Transport Ministry calls for sponsorship to build bridges in remote areas

The Ministry of Transport is calling for financial assistance from enterprises and philanthropists to build more bridges in remote and poor areas under a programme launched on January 9, 2014 and to run until 2017.

The programme aims to build over 4,000 bridges at a total cost of around 8,300 billion VND (389 million USD). So far 127 businesses have donated 310 billion VND to the scheme.

“Though the life of most people has changed massively since the launch of the Doi Moi (renovation), a fraction of the population in remote areas are still living in poor conditions and use dangerous means of transportation,” Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said at an event on January 17 to raise money for the programme.

He applauded the Ministry of Transport and the National Transport Safety Committee for the initiative, which is in line with the Government’s plan of action to carry out the Ethnic Affairs Strategy to 2020 that set a goal of developing road networks allowing smooth and safe local and inter-regional traffic throughout the year.

Earlier, the construction of 186 suspended bridges already began in the extremely difficult areas in 20 mountainous provinces in Northern, Central and Central Highlands regions.

Around 86 bridges are scheduled for completion ahead of the Tet (Lunar New Year) Festival and the remaining are set to finish ahead of the flooding season this year.

Vietnam’s university becomes AOTULE Network member

The Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) has become a member of the Asia-Oceania Top University League on Engineering (AOTULE Network) after a vote at the 9th AOTULE Annual Deans Meeting and Conference held in Australia recently.

As a member of AOTULE, HUST is expected to have many opportunities for its academic staff and students to cooperate with their counterparts in the network institutions, the top engineering universities in Asia-Oceania region.

AOTULE, founded in 2007, is a league of 13 premier engineering universities in the Asia-Oceania region. The AOTULE promotes inter-university cooperation through joint programs including an annual Dean's meeting, student workshops and exchanges of students and staff. The aim is to improve the quality of engineering education and research of the members.

Cows given to border communes in Tay Ninh

As many as 30 cows worth 14 million VND (667 USD) each were delivered to poor households in the border communes of Tan Ha, Tan Hoa, and Suoi Ngo in the southern province of Tay Ninh on January 18.

Each of the households was also given 1 million VND (47 USD) to help with the cow’s care.

Also on the occasion, 100 gifts worth 200,000 VND (9.2 VND) were offered for needy households on the occasion of the up-coming Tet (Lunar New Year) which falls in mid February.

The cows and the presents were donated by the Government Office, Viettin Bank, and Miwon Vietnam Company under the national “cow bank” programme for poor border localities launched by the Vietnam Red Cross.

The programme is expected to donate another 150 cows to disadvantaged households in 15 remaining border communes in Tay Ninh before Tet.

Since 2010, the “cow bank” project has provided more than 13,000 cows for thousands of households in 100 districts nationwide.

Healthcare services in Mekong Delta improved

Healthcare services in the Mekong Delta have been improved in recent years with a number of criteria surpassing the national average, said the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region.

While 56.4 percent of the regional communes have met national standards on communal health care for the 2011-2020 period, the rate of malnourished children has dropped to 13.9 percent, compared to the country’s averages of 52.2 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively.

The committee attributed such an outcome to great funding for local medical infrastructure and personnel training which was sourced from the Government bonds, official development assistance, and various national and regional health care projects.

New clinics were built region-wide while others were upgraded and equipped with more modern facilities such as ultrasound scan machines, endoscopes, and biochemical analysers. At the same time, medical staff at provincial hospitals were reshuffled and sent to local clinics to help improve the quality of medical services.

However, the committee also acknowledged some problems in the Mekong Delta’s health care system, particularly the shortage of doctors. There were only 5.1 doctors and 0.46 pharmacists for every 10,000 people in the region, much lower than the national average of 7.5. The ratio of patient beds to 10,000 people reached only 17.7, compared to 23.8 on average in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the use of unhygienic water in the region is still common, leading to the high risk of contracting digestive diseases, dengue, and pesticide contamination. The Mekong Delta is also short of private hospitals with cutting-edge equipment.

The steering committee said the region’s medical sector will actively take actions to prevent diseases, especially during and after the flood season, and better services for the poor, ethnic minority people and under-six children.

Safe commute project targeting students proves effective in Ha Nam

Northern Ha Nam province saw a significant reduction in traffic accidents involving children following the 'Safe to School - Safe to Home' programme, implemented in the province since 2013.

