Nearly 100 footwear workers hospitalised for food poisoning

Nearly 100 workers of a footwear company in HCM City's Thu Duc District were rushed to hospitals on Wednesday evening allegedly for food poisoning.

The workers reportedly suffered from stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhoea after having dinner before the late shift.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, a doctor at the Emergency Department of Thu Duc District Hospital said that the workers displayed symptoms of food poisoning.

Forty workers received intravenous fluids.

The district's preventive medicine centre and relevant agencies took food samples from the company's canteen for testing.

This food poisoning case occurred just a day before a conference in northern Thai Nguyen Province on food safety at collective canteens organised by the health ministry.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long told the conference that more than 1,000 workers have been hospitalised for food poisoning after having meals at collective canteens in industrial zones and export processing zones each year.

In many companies, a meal for a worker cost between VND 10,000 and VND 12,000 (US$0.5), he said, blaming the cheap ingredients used to cook the meals.

He said that nearly 20 per cent of examined meal providers for companies were not certified to ensure food safety, with about 16 per cent failing to meet hygiene regulations and nearly ten per cent using unidentified ingredients.

The report by the ministry's Food Safety Department shows that in the last four years, more than 6,000 people have been hospitalised in 84 food poisoning cases that occurred at canteens in industrial zones and export processing zones.

Two-fold rise in compensation for those wrongly convicted

The State had to pay more than VND7.1 million (US$322,700) in the first six months of 2015 as compensation to those who were wrongly convicted, reported the Ministry of Justice.

The figure doubled in comparison to around VND2.5 billion (US$113,600) the state had to pay as compensation during the same period last year.

Some 30 out of 73 cases asking for compensation in the first half of the year were completely solved, said the Chief of the Ministry's Office Tran Tien Dung.

Bureau of State Compensation's Deputy Director Tran Viet Hung said the main reason for the dramatic increase was the rise in the number of solved cases as compared to 2014.

"In addition, the solved cases were more serious and complicated than before, which resulted in the higher compensation amount," Hung said.

He also noted an increase in the solved cases suggesting efficient supervision of the National Assembly in the legal system.

HCM City inspects health insurance coverage at grassroots health clinics

A delegation from the HCM City's Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs on Thursday (July 16) inspected the HCM City Pediatrics Hospital No.2 and Binh Thanh District's hospital and clinic to ensure that health insurance policies were being carried out properly.

Speaking at a meeting with the delegation, Le Thi Thanh Ha, head of Ward 24's clinic in Binh Thanh District, said the clinic had received registrations for health check-ups of 31 health insurance holders.

"It is not a high number as there are 4,000 households with nearly 25,200 people residing in the ward," Ha said.

A lack of doctors, a limited category of drugs and the public's distrust of grass-roots healthcare were the chief causes, she said.

The clinic is capable of treating common illnesses such as headache, coughs and sore throats, and people with more severe illnesses are transferred to hospitals.

Nguyen Duy Thai, deputy director of Binh Thanh District's Preventive Medicine Centre, said that many ward-level clinics operated without doctors.

Most health professionals at clinics are para-professionals who are busy with meetings and training, Thai said.

However, Binh Thanh District's Hospital is overloaded with insured patients.

More than 278,500 health insurance holders registered for examination and treatment services at the hospital in the first quarter of the year.

At Padeatrics Hospital No.2, the number of patients with health insurance has risen over the last two years.

According to a hospital report, more than 100,500 insured out-patients and 64,300 insured in-patients registered for treatment at the hospital in 2013.

Last year, the hospital received nearly 105,400 insured out-patients and 74,200 insured in-patients.

Huynh Cong Hung, standing member of the HCM City People's Council, said that ward-level clinics needed to be improved to attract health insurance participants.

Hung proposed to the city's Social Insurance Agency to provide training for officials responsible for selling and giving consultations on health insurance at ward-level people's committees.

Stores block liquor sales to underage youth

Some 100 alcohol shops in Ha Noi have committed to not selling hard liquor to underage youth from July.

The move is part of the pilot campaign, titled "No alcohol for Under 18s," being carried out by the National Traffic Safety Committee in an effort to enforce the ban on the sale of hard liquor to underage youth, which has been taken lightly so far.

