freestone and concrete in the sand that covered the pipeline.

The construction supervising agency did not undertake close checks and inspections leading to shortcomings in the construction process.

The project management committee must take the responsibility for poor quality management.

Immunisation programme to get three more vaccines

Three more vaccines could be added to the National Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI), increasing the number to 14, according to Nguyen Tran Hien, its head.

The Ministry of Health is considering the addition, which includes shots against pneumococcus, diarrhoea caused by rotavirus, and cervical cancer.

But Hien revealed that the approval would come soon because Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) has pledged to provide the three vaccines for free initially.

He hoped that the ministry would give its approval soon since Viet Nam is on the verge of exiting the list of countries –with an average income of less than $1,500 — that GAVI supports. Its income per capita now is $1,960.

The vaccines are very expensive, with the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer alone costs nearly 80$ per shot.

The three diseases send a large number of children to hospital in the country.

Hien also said that the combined rubella and measles vaccine would be provided free to 23 million children aged between one year and 14 in September to prevent their transmission from children to caregivers, reduce their incidence in the community, and gradually eliminate them.

The EPI, carried out since 1985, managed to eliminate smallpox in the 1970s, polio in 2000, and tetanus in 2005.

The incidence of diphtheria has fallen 167 times and that of pertussis, 428 times.

The programme covers every commune and ward in the country.

Viet Nam produces 10 of 11 vaccines currently given to children.

There are now nearly 30 infectious diseases globally that are preventable with vaccines.

WHO estimates that two or three million more children will be saved if all the vaccines are given to more than 90 per cent of children, enabling the achievement of one of the UN's millennium development goals of reducing two thirds of fatalities among children under five by 2015.

Long An tops nation's new childcare index

The southern province of Long An ranks first in the country in a novel index of child rights that began last year.

This was announced at a meeting in Ha Noi yesterday.

Known as the Provincial Child Rights Index (PCRI), the scheme was set up by the Child Care and Protection Department in co-ordination with the Centre for Sustainable Development Policy Studies (CSDP).

HCM City ranks second and Ha Noi eighth. The northern mountainous province of Lai Chau came last out of the 63 provinces and cities.

Nguyen Hai Huu, director of the Child Care and Protection Department, said that the index aimed at supplying domestic and international organisations and the public with detailed information about the implementation of child rights in all provinces and cities in the country.

"Then we can build a safe, friendly and healthy living environment for the children and reduce the differences in children's living condition in various areas," said Huu.

The index is aimed at encouraging provinces and cities to pay more attention to protecting children's rights, he said.

The PCRI assessed provinces and cities on five norms - investment in child care and protection work; children's health; protection against being abused, violence and accidents; the rate of children joining social activities, and the numbers that go to school.

Vu Ngoc Anh, director of the CSDP, said that the index had some limitations as the norms did not represent all factors related to child care and protection.

A research team will continue to improve the index, for instance, by supplementing the index with the rate of children able to access clean water and standard toilets, the rate of those who join forums and clubs, he said.

Violations rampant in fertiliser trade

More violations of regulations governing the fertiliser industry were being detected among individuals and businesses, badly affecting agricultural production, said the general secretary of the Viet Nam Fertiliser Association, Nguyen Hac Thuy, yesterday in Ha Noi.

Speaking at a conference on fertiliser management and a sustainable agriculture development strategy, Thuy said relevant authorities had failed to tackle fake and sub-standard fertilisers.

In 2008, 100 cases of low quality fertiliser were detected in 31 provinces and cities nationwide. In 2013, that figure reached over 1,300.

Many "producers" used soil and ground up bricks and stones to make fertiliser, Thuy said.

"The management and control of fertiliser production has not been good enough," said Nguyen Duy Luong, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Farmers Association.

Luong suggested tightening the management of fertiliser production and enforcing strict punishments for violations of regulations.

Cao Hoai Duong, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Fertiliser Association, said that appropriate punishment for those who broke the law was the best deterrent.

Duong also said that training farmers how to identify quality fertilisers was very important.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai applauded the contribution that fertiliser production had made to the country's agricultural development.

He asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to issue guidance for farmers on organic and inorganic fertilisers.

He also asked the Ministry of Public Security and Market Watch forces as well as inspectors from local departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to keep an eye on the situation.