The programme, developed by the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP), is a comprehensive, community-based education project working across sectors to protect children on the roads.

In Ha Nam, five participating schools within the Thanh Liem and Duy Tien districts were equipped with illustrative teaching tools and created management boards and student groups to monitor and raise awareness on the subject.

Tran Thi Phuong, Principal of Thanh Huong secondary school, said traffic safety has traditionally received minimal attention, but now, thanks to the initiative, her students and their parents can take part in mock road safety situations organised as an afterschool activity.

Instances of children riding without helmets and reckless bicycle riding have dramatically decreased, she added.

According to official statistics from Ha Nam’s traffic safety committee, between 2008 and 2012 there were 29 traffic accidents involving children within the two participating districts, resulting in 17 dead and 12 injured children. In 2014, no such cases were recorded.

Looking forward, the provincial administration plans to continue expanding the effective programme to other local districts.

Vinh Tan-Phan Thiet 220kV transmission line put into use

The National Power Transmission Corporation under the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN-NPT) on January 19 put the Vinh Tan-Phan Thiet 220kV transmission line into operation.

The 92.5-km line helps transmit electricity generated from the Vinh Tan 2 Thermal Power Plant to the national grid and expand the 220kV power transmission network in the south central coast region.

It also improves the reliability in electricity supply and meets the growing electricity demand for dragon fruit farming in Binh Thuan.

The Vinh Tan-Phan Thiet 220kV transmission line, one of the key projects for supplying electricity to the South, was built with a total investment of 999.2 billion VND or 46.83 million USD. It runs from the Vinh Tan 500kV transformer station to the 220kV transformer station in Phan Thiet, running through Tuy Phong, Bac Binh, Ham Thuan Bac districts and Phan Thiet city.

33 new-style rural communes recognised in Central Highlands

The Central Highlands region has 33 communes that satisfied all 19 national criteria for new-style rural areas as of present, according to the regional Steering Committee.

Lam Dong province led the way with 18 qualified communes, followed by Gia Lai with 10 communes.

The region has been investing trillions of VND to build new-style rural areas in recent years. In 2014 alone, some 24.2 trillion VND (1.14 billion USD) was invested, of which only 649.4 billion VND came from the fund of the national target programme in the field, while 1.1 trillion VND was donated by enterprises and local residents and 18.6 trillion VND was sourced from loans.

Local authorities have done a good work in raising funds from all economic sectors, with many local residents contributing not only money but also land and working days to the programme.

Under the programme, farmers have successfully built some 1,045 production models, particularly in cultivation, breeding and aquatic farming, helping expand farming production scale while facilitating the application of advanced agricultural technologies, thus improving regional living standard.

In 2015, the Central Highlands region targets to have at least 40 more communes earning the “new-style rural area” title.

The national target programme on new-style rural areas was initiated by the Government in 2010, which sets 19 criteria on building infrastructure, improving production capacity, constructing public works, protecting the landscape and environment, and promoting local traditions and cultural identities, among others.

Thai Nguyen to have 3.75 mln USD sewage treatment plant

Work has started on an 80 billion VND (3.75 million USD) sewage treatment plant at the Da Mai waste treatment complex in Tan Cuong commune, northern Thai Nguyen province.

Constructed by Thai Nguyen Environment and Urban Works Joint Stock Company, the facility is scheduled to start operation in the fourth quarter this year.

The company’s Director Tang An Truong said an additional sewage treatment plant in the Da Mai complex is vital as other facilities here are running beyond their capacity.

The new plant is capable of treating 150 tonnes of waste per day which is expected to meet daily demand of the provincial capital of Thai Nguyen once it is fully operational.

It aims to not only increase the complex capacity but also save lands and protect the environment.

After classified, part of the waste will be burned under high temperature to ashes that are later used for making construction materials whilst the remaining non-recyclable one, only accounting for 10 percent of waste input, will be buried.

Thai Nguyen Environment and Urban Works Joint Stock Company collected and processed more than 117,000 cubic metres of the household waste last year, presenting 85 percent of local trash disposals.

Tet trees in a jar win fans in Hanoi

A farmer in Hanoi is growing miniature kumquat trees in jars, creating many unusual shapes and effects and winning customers ahead of the Tet holiday.

