HCMC opens first drug treatment center with Suboxone

A drug treatment center, which prescribes Suboxone to treat drug addiction, today opened in Ho Chi Minh City’s Go Vap District. This is the first of its kinds in Vietnam and marks an important progress of the city in treating drug addiction.

Currently, the world is making good progress in treating drug addition. Along with Methadone, additional medications including Buprenorphine, Naltrexone, Naloxone, Suboxone can be used for treating drug addiction. Among them, Suboxone are the most prominent and preeminent as it is safe for patients; accordingly, it is widely used in many countries in the world.

After the approval of Ministry of Health the Viet Nam Administration for HIV/AIDS Control and HCMC authority have implemented pilot drug addition treatment with Suboxone in Go Vap District with the financial support of many organizations.

For years, HCMC has adopted many measures to help drug addicts to rehabilitate and integrate into the community. One of the measures is treatment with Methadone. So far the city has 13 centers to treat drug addiction with Methadone. The new center is hoped to contribute reducing the number of drug addicts and raise patients’ health condition. This also help ensure the city’s social order and economic development.

According to an estimation, the city has more than 19,000 drug addicts yet it is not enough figure as there are many homeless drug addicts.

The municipal People’s Committee opened the center with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Health, French and Amercian Consulate General and other related agencies.

 Health Ministry bans more substances in cosmetics products

Fearing bad effects of dangerous chemicals on cosmetic users, the Drug Administration of Vietnam of the Ministry of Health banned more 5 derivatives from Paraben and Methylisothiazolinone in cosmetics products.

Following, the Administration said that five derivatives from Paraben include Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Phenylparaben, Benzylparaben and Pentylparaben.

All foreign-made or local-made products are just allowed to circulate in the market before July 30, 2015. However, these derivatives from Methylisothiazolinone just allowed being on market before April 30, 2016.

The Administration asked departments of health in cities and provinces to urge enterprises to re-check ingredients of cosmetics and upgrade lists of banned substances. Health authorities must observe the circulation of these products as per the regulation.

According to the Administration, two banned substances Paraben and Methylisothiazolinone are often present in cosmetics products including skin cream, mascara, rinse-off cosmetics, shaving cream and products for children namely oil bath and damp cloth.

However, lately, in the world, studies have been linked to breast cancer, allergies and immunotoxicities and irritation of skin, eyes and lungs. In the Europe and the US, there have been reports on skin infections after consumers contacted with products containing Methylisothiazolinone.

Noi Bai Airport security receives EU RA3 accreditation

he Noi Bai Airport Security Centre (NASC) and Noi Bai Cargo Terminal Services Company (NCTS) have secured the RA3 certificate, which is required in order to export goods to the European Union.

The certificate was granted by Greene & Co Hong Kong, a company that provides air cargo security validations to EU ACC3, RA3 and KC3 standards.

Under EU regulations, as of 1 July 2014 onwards all air cargo and mail carriers operating into the European Union from third country airports are required to obtain an EU Aviation Security Validation in order to maintain or acquire their ACC3 designation.

The validation, which needs to be re-issued every five years, will be highly necessary if carriers continue to transport cargo by air into Europe. Direct shippers, forwarders and handlers will also need to be validated if they wish to continue applying upstream security measures on behalf of carriers.

The RA3 certification, which exempts cargo and mail from security screenings at EU airports, is expected to help boost the volume of outbound goods from Noi Bai Airport.

Site clearance destroys hundreds of graves in Danang

A construction company has destroyed at least 400 graves in central Danang City.

Workers of Tien Thanh Enterprise found graves while clearing land at a technical storage facility under a contract with Military Zone 5’s Army Ordnance.

The facility was built on the Nghi An graveyard in Hoa Phat Ward of Cam Le District.

Elderly people in the area said there about 1,000, mostly those of soldiers who died during the French War.

The construction company reported finding some remains during the clearance, but locals say at least 400 graves have been destroyed.

“About 400 graves were cleared away; six were of my relatives," said Nguyen Tu, 87.

There has been an outcry from local residents.