Island healthcare needs more funds

The National Steering Committee for Sea and Island Healthcare has proposed the Government allocate more funding to invest in health sector infrastructure and equipment for 11 island-based hospitals.

The committee requested priority to be given to investing in sea and land-based emergency vehicles to transport patients to mainland hospitals.

Health centres along coastal communes would also be upgraded to meet the national criteria, the report said.

Head of the committee and Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the project to improve healthcare services on the islands comprised of two phases.

In the first phase of 2013-15, the Health Ministry and the Ministry of National Defence would complete surveys on healthcare facilities, doctors, health staff and the health demands of people in remote areas only reachable by sea.

The ministry was preparing for emergency cases that would require sea transport and administering first aid when needed, she said.

The second phase would last between 2016 and 2020.

Nguyen Nam Lien, deputy head of the ministry's Department of Planning and Finance said the training of health staff at the nation's islands had been much improved.

As many as 60 doctors have been trained in maritime medicine, while 100 divers have been trained in safe diving in the North East sea area. Thousands of fishermen have also been trained in administering first aid.

More than 1,640 patients have received timely first aid, 32,070 others have been given treatment and 758 have received surgery. Five helicopters have also been mobilised to transport patients to mainland hospitals.

Lien said many health facilities located in coastal communes were inadequately equipped and not meeting national standards. The healthcare services were not operating effectively, especially during the stormy seasons.

The committee has also asked the Government to develop a policy to give allowances to health staff at islands and supply enough drugs to ships to deliver first aid.

Awards honour effective work by VN NGOs

Phung Ba Loc, a resident of Huong Tra District in the central city of Hue, badly damaged his spine in an accident several years ago. He was barely able to get by until he received support from the Hearts for Hue Fund, a non-profit organisation (NGO) working to bring about sustainable change for poor families in the city.

He was given 50 chickens and training from the organisation's staff on how to raise them.

"My condition does not allow me to do manual labour, but with this support I can still earn a living," Loc said.

The Hearts for Hue Fund is running a number of projects, including providing loans to poor families, educational support for poor students, vocational support for people with disabilities and Agent Orange victims, and healthcare for poor children in the city.

"We always carry out surveys to find out what local residents need before we start a project and commit funds," said Nguyen Trong Khanh, head of the Hearts for Hue Fund.

The fund's approach and effective, transparent practice has earned it the honour of being chosen as one of the 12 most outstanding Vietnamese NGOs in the final round of the Viet Nam NGO Awards 2014, organised by the Research Centre for Management and Sustainable Development (MSD) and Resource Alliance.

The awards, which are the first of their kind, are to honour local NGOs for their efforts to practice good accountability, transparency and resource mobilisation.

"In Viet Nam, the role and voice of social organisations and their response to the needs and rights of vulnerable community groups has become more and more essential," said Nguyen Phuong Linh, MSD's director.

"In this context, transparent and mutual accountability are crucial tools for building strong and sustainable organisations and effective development," she said.

The awards were not only a competition among NGOs, they were also a process in which NGOs were judged on their competency, operations and sustainable development. The idea was to inspire NGOs and multi-stakeholders to promote and practice transparency and mutual accountability, Linh added.

The awards process took eight months, during which time MSD provided training for NGO candidates on transparency and accountability. The NGOs then submitted their documents which were evaluated by independent assessors.

These assessors evaluated the NGOs performance and also acted as consultants for the organisations to improve their operational quality.

"Practicing transparency and accountability is the responsibility of all social organisations, and it's also the most important principle of out organization," said Khanh from the Hearts for Hue Fund.

"I think the awards can play a crucial role in promoting transparency and accountability among Vietnamese NGOs," he said.

Pham Kieu Oanh, founder and CEO of the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP), one of the 12 finalists, shared Khanh's opinion.

"Our principle is that we have to explain each penny of our donors' money that we spend, and how that money can make a change or profit to the community. In all of our projects, we always ask our contractors to do the same," Oanh said.

"This culture should be maintained and developed among all social organisations," she added.

Forty-two Vietnamese NGOs submitted their applications for the awards, and the sponsors of the competition said they highly appreciated the idea.

"The awards recognise the effort and achievement of organisations and showcase them as good practices of transparency, accountability and resource mobilisation. I hope this will radiate widely for the development of civil society in Viet Nam," said Garvan McCann from Irish Aid.