Tran Thi Phuong Thu, 44, in Tu Lien Ward, Tay Ho District, says she uses jars of different colours and forms to grow the trees from seedlings. The technique takes considerable time and effort. The small amount of soil must be closely monitored, and the trees shaped to suit the jar form as they grow.

Thu said she started growing tiny trees in 2004, but had to overcome many failures until she gained the experience to successfully grow the miniature trees. She studied reports on cultivating kumquat trees and pruning so the trees produced better resembled their full-grown equivalents.

It takes two-to-three years to grow a miniature kumquat tree, compared with up to five years for a full-sized tree.

Thu said that every morning, she feeds them a natural biological chemical solution rich in required nutrients.

Prices range from VND800,000 (USD38.1) to VND15m (USD714.2) a jar. The kumquat jars attract many customers because they can be displayed in small spaces, such as household altars.

Over 200 Vietnamese, Laotian & Cambodian students join in blood donation festival

More than 200 students and volunteers from Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam joined in a blood donation festival at Lao Student Dormitory in Ho Chi Minh City on January 18.

The festival was organized by Ho Chi Minh City Communist Youth Union, Manager Board of Laos Student Dormitory and HCMC Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.

Most of students and the city's young people took part in this event.

The festival aims to create exchange opportunity and friendly relations between Vietnamese and Laotian, Cambodian students.

Over 136 units of blood were donated during festival.

Over 1,500 hand-foot-mouth children reported since beginning of 2015 in Vietnam

The Department of Preventative Medicine, a part of the Ministry of Health, yesterday said that the country has recorded of 1,551 cases of hand-foot-mouth since the beginning of the year.

Of 1,551 children infected and one succumbed to the disease. The figure is down by 31.2 percent compared to the same period last year. However, the development of the disease is very complicated as the virus is acute. Infected children have with similar symptoms such as high fever, sore throat, and fluid-filled blisters appeared on the hands, feet, and inside the mouth.

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease can occur year-round and the peak season is in summer and fall months. The viruses that cause hand, foot and mouth disease can be spread in respiratory droplets. It is spread when poor hand-washing after a diaper change or contact with saliva (drool) allows the virus to be passed from one child to another.

Goats for poor go to local cadre

Twelve breeding goats destined for poor households in Thanh Hoa Province’s Thach Thanh District ended up at the farm of a local cadre.

Residents at Thanh Yen Commune complained that 12 of 24 breeding goats earmarked for poor households in Thanh Yeh Commune under an economic development programme conducted by Provincial Party Committee, were delivered to the farm of Do Minh Quy, secretary of the district’s Party Committee last June.

Nguyen Van Nam, head of Binh Som Township’s Office for Economics, said ta total of 60 goats worth VND250m had been distributed among poor households.

Quy said there appeared to have been a mistake, of which he was unaware until the complaints of residents were brought to his attention after some six months.

"During the time when the district conducted the goat programme for local poor households, I got funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology for a project to develop animal husbandry for poor households in mountainous districts," Quy said.

"I invested in a farm to make a model for local resident to follow. When 12 goats were delivered to my farm I thought they belonged to that project. I was not aware of the wrong delivery until local residents made complaints.”

Truong Van Duong, chairman of the communal People’s Committee said, “I think Quy’s farm has better condition to care for the goats as the farm has already had over 70 such animals.”

After the case was brought to light on January 13, the 12 goats were taken from Quy’s farm and delivered to three poor households in Yen Son 2 Hamlet in the commune.

Patients complain about overprescribing

Patients at a major hospital in HMC City have complained that at least one doctor was misdiagnosing, overprescribing and ordering pointless tests, forcing them to struggle to pay for unnecessary medicines and treatment so staff can earn commissions from drug firms.

A 36-year-old female patient from Go Vap District, who attended the Examination Ward of Nhan Dan 15 Hospital (115 People's Hospital), said she was asked by one doctor to undergo an X-ray of her nasal cavity, which revealed no medical problem. But the doctor then diagnosed "acute sinusitis” and “cerebral vascular insufficiency,” and prescribed five medicines and antibiotics.

The same situation was alleged by several other patients treated by the same doctor, whose diagnosis in each case was allegedly not borne out by examination.