Those who want to purchase liquor might now be asked to present their ID to prove that they can legally consume alcohol.

The campaign is expected to be expanded to 300 stores early next year.

Fake cosmetics seized in HCM City

The National Steering Committee on Prevention and Control of Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Counterfeit Goods and  HCM City economic police have seized five tonnes of fake cosmetics in District 6, HCM City.

The seizure from a storage area of Huyen Trang Cosmetic Company was part of a campaign started last week to uncover a large ring in HCM City, which was smuggling a variety of fake items of luxury brands such as Sasaki, Hikato and Puroz.

These products were registered to be produced or imported from countries such as France, South Korea and Japan by Huyen Trang Company.

However, the investigators found the fake goods had actually been made in China and smuggled to Viet Nam. The fake goods were labeled with original trademarks before being sold in the domestic market at very high prices.

Huyen Trang Company Director, Pham Huyen Trang, 46, from HCM City's District 1, was the owner of the fake goods and also the main organiser of the smuggling ring.

Trang, who has broken the law against smuggling and fake goods, said she had once used some fake cosmetic goods from the Phu Thinh Cosmetic Trading Ltd Company based in Binh Chanh District in HCM City.

These items included Sasaki bird's nest body whitening cream, Sasaki body whitening snail cream – both carrying made-in – Japan labels – and Hikato body whitening cream with a made-in-South Korea label, Trang said.

While checking a production branch of Phu Thinh Company in District 6, investigators did not find any modern assembly section or machine used for the production of such items.

Instead, they found a variety of simple tools and containers such metal and plastic jars or small electric cookers used for mixing unidentified substances to make such cosmetic products.

The investigators also found fake made-in-Japan and made-in-Korea labels at the scene.

Phu Thinh Company Director Do Thi Than, 45, from District 6, said to make such cosmetics, she herself bought the ingredients, mostly from the nearby Kim Bien chemical market and hired some local people to make the products for a very low VND40,000 each.

She said she could sell each fake product for more than VND200,000 in the domestic market.

Calling for a convention on the rights of older people

Older people around the world are calling for a convention on the rights of older people, as their governments have convened at the UN.

“In Zambia, older people suffer discrimination in land allocation, access to mortgages and loans”, said Mr Mwiche Vincent Siwale, 81, a founder member of the Senior Citizens Association of Zambia and a former civil servant.

“They are subjected to degrading and humiliating conduct, repeated insults, ridicule and name calling. Accusations of witchcraft cause them emotional pain and, simply because they have grey hair and red eyes, they may be torched or axed to death”, he said.

“The time has come for a convention on the rights of older persons, so that governments, especially African governments, can take action to protect older people”.

With numbers of people aged 60 and over rising rapidly worldwide, HelpAge believes that a new international convention on the rights of older people is the most effective way to ensure that all people, now and in the future, enjoy their human rights in older age on an equal basis with others.

“Older people’s rights remain invisible in the international human rights system,” said Bridget Sleap, Senior Rights Advisor with HelpAge International. “Only four out of more than 38,000 recommendations in the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review have specifically addressed discrimination against older people.

“A new convention will change this. And this week in New York, those governments supporting the convention will outline exactly what they want to see in it, what rights need to be protected and what governments need to do to make this happen”, she added.

“Approval of the Convention by the Inter-American region four weeks ago, strengthens the case for a UN convention on the rights of older people, so that all of us, no matter where we live, enjoy the same protection of our human rights in older age", Sleapadded.

Pham Tuyet Nhung, 64, from the Vietnam Association of the Elderly, representing 8.4 million members, will be among several older people meeting government representatives in New York, making interventions at the UN Open Ended Working Group on Ageing sessions and speaking at an event on older people’s experiences of ageism and discrimination.

She said a convention provide a good opportunity for older people in Vietnam and around the world to have assured and happier lives.

“An international convention on the rights of older people would provide a legal framework for member states to commit to and implement, meaning that the rights of older people will be much better protected”, she noted.

