North central region has new prenatal-newborn screening facility

The Obstetrics-Paediatrics Hospital of the central province of Nghe An on October 20 inaugurated a prenatal-newborn screening centre, which will serve the north central region. 

At the ceremony, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Viet Tien said the centre will help improve population quality in the region through the early detection and intervention of foetal and congenital abnormalities. 

The centre will hold training courses on screening techniques for local medical workers in the time ahead. 

The Nghe An Obstetrics-Paediatrics Hospital only began to offer prenatal and newborn screening service in 2017. As of the beginning of July this year, the hospital had screened 6,595 mothers-to-be and detected 858 cases of abnormalities.

Meeting stresses media’s role in addressing gender inequality

Participants in the meeting in Hanoi on October 21 pose for a photo 

Participants at a meeting in Hanoi on October 21 discussed gender-related issues and the media’s awareness in this regard, highlighting the role of the press in addressing gender inequality.

The event, held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), the ASEAN Secretariat and the UN Women, was part of a series of activities on the sidelines of the 3rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women in Hanoi.

It was reported at the meeting that as 74 percent of ASEAN’s population has accessed the internet via mobile phones, an urgent need at present is raising the media’s awareness of gender-related issues and solving gender biases that negatively affect women and girls.

Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Kung Phoak said the media plays an important role in addressing gender inequality. The important thing is that women are depicted positively in the media, and girls can realise that they are a strong factor of changes. It is even more important that men can consider women an equal partner with leadership capacity.

Pham Ngoc Tien, Director of the MOLISA’s Department of Gender Equality, emphasised that considering men and boys as a factor of changes in solving gender biases is still important to the fight for gender equality.

The meeting aimed to realise the ASEAN Committee on Women’s goals of improving the awareness of gender equality among media workers, aside from agencies working on women-related issues.

The committee said it pledges to continue integrating gender equality into other ASEAN agencies, especially those working on communications, information, culture and arts such as the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting Responsible for Information and the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting for Culture and Arts.

At the event, singer Hoang Bach, the ambassador for the HeForShe campaign in Vietnam, shared his experiences while holding this post.

Outpatient departments of major hospitals’ new branches inaugurated

Bach Mai Hospital organises free health check-ups for 500 locals on the occasion of the inauguration of the outpatient department 

The Health Ministry held a ceremony in Phu Ly city of northern Ha Nam province on October 21 to inaugurate outpatient departments of the new branches of Hanoi-based Bach Mai and Viet Duc hospitals.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed that putting the outpatient departments into operation is just the first step. Therefore, the Health Ministry and relevant units need exert more efforts to fully inaugurate the new branches of the two hospitals as soon as possible.

These branches’ staff were asked to try their best in health check-ups and treatment to ensure the branches are as prestigious as the two hospitals in Hanoi.

The Deputy PM also urged the Health Ministry and relevant ministries and sectors to reform the administration of hospitals and health clinics, firstly major hospitals, to ensure the health care for all people, improve the quality of scientific research and the capacity of health experts to minimise the number of Vietnamese going abroad for treatment.

Construction on the two branches started on December 13, 2014. Both will meet international standards and become the most modern in Vietnam.

With a total area of 123,000 sq.m, Bach Mai hospital’s second facility will be built into a general hospital which specialises in treating cardiovascular, tumour and respiratory diseases, serving about 5,000 patients per day. 

Meanwhile, Viet Duc hospital's branch, which has a total area of 125,000 sq.m, will work as a surgical centre treating brain and bone injuries, and rib-cage and spine injuries serving 3,500 patients per day. 

These two new hospitals which are designed to have 1,000 patient beds each are part of a project to build five new central hospitals outside Hanoi, as approved by the government, in a bid to reduce overcrowding in existing ones. 

Ha Nam has been chosen for the construction thanks to its location in the centre of provinces in the north and on the north-south route, which will facilitate the transport of patients from the north and central region to the hospitals. It is about 60km south of Hanoi.

Vietnam attends int’l charity fair in China

Vietnam's pavilion at the 10th International Charity Bazaar in Beijing, China 

The Embassy of Vietnam in China joined the 10th International Charity Bazaar, which was held in Beijing on October 21. 

The event was jointly held by the authorities of Beijing and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), with the participation of more than 90 diplomatic representative offices, international organisations and expatriates living in China.

Vietnam’s traditional nem (fried spring roll) and coffee were served to visitors. The Vietnamese embassy also attended various other activities held in the charity fair.

Themed “Love knows no border – to Hear the Love from the World”, the bazaar aimed to raise funds for children with hearing problems to receive free surgeries and for the poor in Gansu province.