Some female patients were allegedly diagnosed with male ailments, such as relating to the prostrate, and were prescribed treatment with expensive antibiotics.

In one morning alone, the doctor examined 23 people and 15 were prescribed antibiotics costing millions of VND.

Doctors are often offered commissions of 10-20 percent by pharmaceutical companies for prescribing their drugs.

“Overprescription is rather popular in Vietnam. It’s necessary to check the real purposes of such prescriptions, whether it is for the patient's benefits or for commissions,” one doctor at a major hospital in HCMC City said on condition of anonymity.

A pharmacy expert in the city said that under the current regulation all prescriptions are reviewed by a council of science at the hospital to ensure there is no overprescribing or abuse of expensive foreign medicines.

“Overprescription would not only cost patients much, but also cause drug resistance,” the pharmacist said.

Leaders of the 115 People’s Hospital said they were unaware of the situation and would conduct an investigation.

Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Ministry of Health’s Medical Checkup Management Department, said overprescription is common at several hospitals in Vietnam. The ministry has issued several regulations to improve the sitution. Any cases of violations would be properly addressed.

Hanoi kicks off work on tunnel at Trung Hoa interchange

Work began on January 18 on the tunnel at Trung Hoa interchange between Hanoi’s third ring road and Thang Long boulevard.

The project, constructed by the consortium of Cienco 4 and Hanshin, has an estimated cost of nearly VND1.1 trillion (US$51.7 million) and is scheduled for completion in 18 months.

It is part of the second phase of Hanoi’s third ring road from Mai Dich to North Linh Dam.

Each side of the tunnel consists of three lanes and measures 10.5 metres wide and 692 metres long, including the approach road.

This is the second tunnel crossing Hanoi’s third ring road after the first one at the junction with Nguyen Trai road, which costs an estimated VND500 billion (US$23.5 million).

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong said the tunnel will help ease traffic congestion and strengthen connectivity between Hanoi’s centre and western area.

Ministry seeks to treat truck overloads as criminal offense

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has suggested treating truck overloads as a criminal offense as it wants to address the issue this year.

The Ministry of Transport is determined to bar overloaded trucks on the road despite concerns of local authorities over the efficiency of controls on violations. This topic took center stage at a recent review meeting on traffic safety.

At the meeting, many provinces said it was difficult to deal with the situation. A representative of Lang Son Province even proposed the ministry improve the roads to meet higher demand for cargo transport.

A report by the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam showed the rate of truck overload violations plummeted to 8.3% by the end of last year from 50% last March after the ministry intensified inspections.

The agency said despite a sharp decrease in the number of overloaded trucks, overloaded trucks can still be found on certain roads in the country and local authorities have yet to strictly cope with it.

To better deal with the problem, Minister of Transport Thang proposed imposing criminal penalties against those involved in overloaded truck traffic rather than imposing administrative fines.

Thang also wanted weigh stations to be in place at all build-operate-transfer (BOT) toll gates to check and detect violators.

Thang said violating vehicles would get heavy fines and be forced to remove the excessive load at designated places.

Thang said most of the roads in the country meet global and national standards so they do not need to be improved.

Dinh Nam Dinh, vice chairman of the HCMC Cargo Transport Association, said at a meeting on traffic safety in HCMC in December last year that the ministry’s goal to prevent overloaded vehicles from the road by the end of this year was not hard to achieve.

Mekong Delta strives for 4.5 percent poverty rate in 2015

The Mekong Delta region aims to bring the rate of poor households to 4.5 percent in 2015, or down by 1.2-1.3 percent year-on-year, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region.

To that end, localities will carry out policies, programmes and projects relating to poverty reduction simultaneously and effectively, considering poverty reduction an important task in socio-economic development.

They will combine the development of poverty reduction models with efforts to adapt to climate change, hold campaigns to encourage to the poor to work to rise out of poverty, and add the national goal programme on sustainable poverty reduction to others, particularly the one relating to new-style rural area building.

In 2014, the national goal programme on sustainable poverty reduction provided the localities with over 302 billion VND for the work.

The localities focused on intensifying vocational training for poor people as well as helping them find jobs and develop production.

By the end of the year, the region’s poverty rate was reduced to 5.6-5.8 percent, much lower than the country’s average level. At present, nine out of the 13 localities have the rate of below 5 percent, with Soc Trang recording the highest decrease rate of 4.5 percent.