The Danang municipal government has asked the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, in coordination with Cam Le District People’s Committee, to halt work at the site.

The military was asked to stop work pending a decision from relevant authorities.

Some locals have attempt to rebuild graves destroyed in the site clearance.

Contractor questioned after girder drops on street

Hanoi Metropolitan Rail Management Board has suspended the work of a contractor after a 10m steel girder was dropped on a crowded street on Sunday.

The 650kg beam was dropped on Ho Tung Mau Street as it was being lifted for use on the Nhon-Ha Noi Station urban railway project.

"I heard a loud noise and looked back to see that the beam blocked the street," a driver said. "Two motorbike drivers behind me were able to brake in time. There were a lot of vehicles on the streets at that time but lucky that no one was hurt."

Le Huy Hoang, deputy director of the Hanoi Metropolitan Rail Management Board, halted the construction work and asked South Korean contractor Posco E&C to make report about the case.

Hoang said the 10m girder was not properly secured to the crane.

"We'll determine individual responsibility upon receiving the report and make an assessment of the case," he said.

On May 12, all equipment and material being used for the project will be inspected.

"Low quality and out-of-date equipment will be removed. We'll resume construction when everything is good and ready," Hoang said.

Incidence of illegal logging increases in Lam Dong

Illegal cutting of trees increased alarmingly in the Central Highlands Lam Dong Province in the first four months of this year, a report by the provincial People's Committee said.

The number of serious violations increased in the first four months of 2015, compared with the same period last year, especially organised cutting of trees by many ethnic and minority people in Lac Duong, Dam Rong, Lam Ha and Bao Lam districts, the report said.

The committee said more than 600 cases of violation were detected and dealt with since the beginning of 2015. Most of them related to illegal collection of forest products, logging, trading and transport, even though the province has implemented several measures to strengthen forest management and protection.

The total number of cases of cutting of trees has declined by nearly 100, but the number of cases involving organised cutting of trees increased by 39, along with an increase of nearly 27ha of destroyed forest area.

The committee has asked localities to strengthen forest management and to mobilise the whole political system towards forest protection and development.

The province aims to reduce illegal logging and destruction of forest area by at least 20 per cent in 2015, in comparison with the previous year. Organisational activities and human resources will be reorganised in localities that lack effective measures to handle problems of deforestation, encroachment of forest land and illegal logging.

The provincial police have been asked to work with the forest management authority to investigate and strictly handle those violating the law.

Districts such as Dam Rong, Lac Duong, Don Duong and Lam Ha, as well as Duc Trong, Di Linh, Bao Lam and Da Huoai, besides Ta Den have been asked to map out key areas that face serious problems of deforestation, and to draw up appropriate plans to prevent and handle cases of violation.

Localities intensify efforts to gather fallen soldiers’ remains

Localities across the country are continuing with efforts to search for and gather remains of fallen soldiers 40 years after the end of the war.

At a conference on the issue held by the southern province of Binh Phuoc on May 11, Nguyen Huy Phong, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee instructed promoting the use of mass media communication in the search for martyr remains.

He asked the provincial military command and local Steering Committee on the Search and Repatriation of the Remains of the Fallen Soldiers to sort and systemise information on martyrs and possible search locations while focusing on international cooperation to recover martyr remains in Cambodia.

In 2014, the province’s military command found and laid to rest the remains of 33 martyrs killed in the locality; only four of them were identified. Local teams also repatriated 99 sets of remains from Cambodia.

Elsewhere, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang held a ceremony on May 11 to re-bury the remains of five fallen soldiers at the Vi Xuyen War Martyrs Cemetery. The remains were found on May 6 and believed to be of soldiers who were killed during the border war nearly 30 years ago.

According to the Steering Committee on the Search and Repatriation of Remains of Fallen Soldiers, 6,093 sets of remains have been found and laid to rest since 2012.

Thai Nguyen strives to increase livelihood of Mong ethnic group

The northern province of Thai Nguyen has carried out a project supporting the Mong ethnic minority group in production development and building infrastructure in a bid to raise the ethnic residents’ livelihoods.