Speaking at the fair, Qian Wei, spouse of Chinese State Counsellor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said the bazaar not only raises funds for the needy but also offers a destination for expats in China to meet and introduce their countries, people, craft products and cuisine. 

The event also bolstered cultural exchanges and art performances of participating countries, thus deepening solidarity and friendship, she added.

Proceeds of the event will be presented to charitable activities. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, a sum worth more than 4.5 million CNY (over 700,000 USD) was raised during last year’s edition of the bazaar.

ASEAN discusses regional cooperation in gender equality

A view of the fifth consultation meeting between ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) in Hanoi on October 21. 

The fifth consultation meeting between ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) convened in Hanoi on October 21.

The meeting was jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the ASEAN Secretariat as part of the third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW) and related meetings underway in Hanoi from October 18 – 25. It gathered ten heads of the ACW and 20 representatives of ASEAN member states for women’s and children’s rights alongside officials from ASEAN Secretariat.

It is held annually within the framework of the ACW’s and ACWC’s meetings to exchange and promote regional cooperation in women’s issues, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls. It also aims to foster collaboration in the implementation of joint projects in the two committees’ work plans and develop networks and partnership for the joint projects.

At the event, the two sides discussed cooperation in implementing the Regional Plan of Action on the Elimination of Violence against Women (RPA-EVAW), the ASEAN Declaration on the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Joint Statement on Promoting Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN.

The meeting also updated the status of joint projects and activities between the two sides, including the establishment of a ACW and ACWC Join Ad-hoc Working Group on Gender Mainstreaming which will develop a comprehensive strategy to mainstream gender perspectives across all the three ASEAN Community pillars; elimination of gender-stereotyping and sexist language in documents and curricula at schools; gender issues in climate change; and gender responsive planning and budgeting.

The sixth meeting will take place in Brunei next year. 

The ACW is a sectoral body established in 1976 to implement, coordinate and monitor the implementation of ASEAN’s regional priorities related to women’s issues at various levels of political, economic and social life. It is comprised of senior officials who are responsible for the coordination and monitoring of the implementation of ASEAN’s key regional priorities and cooperation in women’s issues and concerns.

The ACWC was launched on April 7, 2010 in Hanoi on the occasion of 16th ASEAN Summit. ACWC’s mandates and functions include the development of policies, programmes, and innovative strategies to promote and protect the rights of women and children to complement the building of the ASEAN Community. 

It has organised different regional workshops, seminars, training sessions and consultative meetings that provided platforms for government officials, civil society organisations, professionals and other stakeholders to exchange views, share experience and build commitments and a common understanding on various gender issues. 

Seminar spotlights socio-economic shifts in Vietnam

Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho city (Illustrative Photo: VNA)

Socio-economic transition models in adaptation to climate change have been put forth at a recent seminar held in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho.

The seminar was co-organised by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) under the National University-Hanoi, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, and Can Tho Technical Economic Collage.   

Participating scientists highlighted green growth, sustainable exploitation of natural resources, renewable energy, and agricultural restructuring as the most suitable directions for transition.

Nguyen Van Khanh, Director of the Institute of Policy and Management, underscored linking regions and sectors in economic development as a right move to capitalise on the full strength of sides involved.

Pham Hong Long from the USSH suggested the development of community-based tourism as a possible model for livelihood shift. He said the model is effective in both increasing incomes for locals and preserving and promoting local culture and tourism resources.

He said the model requires the completion of related management mechanism and policy and measures to encourage local participation along with specific guidance for them in providing standard, responsible and sustainable services.

Increasing connectivity among community-based service providers to form quality supply chains is also necessary, Long added.

Phan Thuan from the Region IV Academy of Politics analysed current changes taking place in the structure of society and employment, particularly in the Mekong Delta.

According to him, between 2009 and 2016, the rate of holders of bachelor’s or higher education degrees in the delta’s workforce increased to 5.5 percent in 2016 from just 0.4 percent in 2009. It was generally a good sign but might create a workforce that lacks skilled workers.

He said better career orientation is needed to prevent learners’ pursuit of unsuitable degrees.

Meanwhile, private and household businesses accounted for two third of the total employment in the region, which indicated low connectivity to form supply chains.

Most disadvantaged communes see better infrastructure

Workers on an irrigation project in Cao Tan Commune in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan. — (Photo: backan.gov.vn)

More than 9,100 infrastructure projects have been built and nearly 3,300 others have been maintained in some of the countries most disadvantaged communes over the past three years thanks to Programme 135.

The projects involving transport, irrigation, schools, healthcare centres, water supply, power and other fields have helped improve the living standards and production of ethnic minority people living in the most disadvantaged areas of Vietnam.