Vietnam-Cambodia friendship public security school launched

A Vietnam-Cambodia friendship public security school in Cambodia’s Kongpong S’pu province was inaugurated on January 17 in the presence of Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang.

In his speech at the event, Minister Quang, who was on working visit to Cambodia on January 16-17, highlighted the traditional solidarity and friendship between the two countries, saying that this has become an invaluable treasure of the two nations.

The bilateral relations and cooperation between Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and Cambodian Ministry of Interior recently has seen fruitful development, Quang said, noting that the two sides worked closely and effectively in fighting crimes, contributing to ensuring security and social order in each nation.

The school is a symbol of the friendship and cooperation in the spirit of mutual support between the two ministries, the Vietnamese officer stressed.

For his part, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng thanked the Vietnamese Government and the ministry for their support for the construction of the school.

He expressed his hope that the school will be developed into a high-quality training centre of Cambodia’s public-security sector, meeting requirements on ensuring national security.

Later the day, Minister Quang visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia and the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Cambodia.-

Vinh City to open new ultra-modern terminal

Construction of a new VND800 billion passenger terminal that has been underway for more than eight months at the Vinh Airport is set to be inaugurated on January 31, marking an important milestone for the airport’s modernisation.

The terminal spans an area of 11,706 square metres and has been designed to handle a maximum capacity of 1,000 passengers per hour and in excess of 2 million per year, said Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Xuan Duong.

It was designed by architects from Singapore and the US to embody the most forward-thinking architectural style with an eye to making travel in Vietnam more glamorous and alluring, Duong added.

Nguyen Hong Ky, Nghe An Province Department of Transport director in turn said the project, constructed by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam, is part of the Prime Minister’s plan to revamp the nationwide network of international airports.

Workers get free bus tickets home for Tet

The HCM City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority (HEPZA) said it would provide more than 10,000 free bus tickets to workers with difficulties so they could return to their home provinces and cities to celebrate Tet, which starts on February 15.

The free tickets will be provided to workers living from central Phu Yen Province to Ha Noi and in the five provinces of Kien Giang, Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Dak Lak and Gia Lai.

Around 6,000 tickets will be provided by HEPZA's labour union while the HCM Worker Support Fund and Unilever Company will donate the remainder.

HEPZA also mobilised more than VND6.5 billion (US$ 300,000) donated by 195 firms in the zone to provide 23,000 gifts to workers.

Drug addicts need post-detox therapy

The head of HCM City's Psychological Hospital has recommended that drug addicts be given mental-health therapy after they complete detoxification services.

Dr Trinh Tat Thang said that addicts who are treated at ward and commune health centres are especially in need of such care.

Ward and commune health centres currently are only responsible for identifying the level of addiction of each individual and suggesting a detox regimen.

Addicts who have a more serious condition are treated with methadone.

Thang spoke at a meeting last Friday on drug treatment for addicts at community-based health facilities.

Thang said that 40-60 per cent of addicts have mental health problems. Those who use amphetamine-type stimulants often become depressed after their detox regimen concludes.

Dong Van Ngoc, representative of the city Department of Health's Medical Affairs Division, said it was difficult to identify the severity of addiction because of the lack of qualified staff and facilities.

For this reason, the Psychological Hospital has opened short-term training courses for staff to improve basic knowledge about drug addiction.

It will also open more courses on drug testing, detoxification and recovery methods for addicts, Ngoc said.

Preventive health centres in HCM City districts usually work with local authorities to prepare facilities and staff for addicts who have legal residence in the city.

A representative of a preventive health centre in Binh Thanh District said few addicts voluntarily go to ward and commune health centres for treatment because of the high costs.

The first month of treatment costs VND2.7 million (US$128) and gradually increases to VND3.4 million in the second month and VND4.3 million in the third month.

The city has also sent a group of members of the city's People's Council to check the admission of addicts without a stable residence at three designated centres.

The three centres are Nhi Xuan Centre of Vocational Education and Employment in Hoc Mon District, Young People Vocational Training Centre No. 2 in the outlying district of Cu Chi and the Binh Trieu Admission Centre of Addicts and Prostitutes in Binh Thanh District.