The province’s Project 2037 has provided seed varieties and fertilizer to advantaged ethic households together with training in planting and animal raising techniques. According to the project’s steering board, after seven months of implementation, ethnic residents in the locality have received hybrid corn seeds and fertiliser to plant on 308 hectares.

Around 40km of roads have been built to reach 14 out o 15 poorest Mong hamlets. In addition, electricity grids, fresh water facilities and classrooms have also been constructed as part of the project.

Over 3,100 people received free medical examinations and medicine.

At the project’s review meeting on May 11, Le Son Hai, Deputy Minister and Vice Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, spoke highly of the province’s efforts to shift the living standards in the ethnic minority region.

He also asked the locality to focus more on production support and farm produce and aquaculture consumption, to increase resident income and ensure project sustainability.

Two organisations and three individuals were granted certificates of merit for their outstanding contributions to project implementation.-

Solutions sought to improve land information transparency

Representatives from land management agencies and scientists discussed how to improve land management information transparency at a recent conference in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

A WB survey in the field showed that by 2014, only 70 percent of land management information was made public on the mass media and at offices providing public administrative service. The lack of transparency in this field was believed to be the cause of many petitions. An estimated 70 percent of prolonged lawsuits are related to land problems.

Delegations at the event, co-organised by the World Bank (WB) and Thai Nguyen University, asserted that the sophisticated regulations in the Land Law and underperforming land management information service systems are major contributing factors to ineffective land usage.

In an attempt to surmount shortcomings, authorised bodies have published land-related information on their local electronic portal, but the content is unsystematic and slow to be updated.

Looking forwards, electronic information management systems should be modernized and online services should be increased while minimising person-to-person transactions.

Authorized bodies should also improve public awareness of policies, the Land Law and mechanisms for land management.

Delegations also discussed pressing issues and actions to improve land administration in the country, especially the effectiveness and responsibilities of participating parties.

Vietcombank aids national highway improvements

A project upgrading 30 kilometres of National Highway 10 is set to receive 2.8 trillion VND (130.2 million USD) in funding from the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank).

National Highway 10 runs through six provinces and cities in northern coastal areas, a rapidly-growing and bustling part of the country. The improved road, spanning across Quan Toan and Cau Nghin, will be one of the driving forces behind the development of the port city of Hai Phong and neighbouring localities.

Vietcombank Chairman Nghiem Xuan Thanh shared that capitalising on its financial strength, the bank has thus far sponsored a great number of build-operate-transfer and build-transfer projects such as the Hanoi-Bac Giang road.

Vietcombank has confirmed its capital mobilisation and disbursement will enable the national highway project to be completed on schedule, Thanh said.

National Highway 10 with a total length of 351 kilometres runs from Quang Ninh province to the northern central province of Thanh Hoa via Hai Phong city and Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh provinces.-

Fishermen in Quang Tri supported to build iron-clad ships

The Quang Tri branch of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) recently signed contracts to provide 23 billion VND (1.06 million USD) for two local fishermen to build iron-clad ships for fishing.

Accordingly, Vo Van Huu from Gio Linh district will receive 18.25 billion VND (845,000 USD) to construct a ship with capacity of 1,200 CV.

Meanwhile, Dinh Van Trinh from Trieu Phong district will be provided 4.5 billion VND (215,000 USD) to build a new vessel with capacity of 600 CV.

The two ships are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Previously, Doan Van Dung from Cua Viet town, Gio Linh district, was the first fisherman in Quang Tri to benefit from preferential loans from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in line with Government Decree 67.

The building of high-capacity steel boats for deep sea fishing is one of the programmes introduced under Government Decree 67/2014/ND-CP to boost fishery development.

The move is expected to increase the volume of fish caught and lift fishermen incomes.

To be eligible for the programme, fishermen must be approved by local People’s Committees.

As many as 2,079 new off-shore fishing ships and 205 logistics ships will be built under this decree, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

New Buddhist monastery facility built in Sapa

The Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhist Zen Monastery held a ceremony to break ground on the Truc Lam Dai Giac Zen Monastery in Sapa town, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on May 10.