Convalescent home for AO/dioxin victims opens

A convalescent home was inaugurated in the Thach That district of Hanoi on July 17 to provide residential care for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims.

The two-storey 800sq.m facility cost nearly VND9.5 billion and is part of a larger VND315 billion project to supply rehabilitative care, training and vocational training for AO victims.

“These chemicals exposed almost five million people, mostly civilians, to deadly consequences,” Nguyen Van Rinh, president of Victims of AO/Dioxin (VAVA) underscored at the inauguration ceremony.

More than three million people died, Rinh said, adding that hundreds of thousands were incapacitated and left to suffer horrendous after effects from exposure to the toxic herbicides, with many just existing in a vegetative state.

Most victims are jobless with no viable means of earning a decent living, thus it is necessary to build these homes to provide residences and adequate long term care along with rehabilitative and vocational training for them.

Present at the ceremony were leaders of the Vietnam Association for US Veterans for Peace and numerous other domestic and foreign individuals and organisations.

Planning, investment, and statistics sector's contributions praised

President Truong Tan Sang applauded contributions by the planning, investment, and statistics sector to the national economy at a patriotic emulation congress on July 17 in Hanoi.

President Sang said that as a special counsellor in socio-economic development strategies and plans, the Ministry of Planning and Investment should provide timely advice to the Party and government on more effective master-planning, mechanisms, and policies.

He said to make the sector’s patriotic emulation campaign more effective, the ministry should focus on its political missions, keeping the macro-economy stable, speeding up restructuring, reforming the development model, increasing productivity, and improving quality, competitiveness, and the economic growth rate.

The sector should report socio-economic development accurately and objectively to avoid mistrust in released statistics and conform with international practices.

Exhibition to show off 70-year socio-economic achievements

An exhibition with the topic of “Reform, Integration and Development” will run in Hanoi from August 28-September 3, reported the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on July 16.

The event is in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2), expected to attract the participation of 47 cities and provinces as well as businesses nationwide.

The 15,000-square-metre exhibit sprawling both indoors and outdoors will present outstanding socio-economic achievements under the leadership of the Party and State over the past 70 years, stretching over four display sections represented by ministries, agencies, localities and businesses.

Side events will include a seminar, music performances and publicity campaigns that will enable exhibitors to introduce investment opportunities, new policies and products.

On the occasion of the 70th founding anniversary of the cultural sector (August 28), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also asked the provincial and municipal Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism to hold exhibitions featuring its history and achievements since its inception in museums and relic sites nationwide this month.

Entrance to these venues will be free from August 25-28.

Seminar shares experience in maintaining facilities in isolated areas

Representatives from a number of mountainous provinces, businesses and experts gathered in the northern central province of Thanh Hoa from July 16-18 to discuss how to maintain infrastructure facilities in disadvantaged areas.

The workshop also saw the participation of Deputy Minister and Vice Chairman of the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Son Phuoc Hoan and Fiona Quinn from the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam.

During the three day event, participants shared their experience in maintaining small-scale facilities in disadvantaged areas, which have benefited from the Government’s Programme 135 on developing isolated and mountainous areas.

They highlighted the importance of involving local authorities, communities and diverse financial resources, especially in the construction, management and operation of the facilities.

They also discussed solutions to deal with the difficulties faced by localities, including the establishment or improvement of the legal framework, while also enhancing the capacity and roles of communities.

Under Programme 135, hundreds of thousands of infrastructure facilities in various scales have been built in particularly disadvantaged mountainous communes, making a significant contribution to local socio-economic development.

The Government also approved an investment of almost VND12.4 trillion (US$579 million), with a majority of funding allocated from the State budget for the maintenance of infrastructure facilities in disadvantaged areas as part of the national target programme on sustainable poverty reduction in the 2012-2015 period.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Du Sang commune in Kim Boi district in Hoa Binh province, Bach Cong Quynh, highlighted the role of local residents in maintaining hundreds of communal facilities.

A project funded by Irish Aid has been piloted in the six poorest communes in the province since late 2013, and has proven effective in terms of maintenance, according to Quynh.