The addicts are sent to these centres while they wait for a court decision on whether they must enter a rehabilitation centre. At these centres, they receive detoxification and psychological counseling services.

Nguyen Huu Tai, deputy head of the city's Social Evils Prevention Division under the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the city has identified 3,200 addicts since December 5.

It has sent more than 1,800 addicts without a stable residence to the three centres since December 5.

These centres, however, have had difficulty identifying the families of addicts, and 300 of them have had to live at the centre for more than 30 days.

Under the law, they are allowed to stay for detox and counseling for no more than 30 days.

Tam said that sending these addicts to the three centres had helped ensure social order and reduced the number of homeless addicts.

Currently, the city has more than 19,000 addicts.

Police bust tobacco trafficking ring

The Ha Noi Counterfeit Goods Prevention and Environment Police Division teams busted a tobacco trafficking ring accused of transporting and storing 3,240 packs of illegally imported foreign cigarettes on Saturday.

Authorities found Nguyen Thanh Nam, born in 1983, and Nguyen Thi Gai, born in 1983, transporting two boxes of foreign tobacco in front of house 30 in Alley 19, Kim Dong Street, Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi. They could not show any invoice or document relating to their tobacco.

Nam stated that he bought the tobacco from Vo Vut, born in 1970, who works at Minh Map Coach Company. The company operates coaches between Ha Noi and Quang Tri Province.

Nam and Vut were held in custody for storing and transporting illegal tobacco. Authorities continue to investigate the case.

Students join charity Tet programme

Nearly 400 students from 32 universities, colleges, vocational schools and high schools in HCM City have joined the charity campaign Nha sach don Tet (Cleaning House to Welcome Tet) organised by the South African Honorary Consulate and VASS Assurance Corporation.

The volunteers provide cleaning services to registered houses, and contribute the money they earn from housework (VND45,000 per hour) to help children and older people with difficult circumstances to have a happier Tet holiday.

As part of the community-based programmes for Tet organised by the Consulate in collaboration with VASS Assurance Corporation, the programme kicked off on January 15 and will run until February 8.

Lao, China borders carry measles threat

The Health Ministry has warned of a possible spread of measles from border areas into the country, made more likely by favourable climate conditions of the winter-spring season.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that according to an unofficial report from Laos, a measles outbreak had been recorded in several border localities and was developing without restraint.

"We have yet to receive an exact figure, but after connecting with officials in Laos, we acknowledge that the number of measles-caused fatalities has continued to increase in some areas in Laos," he said.

He stressed that there was a high risk for the disease to spread from Laos into Viet Nam as many Laotian people go to Viet Nam for health check-ups and treatment.

Localities along the border with China also face the threat of a measles outbreak. The disease appeared in China three years ago and has yet to be put under control, he said.

The Health Ministry has decided to provide measles vaccinations to people living along the concerning border areas since it is the most effective way of stopping its spread.

The measles outbreak last year recorded a total of 3,930 cases and killed at least 129 people nationwide. Most fatalities resulted from pneumonia, a common complication of measles.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children. The viral disease causes about 330 deaths every day and 14 deaths every hour, according to the WHO.

The distribution of measles vaccinations had been largely successful, resulting in a 78 per cent drop in deaths between 2000 and 2012 worldwide, the organisation said.

Youth Volunteer Programme’s 15th anniversary marked

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee (HYUCC) held a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on January 18 to mark the 15th anniversary of the Youth Volunteer Programme.

Speaking at the ceremony, Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Municipal Party Committee spoke highly of the remarkable achievements of the programme over the past 15 years with the participation of millions of young people from across the country.

The youth volunteer movement has increased in scale with numerous practical activities, he said, adding that the effects brought about by the movement haves confirmed the role of youth in the national reform process, development and international integration, as well as contributed to spreading good deeds in society.

The youth volunteer movement has provided a good environment for training and educating the younger generation, Secretary Hai noted.

Formed in 1999, the Youth Volunteer Programme plays an active role in many social movements such as preserving the environment, maintaining traffic order and providing healthcare for the poor.

Also at the ceremony, the HYUCC officially launched its new patriotic emulation movement entitled ‘Young People Proudly March under the Banner of the Party’ to celebrate the 85th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the 40th anniversary of liberation of the South and national reunification, the 70th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day, and Party congresses at all levels towards the 12th National Party Congress in early 2016.

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