Event attendees included representatives from the Party Central Committee for Communication and Education, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, and 7,000 Buddhist monks, nuns and followers across the country.

Covering 2 hectares on Dien Bien Phu Street , the construction of the monastery is scheduled to be completed by May 2017.

A great bell will also be cast as part of the project.

Once completed, the monastery will provide a venue for Buddhist monks, nuns, and followers from Vietnam and overseas to observe their religion while serving as a spiritual tourist site for pilgrims to Sapa.

On the occasion, the monastery’s executive board presented a social house cheque worth 150 billion VND (6,900 USD) and 200 gifts valued at a combined 200 million VND (9,300 USD) to disadvantaged households in Sapa district.

Hanoi strives to end family violence

The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has worked with localities to expand the model of forming family violence prevention groups.

The localities, which include Soc Son, Ha Dong, Gia Lam and Thach That, have provided financial support for the groups’ activities, including seminars and consultation services on economic development, health care and child-raising.

The department has also distributed 12,000 flyers to raise awareness about family violence and the rights and obligations held by all individuals.

It has also worked with the Municipal Women Union and other social organisations and sectors to enhance the community’s understanding of relevant legal documents and to praise outstanding families, thus reducing the likelihood of family violence in the city.

Hanoi is now home to nearly 200 groups working on the issue. They organise regular get-togethers and seminars to raise community awareness about sensible behaviour in families and communities.

They also help improve understanding among members, both women and men, about how to prevent family violence and how to forge solidarity and sharing in their communities.

Universities’ preparations for AEC discussed

Southeast Asian languages, cultural trademarks and university education internationalisation were the focus of a recent seminar on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and how universities are preparing for it held in Ho Chi Minh City.

The event was co-organised on May 8 by the Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam-Southeast Asia Friendship Association and the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia.

At the event, Ngo Thi Phuong Lan, Vice Rector of Ho Chi Minh City’s University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), underscored that her universityhas cooperated with Indonesian universities to hold academic and cultural exchanges to boost collaboration between Vietnam and Indonesia as well as among universities in the ASEAN University Network (AUN).

She also noted that relevant organisations need to leverage their resources in the region while supporting each other to boost development.

Indonesian Consul General Jeans Anes said the AEC establishment by the end of this year will create both opportunities and challenges for its members and the education sector is no exception.

He said that the seminar aims to help universities from both countries deepen their understanding about one another and seize cooperation opportunities.

The Xekaman 1 hydropower project reservoir in the Lao province of Attapeu, part of electricity cooperation between the Vietnamese and Lao Governments, officially began storing water on May 9.

The project comprises the Vietnamese-invested Xekaman 1 plant on the lower Xekaman River and its counterpart Xekaman Sanxay further downstream.

The 290 megawatt facility Xekaman 1, located about 80 kilometres from Vietnam’s Bo Y border gate, has two turbines and a 4.8 billion-cubic-metre reservoir.

Its first turbine is scheduled to start generating electricity in March 2016 and the second is set to become operational two months later.

The first and second turbines of the 32 megawatt Sekaman Sanxay will go into operation in April and July 2017, respectively.

The Xekaman 1 hydropower project has an investment of 540.89 million USD—including 53.72 million USD spent on 230 kilovolt power transmission lines.

The build-operate-transfer project is designed to have a combined output of 1.21 billion kilowatt hours per year, about 80 percent of which will be exported to Vietnam and the rest will be consumed in Laos.

Speaking at the ceremony marking the reservoir’s opening, Governor of Attapeu province Nam Viyaketh said the project creates a major power generation advantage in southern Laos and critical to the country’s socio-economic development.

It is also a symbol of the special cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and Laos, he added.

Ha Nam sees improved water sources

The Results-Based Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme funded by the World Bank has thus far produced encouraging outcomes in northern Ha Nam province.

Official information sources revealed Ha Nam has some of the worst contaminated groundwater among the 63 Vietnamese provinces.

According to Director Ta Duc Thang from the Centre for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation under the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, 84 percent of local population, or about 639,500 people, now have access to clean drinking water thanks to the WB programme which began in 2013.