Blood drive marks Nelson Mandela Int’l Day

Every year on July 18 – the day Nelson Mandela was born – Vietnam joins a call by the UN and the Nelson Mandela Foundation to devote 67 minutes of time to helping others as a way to mark Nelson Mandela International Day.

For 67 years Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity – as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

Under the theme – Take action, inspire change, and make every day a Mandela Day – the event is also a global call to action for people to recognize their ability to have a positive effect on others around them, whether through supporting a charity or serving their local community.

In the spirit of the day, on July 17 Vietnamese businesses and individuals in collaboration with the South African Embassy presented gifts worth VND75 million to disadvantaged patients at the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion.

Earlier, those hosting the event organized a blood drive with more than 100 participating donors rolling up their sleeves to benefit the patients in need at the institute.

Major organisations and individuals contributing to the success of the events were An Ninh Thu Do Newspaper, Melia Hotel Hanoi, Hong Kong Land Ltd Company, Saigon Tourist, and Wincafe.

In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 18 July ‘Nelson Mandela International Day’ in recognition of the former South African President’s contributions to the culture of peace and freedom.

Hanoi applies apartment services fees

The People's Committee of Hanoi has recently approved service charges in apartment buildings in the city this year.

From July 9, the minimum and maximum fees for services in buildings with elevators are 80,000 VND (3.7 USD) and 165,000 VND (7.6 USD) per 100 square metres, respectively.

In buildings with staircases exclusively, the rates will be 45,000 VND (2.08 USD) and 50,000 VND (2.3 USD) per 100 square metres, respectively.

The rates will not cover luxury services such as swimming pools, tennis grounds and saunas.

Apartment building management boards are entitled to determine the exact service fees pursuant to the city's rates framework.

In the absence of a management board, the service fees will be decided by the agreement of more than half its residents.

Relevant agencies, such as the city's departments of construction, finance, natural resources and environment have been asked to oversee the charge of apartment service fees and propose changes as needed to match the permitted rates.

The city’s People's Committee began imposing an annual framework of apartment service fees two years ago after conflicts over the issue arose in the city.

According to official statistics, as of April 2015, Hanoi had established 156 management boards to administer in 259 of 599 apartment buildings.-

New water plant supplies over 5,000 households

The Duong Dong Water Plant, with a daily capacity of 16,500 cubic metres, went into operation on July 17, bringing clean water to more than 5,000 households in the island district of Phu Quoc, Kien Giang province.

The plant, which is part of the Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Project in Vietnam sponsored by the World Bank (WB), cost 296.73 billion VND (14.35 million USD), 220.19 billion (10.65 million USD) of which is sourced from a WB loan.

On Phu Quoc Island, fresh water for daily use and agricultural production comes mainly from rain, underground water and wells.

According to Phuc Quoc’s development plans, Vietnam’s largest island district will need 70,000 cubic metres of fresh water per day by 2020 and 120,000 cubic metres per day by 2030.

To meet the demand, the district is planning to build four reservoirs, namely Suoi Lon, Cua Can, Rach Tram and Rach Ca.

Seawater encroaches on farm land in Soc Trang

Sea water has been progressively intruding into rice fields in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang, severely impacting hundreds of hectares of rice and vegetable crops.

Latest salinity statistics show that saltwater has penetrated up to 10 kilometres into Nga Nam town with salinity concentrations as high as 9.4 parts per thousand (ppt) in the town’s centre (2 ppt is the limit of acceptable concentrations).

Seawater encroachment has reportedly affected several communes in My Tu district, posing a threat to agricultural production there, especially the autumn-winter rice crops.

The phenomenon is unusual, as the rainy season began two months ago. It is attributed to water irrigation schedule in neighbouring Bac Lieu province and sea level rises.

Nga Nam authorities update locals on salinity daily to inform measures to reduce losses during production. They have also asked upper-level authorities to work with Bac Lieu to schedule appropriate water irrigation in order to minimize the impact of Bac Lieu’s saline-water shrimp farming on Soc Trang’s rice crops.

Many other coastal localities in the Mekong Delta region are also experiencing severe salt water intrusion, including Tien Giang, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh and Ca Mau. The phenomenon is causing fresh water shortages in numerous areas and threatening agricultural production.