Ashvin Dayal from the Rockefeller Foundation, another award's sponsors, said he saw the success of the award in its organisation process.

"The organisers have also invited experienced and reputable people and experts in the field to be members of the assessment panel. The evaluation process was very transparent and accountable. I think that is the success," he said.

The Viet Nam NGO Awards 2014 Ceremony will take place on June 20, 2014 in Ha Noi. It will reward the best three organisations in each catagory, and besides the publicity, they will receive VND 100 million (US$4,700) each. These organization will also be eligible to particpate in the Global Awards – an international competition for NGOs organised by Resource Alliance.

Gia Lai leads Central Highland in modernising rural areas

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai is leading the region in building new-style rural areas, thanks to its efforts to summon all resources to fulfill as many criteria as possible.

There are now five communes meeting all 19 criteria, including building infrastructure, improving production capacity, protecting the landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and culture identities.

Three communes have satisfied 15-18 criteria, while 32 others reached 10-14. Local authorities are striving to have 25 communes fulfilling all criteria by the end of this year.

To realise this goal, the province has encouraged residents to donate land for building and upgrading roads, schools, and irrigation facilities.

It has also zoned off areas for growing key crops such as rubber, coffee, pepper and sugar cane, while paying special attention to animal husbandry.

With a total investment of nearly 5 trillion VND (238 million USD), the three-year national target programme on building new-style rural areas has brought a new face lift for the Central Highlands province, with better healthcare, education and security.

The rate of poor households has slid to 16.9 percent from 23.7 percent in 2011. Many communes such as Dien Phu and An Phu of Pleiku city have no people living under the poverty line.

With a total area of more than 15,500 square kilometres, Gia Lai is home to over 1.2 million people (based on 2009 statistics), including 34 ethnic groups such as Bahnar, Xo Dang, Thai and Muong.

A robot programming contest was launched on June 18 in Hanoi by FPT Corporation.

The first robot programming contest was held in 2013 with the participation of 9 teams at FPT University in Hoa Lac High Tech Park in Hanoi.

This year, each team will include 3-5 students. Registration is no later than June 30.

This year's prizes include the first worth VND 15 million (US$ 707.5), the second worth VND10 million (US$ 471.6) and the third worth VND 5 million (US$ 235).

Students who participate in developing products in SMAC Challenge will have the opportunity to work and cooperate with FPT Technology Committee right after the contest.

Methadone therapy programme proves successful

The proportion of drug addicts nationwide to join a two-year methadone treatment programme is 93 percent, with nearly 16 percent of them continuing to use drugs, albeit at a lower frequency, according to the Ministry of Health.

The percentage of patients who are at high risk of depression slid to 15 percent from 80 percent after one year of treatment. Many have gained weight and seen their physical and mental health stabilise. Only one case of HIV was reported out of the 1,000 patients surveyed, a health ministry survey showed.

Meanwhile, the rate of legal violators has dropped to 1.3 percent from 40.8 percent.

This sort of therapy has also proved economical, according to the preliminary survey in 11 provinces and cities. It showed that a person with a heroin dependence wastes 230,000 VND (10.8 USD) per day for buying drugs (around 84 million VND or 4,000 USD per year). In comparison, the cost for methadone treatment ranges between 6 and 8 million VND.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said the ministry is striving for a wider applications of this method to treat around 80,000 drug addicts nationwide by 2015.

Additionally, it will call for the Government and sponsors’ financial support to ensure sufficient medicine for 30,000 patients in the near future, Long said.

Methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) has long been carried out in more than 80 countries and territories, benefiting over 1 million drug users.

This programme was initially piloted in Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City in April 2008, and then spread to 32 cities and provinces nationwide, with more than 17,500 patients being treated at 92 clinics.

Overseas Vietnamese in Germany express thanks to homeland coast guard

The Overseas Vietnamese (OV) in Germany highly appreciated the Vietnam Coast Guard for their courage and spirit of embracing every hardship to fight against China’s wrongful actions in Vietnam’s waters.

This remark was made by Nguyen Van Thanh, member of the OV Association in Leipzig, Germany at an event held in Hanoi on June 19 to present the force with VND 310 million (US$14,570).

He also handed over EUR 1,000 to the guard as gift from the OV Association in Bittefeld, Germany.

The OV community in Germany has organised meetings in front of the Chinese Embassy in Berlin twice to protest against China’s illegal placement of its oil rig, Haiyang Shiyou 981 within Vietnam’s waters, Thanh said.