As part of the project, a water purification plant worth about 32 billion VND (1.5 million USD) brought clean water to 13,000 families living in An Lao commune thus far this year. Another plant commenced operations in Phu Ly city on April 25, improving water quality for 12,700 people.

Meanwhile, 15 hygienic sanitation initiatives at schools and medical facilities benefitted 50,000 locals in 2014, almost three times higher than the year’s provincial target. More than 2,150 households had new toilet facilities and a number of waste-treatment plants were built.

Nearly 100 children with cleft lips and palates given free surgery

Nearly 100 children with cleft lips and palates in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding provinces are being offered free checked-ups and surgeries in the Medical and Pharmaceutical University Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City from now until May 15.

This is the first surgery mission of 2015 organised by Operation Smile and Amway Vietnam in order to support disadvantaged children and encourage them to smile and enjoy a happy childhood.

Statistics show that in Vietnam, one child in every 700 is born with a facial deformity. A 45-minute operation, costing approximately VND5 million, will help the child to recover their basic oral functions.

Since 2008, Amway has partnered with Operation Smiles to assist families whose children were born with cleft lips and cleft palates to receive free medical check-ups and surgeries. So far, 1,100 children have received treatment through medical missions in the partnered programme.

This is a part of Amway One by One Campaign for Children with the aim to help disadvantaged children all around the world have better lives, it has run for seven years in collaboration with Operation Smile. Since 2008, under the programme, 1,500 children have recovered their basic oral functions and have for the first time in their life been able to show the world their smile.

Leo Boon Wang, General Manager of Amway Vietnam, said: “it has been our honour to partner with Operation Smile in the charity program over last seven years to help children with cleft lips and cleft palates integrate into the community. With the target of creating a better life for every child, we hope that our efforts will bring unfortunate children more opportunities to live normal lives. This is also the commitment of Amway towards the long-term development of Vietnam.”

Chief Representative from Operation Smile Vietnam Nguyen Viet Phuong, said: “We have always been proud to co-operate with Amway throughout the past and in continuing our organisation’s mission in Vietnam, in order to bring about a Vietnam with happy children, not suffering from the effects of having cleft lips and palates, thus contributing to the nation’s steady development.”

Dong Nai tracks down suspected dioxin-contaminated soil use

Relevant agencies of Dong Nai Province called an emergency meeting last week to look into allegations that Toan Thinh Phat Corporation had used dioxin-contaminated soil for its urban rehabilitation and development project by the Dong Nai River as reported by a local newspaper.

The project of Toan Thinh Phat has been temporarily suspended due to its controversial reclamation. But in an article published last Thursday, Thoi Nay under Nhan Dan newspaper reported that some soil suspected of being contaminated with dioxin at Bien Hoa airport had been allegedly used by the corporation for land reclamation.

The article did not show clear evidence but questioned the possible use of dioxin-contaminated soil taken from Bien Hoa airport for reclamation work. The article quoted an official of Bien Hoa airport as saying that Toan Thinh Phat transported part of the soil from the airport by road and river.

That was the reason why Dong Nai Province’s department of natural resources- environment and construction and the Bien Hoa airport authority met last week to look into the material used for reclamation.

Tran Van Dung, head of Regiment 935, the unit in charge of managing Bien Hoa airport, was cited by Dong Nai newspaper as saying that there is currently no soil exploitation at the airport but a reservoir construction project carried out by Dong Bac Coal-Mineral Investment Corporation. This enterprise made use of soil dug at the project for other purposes.

However, a source from Dong Bac Coal-Mineral Investment Corporation said the soil was sold to Hung Thinh Phat Co. in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, not Toan Thinh Phat for land reclamation. Moreover, the soil and water in the reservoir have been tested and dioxin has not been found.

Toan Thinh Phat said the soil and rocks used for the land reclamation project were sourced from Thanh Phu, Vinh Cuu and Tan Cang quarries in Dong Nai Province and Tan Uyen quarry in Binh Duong Province and supplied by Bien Hoa Building Materials Production and Construction Co. and Tan Cang Co.