Programme 135 - Programme for Socio-economic Development in Specially-disadvantaged Communes in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas - was launched 20 years ago by the government.

The programme is in its third phase from 2016 to 2020, with 2,139 communes in 46 provinces across the country benefiting.

Programme 135 has been part of a major poverty reduction drive in Vietnam that has received priority and support from the government, development partners and international organisations.

In 2016, Programme 135 was included in the national target efforts for sustainable poverty reduction during 2016-2020.

According to the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA), in the last three years, as much as 19.226 trillion VND (830 million USD) from the national budget was allocated for Programme 135, of which nearly 11.5 trillion VND (495.5 million USD) had been disbursed.

Quang Ninh, Khanh Hoa, Vinh Phuc, Dong Nai, Can Tho and Ba Ria – Vung Tau did not need funding from the national budget to cover their implementation of Programme 135. Instead, they spent about 959 billion VND from their local budgets.

Programme 135 has also received 10 million euros from Ireland as a part of a non-refundable grant to improve infrastructure in specially disadvantaged communes in nine provinces, as well as other technical and financial support from international organisations like the World Bank and CARE International.

Programme 135 also offers support to develop production, diversify livelihoods and expand poverty reduction models among ethnic minority people.

 The programme has also helped to improve the capacity of people and commune officials in planning, project management and project implementation.

Deputy Minister and vice chairman of CEMA Le Son Hai said that investment in mountainous areas which were home to ethnic minority groups meant investment for development.

Ethnic minority groups deserved more support and investment to catch up with development.

He said that the government had decentralised and empowered local departments to assess, approve and implement projects so they could be carried out more quickly.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, policy advocacy advisor of CARE International in Vietnam, said without changes to assist ethnic minority groups, they would remained the poorest in the country.

Nhan applaunded Government Decision 161/2016/ND-CP issued two years ago which allows small projects to enjoy special investment mechanisms that simplify investment procedures. Local People’s Committees take the role of project investors while the community develops and cares for the projects using both the State budge and people’s contributions.

Many infrastructure projects in specially disadvantaged communes were eligible for the mechanism that could cut costs by 20-30 percent, Nhan said, citing the results of a study conducted by an independent consulting company.

The study also showed that decentralisation could be seen in most provinces but communes faced difficulties fulfilling the role of project investors and ensuring the participation of local residents.

By the end of last year, people from ethnic minority groups accounted for 14.3 percent of Vietnam’s total population, while poor households from ethnic minority groups accounted for 52.66 percent, according to CEMA’s statistics. One in every three people from ethic minority groups was living under the poverty line. 

Four bridges along National Highway 1 to be expanded

Ruou Bridge, one of the four bridges that will be expanded in the coming days 

Four bridges along a section of National Highway 1 in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang will be widened, said attendees at a meeting between the Project Management Unit 7 under the Ministry of Transport and the Tien Giang government.

The four bridges are Ruou and Sao bridges in Chau Thanh District, My Quy Bridge in Cai Lay Town and Rach Mieu Bridge in Cai Be District.

At the meeting today, October 19, Le Quoc Dung, deputy general director of the Project Management Unit 7, said that the first phase of the project would require an investment of some VND200 billion (US$8.6 million).

The National Highway 1 section passing through Tien Giang Province has four lanes, but the four bridges have only two lanes each, leading to traffic congestion.

The project execution is facing obstacles in site clearance and compensation, Dung added.

According to Tien Giang Vice Chairman Pham Anh Tuan, the governments of Cai Be and Chau Thanh districts and Cai Lay Town need to promptly designate public and private land to accelerate the site clearance and compensation efforts.

The Tien Giang government expected to complete the compensation for households affected by the project by the end of this year.

Challenge calls for solutions improving skills, training for youth

A new challenge was launched on October 18 by UNICEF Vietnam and Saigon Innovation Hub to call on young innovators in Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring provinces to design solutions improving skills and training for young people.

The Youth Challenge is part of the global initiative called Generation Unlimited that aims at getting every young person into quality education, training or employment by 2030. 

Marianne Oehlers, Chief of Programme Partnerships, UNICEF Office in HCM City, said: “Young people know best the challenges they face and can therefore best create and innovate solutions that works for them and their peers”.

She expressed her hope this challenge will inspire credible ideas from young people in Vietnam to explore challenges to decent employment and break down barriers faced by their peers in the school-to-work transition.

The Youth Challenge is the first global action of the Generation Unlimited this year in 16 countries worldwide, including Vietnam. It focuses on developing solutions for secondary-age education; skills for learning, employability and decent work; and empowerment, with a focus on girls. 