The OV will continue providing support to fishermen and on duty law enforcement forces, he affirmed.

Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Commander of the Vietnam Coast Guard expressed his thank to the OV community in the two cities, saying that the good deeds, together with recent nationwide support for the forces, fuelled the guard’s determination to protect the country’s sea and islands.

On the same day, the force received VND350 million (US$16,450) from the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) under Vietnam Electricity.EVNPT also presented US$16,450 to the Fisheries Surveillance Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Vietnamese in Japan, Laos ask China to withdraw illegal rig

Vietnamese communities in Japan and Laos have demonstrated their sense of solidarity with compatriots at home in protests against China, which illegally towed its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 into Vietnam’s waters in early May.

Around 200 Vietnamese and Japanese citizens in red shirts marched from Jygyo Park to the Chinese Consulate in Fukuoka prefecture, waving banners and posters to demand China pull the rig out of Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone immediately.

They made representations in both English and Japanese to the Chinese Consulate General, saying that the rig’s operation ran counter to international law and practices, and seriously violated Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago.

They asked China to stop its illegal acts by withdrawing the rig and escort ships unconditionally, and respect maritime freedom in the East Sea.

On June 17, the Vietnamese Association in the northern Lao province of Udomsay raised donations in support of coast guards and fishermen at home.

Phi Van Mai, Chairman of the association, said Vietnamese residents stand ready to do their part to safeguard Vietnam’s sovereignty.

Despite Vietnam’s protests since early May, China has 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, still 60 nautical miles deep inside Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

As of June 17, China maintained 136 ships, including five warships, around the rig. They kept on circling and stood ready to ram Vietnamese vessels, while approaching them to a distance of as close as 30 metres.

Worse still, Chinese fishing ships escorted by a coast guard vessel formed a line to block and disturb Vietnamese fishing boats which were catching fish as usual, at about 30 nautical miles from the rig.

Vietnam among 6 Asian countries prone to H7N9 bird flu

Vietnam is among six Asian countries vulnerable to the H7N9 avian influenza virus strain as they have many live poultry markets located inside residential areas, health experts have warned.

These countries include China, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, a group of scientists at the Free University of Brussels, the Kenya-based International Livestock Research Institute, Oxford University, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent study on the spread of the H7N9 virus.

Areas at the highest risk of the H7N9 epidemic are those located in China’s eastern and southeastern coastal localities, the Bengal region – including Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal – the upstream area of the Hong (Red) and Mekong Rivers in Vietnam, and many remote and isolated places in Indonesia and the Philippines.

H7N9 is the second bird virus alongside H5N1 to have emerged in recent years through live markets, where traders and shoppers come in close contact with infected chickens and ducks, according to AFP.

Regarding the possible spread of the H7N9 virus from China to Vietnam, Tran Dac Phu, head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health’s Preventive Health Department, has said, “The epidemic can penetrate into Vietnam at any time since there are a large volume of people and goods, including poultry, which travel between the two countries at their border every day.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no evidence that the H7N9 virus is being transmitted from human to human.

From the beginning of this year, more than 120 people in China have been infected with H7N9, with dozens of deaths, Xinhua reported on June 17.

In April alone, five H7N9 patients died in Guangdong Province.

Compared to H5N1, the H7N9 strain is difficult to be detected, researchers said, explaining that poultry infected with H5N1 usually show symptoms of the avian flu while those contracting H7N9 usually do not indicate any signs of the disease.

Therefore, the H7N9 virus is hard to be controlled, as seen in southern and central China, where it keeps spreading, researchers said.

There has been evidence showing that the main source of pathogen is live poultry markets and small farms in areas where livestock can often contact wild birds, they said.

Many Vietnamese health experts have also warned about the danger of the H7N9 virus.

Compared to H5N1, H7N9 causes pneumonia to develop more rapidly and induces a higher fatality rate among patients, up to 70-80 percent, Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital, said.

Similar to H5N1, the H7N9 virus first attacks one lung and then the other, thereby causing breathing problems. It seems that the heart and kidneys are less vulnerable to the new strain, but patients have signs of more muscle loss, Dr. Kinh said.

As there is no known vaccine against the H7N9 strain, the main precautions are maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands thoroughly with soap, and using nose and throat solutions, the Health Ministry advised.