CAAV says Jetstar Pacific followed flight safety regulations

The Civil Aviation Administration of Viet Nam (CAAV) yesterday said Jetstar Pacific and its staff had followed flight service and safety regulations while disallowing a disabled passenger from boarding a plane.

The said passenger reportedly had not requested for special assistance in advance.

The CAAV press release also said the passenger reached the check-in counter five minutes late.

As reported earlier, Tran Thi Ngoc and her son, Cao Quang Son, 19, who cannot walk by himself, had planned to fly from HCM City to Vinh City on May 3 at 5.45am. They reached the check-in counter at 5.09am, 36 minutes before the flight's departure.

As stated in a document by the transport ministry, check-in counters close 40 minutes before departure time.

However, Jetstar employee Dinh Thi Minh managed to complete the check-in procedures for them. But it was only when Cao Quang Son reached the check-in counter that the staff realised he was disabled and needed assistance. The CAAV press release said since Son was five minutes late, the airline couldn't arrange assistance service for him.

A senior officer of Jetstar reportedly informed Ngoc and her son about the decision to refuse Son permission to board the plane, because the airline couldn't ensure safety for these passengers and the flight's departure as per schedule.

They suggested Ngoc and Son could take another flight, but Ngoc refused to do so.

CAAV said Jetstar Pacific followed airline regulations in this case to ensure the safety of all passengers of the flight and to ensure on-time departure.

Marine Police uncover cigarette smuggling ring

Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday praised Viet Nam Marine Police Force's investigation department for uncovering a tobacco smuggling case, and seizing 165 cigarette cartons.

The police caught Bui Duc Khanh of Quang Ninh Province, who was the owner of the boat number QN6688, and his nine employees, while they were transporting 82,500 cigarette packs in the sea off the northern Quang Ninh Province.

The cigarette packs were of the 555 brand, worth VND2.5 billion (US$119,000). Khanh could not produce any invoice or documents related to his cargo.

Deputy PM Phuc entrusted the national defence ministry to command Viet Nam Marine Police Force to conduct further investigations into the case, so that strict punishment can be imposed.

The results of the investigation are expected to be submitted to the Prime Minister next month.

Earlier this year, the authorities caught Do Xuan Trung, 37, while he was transporting 1,320 cigarette packs in Hai Phong Province to sell them in Hai Phong and other neighbouring cities.

Preventive programme helping achieve WHO's child TB goal

Thanks to the national tuberculosis preventive programme, a man in HCM City's Tan Phu District who was diagnosed with TB is not afraid he will transmit the disease to his infant son.

The man, who asked not to be named, had exclaimed earlier to doctors in his district clinic: "How worrying! I am afraid of giving the disease to my nine-month-old son. What can I do to prevent transmission?"

They offered to put his son through the national programme for children under five, which has been carried out in HCM City since late 2013.

Under this, children whose relatives had TB were encouraged to get tested, Dr Nguyen Hong Nguyen, the clinic's deputy head, said. If the tests proved negative for TB germs, they were given free Isoniazid to drink every day for six months to prevent TB, he said.

Isoniazid is an antibiotic used both to treat and prevent TB.

The children in the programme were monitored for side effects and examined every month, Nguyen said, assuring that the drug does not have side effects.

Any child testing positive got free treatment, he added.

The World Health Organisation estimated in 2013 that globally up to 80,000 children die of TB and over half a million are infected each year.

The actual incidence of TB among children was possibly higher given the difficulties in diagnosing the disease in children, WHO had said.

In Viet Nam, nearly 180,000 new cases, including 18,000 children, were found and treated every year.

Dang Minh Sang, head of the National Tuberculosis Control Division's southern region based in Pham Ngoc Thach, told a recent conference on TB diagnosis equipment, that children accounted for a mere around 2 per cent of the cases only because TB was difficult to diagnose in children due to a shortage of equipment.

In Viet Nam the diagnosis was based on sputum tests, and obtaining children's sputum was very difficult, he said.

This year, by late March, Pham Ngoc Thach Hospital had treated 360 child TB patients, he said.

Four of them had multidrug-resistant TB, he said, adding they had been infected by relatives with TB.