In the spring of 2019, two shortlisted projects will be submitted to a global judging process to get a chance of further investment and mentorship programme from Generation Unlimited partners to support them to scale up.

It’s imperative to accelerate e-government

The estimates are encouraging as the Ministry of Public Security last week put forth a draft scheme for public comment on replacing the current paper-based residential management system by an electronic one which may help save VND1,600 billion for the society a year. There is no reason why such a move towards the widespread application of information-technology solutions to administration is not accepted, given the tremendous benefits it brings to the State and individuals, and to the society and economy.

Currently, the household registration book is crucial for most administrative procedures conducted by the citizenry, from registering ownership of properties and most other assets to buying social insurance policies, and from registering a marriage and acquiring a birth certificate to sending a child to school. According to the ministry, if the paper-based workload is eliminated, the national social insurance agency alone will help save some VND300 billion a year, assuming that 30 million people apply for a new or renewed insurance policy each year and pay VND10,000 for an application form.

Therefore, the ministry in its scheme suggests that the individual ID number connected to the national database will be used instead, allowing State management agencies and businesses to verify all information needed when governing transactions in the society.

The tentative move suggested by the Ministry of Public Security is a positive sign against the backdrop of great hindrance persisting in the society, despite numerous calls for developing smart cities and e-government. Huge resources are still being wasted due to the old way of administration.

Just last month, local media reported how a patient in An Giang Province had to travel 250km from his hometown in the Mekong Delta to Cho Ray Hospital in HCMC to obtain a new sheet of “medical record summary” to complete his dossier for retirement, as the original paper issued by the hospital was not accepted by the provincial social insurance agency for lacking the word “dossier”. Apart from the obsolete bureaucracy at the insurance agency, the trouble caused to the patient can also be attributed to the poor IT application.

The poor state of IT application and absence of modern technology and connectivity have not only caused numerous troubles for the people and businesses, but also adversely impacted the competitiveness of domestic industries and slowed the country’s international integration.

The momentum has been set in motion, when many ministries, cities and provinces in the country have braced themselves for smart-city development and e-government, launching online services to better perform their duties, while the use of internet and smartphones has become increasingly popular.

Therefore, the Government should review and comb through all sectors to evaluate their readiness for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and have relevant research agencies design a national strategy to adapt to new technology, with a specific timeline and concrete steps for implementation. Such a shift to modernization will not only make life easier for both the State and the people, but also bring about financial benefits and enhance national competitiveness. Otherwise, the country will continue lagging behind.

Smart cities require innovation, startup ecosystem

Representatives at a panel discussion themed, “Smart Solutions from Finland,” held on October 18 in HCMC 

The Embassy of Finland in Vietnam and the HCMC government on October 18 co-organized a panel discussion on innovation and smart city development in Vietnam in the hope of establishing an innovation and startup ecosystem in HCMC.

The panel discussion, themed, “Smart Solutions from Finland,” covered various topics on innovation, education, data and finance technology and was chaired by the embassy of Finland. The event was aimed at linking cooperation programs between HCMC and Finland.

Addressing the discussion, Vice Chairman of HCMC Le Thanh Liem said various supporting activities for the city’s innovation efforts and startups have taken place in recent years, including the “Connecting Vietnamese Startups at Home and Abroad” Forum, workshops on smart cities, egovernance and Big Data, all of which have contributed to building an innovation ecosystem, which is needed for a smart city.

Mika Lintilä, Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland, said that developing countries are in need of an innovation and startup ecosystem.

Speaking at the discussion, Finnish experts shared their experiences with smart education and smart city development to help Vietnam and HCMC develop and effectively apply technology to education and the construction of a smart city. Besides this, the experts also underscored the importance of information safety and network security during smart city establishment.

To turn HCMC into a smart city and the city’s eastern residential areas into an innovation ecosystem, the city has launched and operated numerous programs, schemes and projects, including “Developing HCMC into a smart city in the 2017-2020 period, with a vision toward 2025,” “Development of an innovative urban area to the east of the city” and “Boosting startup development.”

In addition to the discussion, a technology exhibition also took place at the Riverside Palace Convention Center in HCMC’s District 4 within the framework of HCMC Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Week 2018. The two events were considered a converging point for enterprises and startups, allowing them to introduce their products and services and exchange experiences.

The exhibition and discussion featured some 200 booths and various activities such as a “Children’s Creativity” expo, startups’ introduction of their products, a business-matching program between startups and investors and a Tech Startup workshop. In addition, there was a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding between local and foreign enterprises to foster innovation and the startup ecosystem.

Muong Lo district in Yen Bai province boasts the rich culture of the black Thai. Renowned for beautiful landscapes, the district holds some records that are out of the ordinary.