Fewer job openings in financial services

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Anh of Dong Nai Province, who graduated last year in finance-banking from HCM City University of Technology, applied for five jobs but finally had to settle for one outside her major field.

One bank said she unqualified and had no experience, and the other four never responded.

Through her relatives, Anh heard about an opening for a public relations professional at a provincial hospital, for which she interviewed and was later hired.

A report from the Institute of Manpower, Banking and Finance estimates that nearly 13,000 new graduates over the next four years will not seek jobs related to their major.

This year, 40 per cent of new graduates are expected to get a job unrelated to their major or will remain unemployed.

Tran Anh Tuan, head of HCM City's Centre for Human Resource Forecast and Labour Information, said that the banking industry was undergoing restructuring, which has led to many lay-offs.

Tuan said there had been fierce competition among new graduates for jobs, especially people from the provinces who have moved to big cities to look for work.

The banking field is among the top five with the highest number of people who have been laid off, amounting to nearly 36 per cent of its workforce since last year.

The need for workers in the field for the first six months of the year fell by 18.16 per cent, Tuan said.

Finance, economic and banking will continue to see a drop in recruitment for the rest of the year.

The city will need 150,000 employees for the remaining six months, but most of these positions will be in sales, services, electronics-IT, textiles, tourism-hospitality, engineering, construction and communication.

Employment in accounting and auditing has also seen a downward trend.

The need for human resources in these two fields will account for only 6 per cent of the city's total human resources recruitment over the next three years.

Despite the falling numbers, more than 25 per cent of 13,930 surveyed high school students have chosen economy and finance, following the first choice, engineering technology.

The Academy of Finance has received 4,700 applications for this enrollment season, and the Banking Academy, 4,900 applications. Viet Nam University of Commerce has had 3,800 applications.

Viet Nam has 1,856 schools that train in the fields of accounting, finance-banking and business administration, and more than 30 per cent of the total number of students is enrolled in these fields.

Although universities and colleges have been warned about over-enrollment, they have continued to increase their enrollment quotas for these fields, Tuan said.

Hospitalsin need of sewage systems

Reportsfrom local health authorities showed that only about 54 per cent of thehospitals were equipped with wastewater treatment systems, the Ministry ofHealth has said.

Speakingat a meeting on environmental protection in healthcare services on Wednesday,Associate Professor Nguyen Huy Nga, director of the Health EnvironmentManagement Agency, said among hospitals equipped with wastewater treatmentsystems, the central hospitals accounted for 73 per cent of the total,provincial hospitals for 60 per cent and district hospitals for 45 per cent.

Currently,95 per cent of the hospitals nationwide collected and classified hazardoussolid waste every day.

Accordingto the agency, the management of wastewater in hospitals and health clinicsremained difficult.

Manyhospitals and health clinics are facing a shortage of funds to build newwastewater treatment systems. Many wastewater treatment systems at hospitalswere downgraded and needed to be upgraded or rebuilt.

Thecost of a treatment system was between VND200 million (US$9,520) and VND80billion ($3.8 million), depending on the volume of wastewater of hospitals andhealth clinics.

Ashortage of qualified staff for medical waste management was another problem,it said.

ColonelTran Trong Binh, deputy chief of the Ministry of Public Security's Departmentof Environment Crime Prevention Police Department, said the violations of theenvironmental protection law in the healthcare services were complex,especially violations of medical wastewater and hazardous solid wastes.

Thedepartment, together with the inspectors of the Ministry of Natural Resourcesand Environment, has discovered more than 60 cases of violations of hospitalsnationwide.

Ofwhich, some were serious. For example, in August 2007, the inspectors foundthat Bach Mai Hospital, Viet Nam-Germany Hospital and Cancer Hospital in Ha Noiillegally sold tonnes of hazardous solid wastes to a recycling business.

Anothergeneral health clinic in southern Ha Noi was found to have thrown foetusesafter abortions and placenta into its gas hole. The clinic was fined VND223million ($10,620) for its violation.

DangVan Loi, deputy chief of the Department of Pollution Control, suggested thatconcerned authorities should cooperate to implement regular inspections ofhospitals and health clinics.

TheMinistry of Natural Resources and Environment should work with the Ministry ofHealth to organise training courses on environmental protection for healthstaff, especially those at district hospitals, to minimise the activities thatpollute the environment.

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