Truong Huu Khanh, head of the hospital's neurology and infectious diseases ward, warned that young children were most likely to get TB from family members.

Earlier this month the HCM City Paediatrics Hospital No.1 admitted an 18-month-old baby with TB meningitis, who had got the TB bacteria from his father who was being treated.

According to the US's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children can develop TB at any age, but the most severe forms are most common between one and four years of age.

Children can get TB immediately after being infected or can get the disease at any time later in life.

They can even infect their own children, decades later, if not treated.

Sang said it was vital to implement the TB prevention programme to achieve WHO's goal of zero child deaths from TB.

District TB clinics and reproductive and child health centres provided the public with information about the programme, he said.

By the end of the first quarter this year 62 per cent of all children in the city who were in close contact with TB patients were attending the programme, he said.

The rest had refused because they were worried about side effects despite doctors' assurances that the drug did not cause more harm than TB, he added.

10m citizens carry Thalassemia gene

More than 10 million Vietnamese citizens are carrying the thalassemia gene, and about 20,000 people have contracted the disease and need treatment, experts say.

Nguyen Anh Tri, Director of the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT), told a workshop in Ha Noi last week that thalassemia is a social issue that can seriously impact the economy and citizens' quality of life.

Tri, who is also chairman of the Viet Nam Thalassemia Association (VNTA), asked people and authorities at all levels to act together in managing the disease.

He said the National Thalassemia Programme should be implemented effectively to reduce the number of children born with the disease.

The workshop, co-hosted by the NIHBT and the VNTA to mark International Thalassemia Day, which fell on Friday, aimed to raise public awareness of the disease and find preventive measures.

Reports presented at the workshop said about seven per cent of the world population carry the thalassemia genre. They also said that Viet Nam carries a high risk of the disease with an estimated 10 million people carrying the gene.

The NIHBT is currently treating more than 1,500 thalassemia patients from 20 northern provinces and cities. It also provides advice on thalassemia management to 5,000 people from different parts of the country.

Experts from the institute said basic treatment methods are blood transfusions and iron elimination.

Thalassemia is a form of anaemia, a genetic blood disease a child can inherit if one or both of his/her parents carry the mutant gene; the risk is higher if both parents have it. The disease is not always symptomatic, but can be identified through testing.

It is caused by variant or missing genes that affect how the body makes haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.

Thalassemia can cause complications, including iron overload, bone deformities, and cardiovascular illness.

Globally, about 25,000 Thalassemia-related deaths were recorded in 2013, down from 36,000 in 1990.

50 workers suffer food poisoning

The Ha Noi Department of Food Hygiene and Safety is investigating a suspected food poisoning case in Me Linh District that hospitalised 55 workers on Sunday.

After having breakfast served at the cafeteria of Synopex Viet Nam Co., Ltd., the workers complained of dizziness, headache and nausea.

They were treated and discharged from the Phuc Yen Hospital in neighbouring Vinh Phuc Province in the evening.

The breakfast was provided by the PCS Co.'s Ha Noi branch to 357 workers of the Synopex company.

Ha Noi to open 500-bed General Hospital

The upgrading of the Transport Hospital to a 500-bed General Hospital has been finished and will be opened to public onMay 15, according to the project's management board.

The project began in November 11, 2013, with a total investment of US$15 billion; this included a loan of US$13.5 million from the OPEC fund for International Development, while the rest was allocated from the State Budget.

The seven-storey hospital is equipped with modern equipment that were acquired on an investment of VND46 billion (US$2.1 million).

According to the Director of Central Transport General Hospital, Tran Trung,the upgrading of the hospital had been among the major projects of the Transport Ministry, which aimed at building a general hospital that could offer treatments for all diseases.

The hospital will serve the healthcare needs of the people not just in the capital region but from surrounding areas as well.

Gia Lai to withdraw misused fund

The provincial administration of Gia Lai in the Central Highlands has decided to withdraw over VND15 billion (nearly US$692,000) that was found to be misused by four agencies during an inspection.

This was revealed by Chief of the province's People's Committee Secretariat Ngo Ngoc Sinh.

Inspections have found that the province's Radio and Television Station, the Education and Training Department, the Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Department, and General Hospital have misused state fund to the tune of VND780 million (US$36,000), VND1 billion (US$46,000), VND1.8 billion (US$83,000), and VND11 billion (US$507,000), respectively.

The agencies misused the funds mainly for labour contracts, equipment purchase, and their installation.

While the Radio and Television station has refunded the misused capital, the Education and Training Department has recovered 60 per cent of the money, Sinh said.

The province's People's Committee has asked the inspectorate to issue a decision on withdrawing the misused money and request the four agencies to clarify their individual as well as collective responsibility for the errors.

Accident stops work on sky-train

More than half a tonne of steel sheeting fell from a crane as it was being hoisted into the air during the construction of Station Four on the Nhon-Ha Noi urban train project on Sunday evening.

Le Huy Hoang, deputy director of the project's board of management, later called for all work to be stopped while an investigation into the incident was carried out.

Representatives of South Korea's Posco Corporation, the main contractor on Station Four, said no one was injured.

They said the workers were totally to blame for the incident because they had not checked the way the sheeting had been tied.

Hoang has told the company to make a full report on the incident and include all safety measures. He stopped all work until safety measures were completed.

The urban railway project is part of the Ha Noi urban sky train project, which will have a total length of 12.5km (8.5km overhead, 4km underground).

It Is planned to expand the line to 21 km by 2020, then 33 and 48 km by 2030. The project commenced in September 2010 and is scheduled for completion in 2018.

Last December, scaffolding collapsed at a construction site at the Ha Dong Terminal on Tran Phu Street, which is part of the Ha Dong - Cat Linh flyover project, another important part of the Ha Noi urban sky train project.

Earlier in November, a steel beam dropped from a crane at Thanh Xuan Station during work on the same project. The accident killed one person and seriously injured two others.

One person dies in Tay Ninh truck accident

One person was killed and two were injured in a truck collision in the southern Tay Ninh Province early this morning.

The accident happened at the intersection of road 786 and National Road 22B in Chau Thanh District.

Witnesses said the accident took place very early in the morning, when the traffic lights were not operating.

The driver of a truck, Nguyen Van Hong, and two assistants were transporting vegetables from Vinh Long Town to Tay Ninh City, when Hong lost control of the allegedly speeding vehicle and hit another truck, being driven by Tran Khanh Duy in the opposite direction. Hong and his two assistants were trapped in the damaged cabin of their truck after the accident.

Hong died at the Tay Ninh General Hospital, while his two assistants were slightly injured. Duy and his assistant had a lucky escape, while their truck was slightly damaged.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.

Woman, son jailed for drug trafficking

A 52-year-old woman and her 23-year-old son were sentenced to 20 years in prison each for drug smuggling by the People's Court of Lai Chau Province yesterday.

The two convicts are from Dien Bien Province.

On November 17 last year, Giang Thi Che asked her son Ly A Giang to help smuggle two cakes of heroin, worth VND280 million (US$13,300), in Dien Bien. Giang hid the drugs inside a wooden chair, which was then taken to Lao Cai Province by Che and Giang for delivery to another person.

However, they were arrested on November 18, 2014, in Lai Chau Province's Than Uyen District by the provincial police, while travelling to the planned destination.

During their interrogation, Che and Giang admitted to the crime, stating that the lure of high profits led them to become drug traffickers.

Man dies after being hit by train

A man trying to cross a level crossing was killed after being hit by the HP2 train in Phu Thai Town, Kim Thanh District, Hai Duong Province, last night.

The train was going from Hai Phong to Ha Noi.

The 31-year-old victim, named Vu Duc Ngoc, was a resident of Kinh Mon District in Hai Duong Province. Ngoc died instantly, while his motorbike was badly damaged.

The concerned authorities reached the accident site to investigate the matter.

Statistics from the Viet Nam Railway Authority under the transport ministry showed that 70 per cent of Viet Nam's railway accidents occurred at level crossings that lacked safety fences. Most of the accidents were reportedly caused by motorists who failed to follow traffic rules.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri