Drought, saline intrusion prevention – urgent task

The Government considers the prevention of drought and saltwater intrusion its urgent task, said deputy head of the Government Office Nguyen Khac Dinh at the regular Cabinet press conference on February 29.

According to Dinh, since last October, the Government has organised a lot of seminars on the issues and had direct instructions for localities that suffered losses.

Most recently, on February 24, the Prime Minister signed a decision to provide 85.1 billion VND (3.8 million USD) for Quang Tri, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Long An, An Giang and Dong Thap provinces to deal with drought.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked the PM for an additional 623 billion VND (27.9 million USD) for 39 localities to fight drought and saline intrusion.

The cost for this work during 2016-2020 is estimated at 55 trillion VND (2.47 billion USD).

Dinh suggested localities build dykes to prevent saltwater intrusion and dig wells and canals for water.

Adjusting the crop structure is a must, he added.

The official said at the press conference that due to impacts of El Nino, the south central and Central Highlands regions had to grapple with high temperatures and water shortages that affected 40,000 hectares of rice, 122,000 hectares of other crops and the daily lives of tens of thousands of local households in 2015.

Meanwhile, in the Mekong Delta, saltwater has intruded upstream 50-90km into the mainland, which is expected to affect up to 340,000 hectares of rice in the region.

Car crash kills four, injures three

Four people were killed yesterday in a car crash on the Vi Xuyen stretch of National Highway 2, which extends from Ha Giang to Tuyen Quang.

Two cars crashed into each other at Km 15 + 500 of the highway in Ha Giang Province's Vi Xuyen District, while travelling in opposite directions, killing four people instantly and injuring three.

Both cars were severely damaged, while one of them also flipped over.

The police of the province and the district rushed to the scene and directed functional forces to take the injured victims to hospital, and directed traffic to ensure safety on the highway.

The accident is being investigated further.

Military hospital begins construction of building

The HCM City-based Military Hospital No 175 under the Ministry of Defence started construction on a new building last Saturday in HCM City.

The 171,200sq.m construction with 1,000 beds will be designed and built by the ministry's Corporation 319. It has total investment capital of VND2.5 trillion (US$112 million), taken from the ministry's budget.

The project includes a main building and subdivision buildings. The main building will have a 5-storey foundation and three nine-storey towers connected by corridors.

The new building will have modern facilities together with high-quality human resources. It will be a reliable hospital for soldiers and people in the Southern area.

The construction is expected to be completed by 2018.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Tran Don, Deputy Defence Minister, asked the investor and contractor to ensure progress of the project, safety at work and construction quality.

"We will do our best to make the hospital become a formal and prestigious military medical institution that provides the best possible healthcare for soldiers and military officers as well as civilians", said Major General Nguyen Hong Son, director of the hospital.

The hospital also started to build the orthopaedic institute with 500 beds in June last year.

The two buildings will turn the hospital into a 1,500-bed high-tech medical complex that meets the national standards of a special-ranked hospital.

Help on way to millions of farmers hit by drought

The national agriculture sector is working to restructure the cultivation schedule to save water, grow saltwater-resistant crops and trees, and efficiently use irrigation water in order to help millions of farmers in the Mekong Delta confront the worst drought and saltwater intrusion in 90 years.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting predicts the drought and saltwater intrusion will last until June.

The Water Resource Directorate under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday sent an urgent message to agricultural department heads of 11 Mekong Delta provinces, urging them to warn local farmers about recurring saltwater intrusion with salinity content registering 4 grammes per litre of water between February 25 and March 7. The permitted salinity level is less than than 250 milligrammes per litre.

The directorate advised local farmers to take fresh water to be used for both irrigation and daily purposes from river sections about 30 to 45km away from the mouth of the Mekong River when low and medium tides occur.

Nguyen Van Dong, Director of Mekong Delta Hau Giang Province's Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said all local rice fields are threatened by the drought and saltwater intrusion.

Thus, the local administration had mobilised all sources in an attempt to tackle the problem. It directed units to reinforce dykes when the salinity surpasses 2 grammes per litre, Dong said.

Lu Van Hung, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said efforts are being taken to drill new wells to be used as water sources and build reservoirs to store water.

Heads of districts and communes will be held responsible if they fail to obey the committee's directions, he said.

The province also plans to plant a new type of saltwater-resistant rice.

Statistics of the Mekong Delta's Tien Giang Province show that about 9,000 households are living in areas hit by drought and saltwater during the ongoing dry season (from November to April).

In response to the situation, the province has opened an additional 141 public taps to provide water to the households.

A 6.3km pipe system has been promptly constructed to supply 1,200cu.m of water daily to local residents in the communes of Binh Dong and Binh Xuan, which have been suffering the most from water shortages.

In terms of long-term action, the Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment have mobilised official development assistance (ODA) sources totaling about US$500 million to upgrade the delta's dyke and saltwater-resistance drainage systems.

The agriculture ministry also called upon research institutes and scientists to study and test new types of rice that could resist saltwater as a long-term solution to the problem.

Initial statistics from the Mekong Delta provinces reveal that drought and saltwater intrusion have caused an estimated loss of about VND150 trillion ($6.7 billion) for the delta so far, and the losses are expected to continue surmounting until June.

Deputy Minister Le Quoc Doanh said a total of nearly 340,000ha of winter-spring rice crops were affected by the drought and saltwater intrusion, accounting for 35.5 per cent of the delta's total cultivation area during the winter-spring season.

The ongoing El Nino, which began in 2014 and is considered one of the most intense weather phenomena in at least two decades, was blamed for the severe drought and saltwater intrusion. It also caused rainfall to drop by 10-40 per cent compared to previous years, according to Dao Trong Tu, a senior water expert.

Toll station congestion increasing

Traffic congestion at toll stations continues to increase despite significant investments to expand the roads, causing problems for both drivers and traffic management officials.

As the roads expanded, more vehicles started to travel on them, worsening the situation.

Nguyen Cong Tuyen from Dong Da District said he thought traveling along Phap Van-Cau Gie Highway would become more convenient after the upgrade.

However, it made traveling harder due to the significant increase in vehicles using the highway, particularly over the weekend and during the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, he said.

"Shockingly, it took our family over an hour to queue up and pay the toll at the highway station during the Tet festival earlier this month," he said.

Tran Van Son, Head of the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam's Road Management Department 1, said during peak seasons like Tet, many measures were introduced to help reduce traffic congestion at toll stations, particularly on routes that are heavily used, such as the Phap Van-Cau Gie, which is considered the main thoroughfare to reach the southern localities.

More gates were opened at toll stations to collect the fees and more workers were assigned at these stations but congestion still occurred, he said.

It still took people hours to get past the toll stations, he added.

He suggested it was necessary to install a non-stop toll system or electronic toll collection system (ETC) to help end delays and cut costs.

The system would also help drivers reduce their traveling time and fuel usage as they would no longer have to stop their vehicles to manually pay fees, he said.

Experts estimate that the system could help save VND233 billion (US$10.4 million) worth of fuel each year.

It utilises radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the form of a wireless system with two components: e-tags and readers.

To pay tolls through ETCs, vehicle owners will be issued an e-tag that is attached to the inside of the vehicle's front windscreen. This e-tag is in turn linked to an account for fee collection. Drivers can transfer money into the account via Internet banking or at transaction points.

When the vehicle passes a toll collection point, the RFID system installed at the toll station will activate a camera that will photograph the vehicle's number plate while reading the RFID tags.

The transport ministry plans to install ETCs at all toll booths nationwide from 2020.

The system has became operational at three toll stations, in Quang Binh, Nghe An and Dak Lak, on a trial basis.

Health sector continues to improve examination, treatment services

The health ministry will continue to improve examination and treatment services, especially epidemic and disease prevention, improvement of service quality and reduction of hospital congestion.

The ministry's Medical Service Administration official Luong Ngoc Khue told participants at a conference in Ha Noi on Monday that a series of measures will be implemented to reform the country's health examination and treatment system, such as the establishment of a hospital quality management system, and reforms in the examination process and administration procedures.

"Patients will be the core of the healthcare and treatment process," Khue stressed.

"We will undertake regularly inspections for ranking hospital levels following 83 criteria. Hospitals should continue to improve a health worker's service attitudes and behaviour to the satisfaction of patients from central to local levels," Khue said.

The director said that the ministry encourages the development of private hospitals and the public and private partnership model in the country.

Examination and treatment services would be developed towards universal healthcare coverage in combination with intensively and high-tech medical service extension.

The health ministry statistics showed that last year 1,300 hospitals in the country had provided examination and treatment services to more than 146 million patient visits, an increase of 4.5 per cent (6.3 million visits) compared to the previous year.

In 2015, the completion of many hospital buildings or upgraded projects have helped to increase bed numbers and contributed to reducing the hospital overload. The country has 32.1 beds per ten thousand patients, compared to 24.7 per ten thousand in 2012.

Last year, the satellite hospital system was continued to be developed, bringing the number of core hospitals to 15 and satellite hospitals to 53 in 37 provinces and cities nationwide.

Fishermen return home safely

Twelve fishermen returned safely to Viet Nam yesterday after their boat got stuck in a storm off Micronesia.

United Airlines' flight UA 179 brought the fishermen back to HCM City yesterday morning after a period of intensive collaboration between the foreign affairs ministry's consular department and the Micronesian authorities, as well as with support from the International Organisation for Migration (IMO), Ly Quoc Tuan, director-general of the department, said.

Nguyen Cong Minh, assistant attorney general of the justice department of Micronesia, accompanied the fishermen on the flight.

After receiving information about the incident, the foreign ministry was in constant touch with the IMO's local branch to ensure that the fishermen received timely support.

The ministry also directed the Vietnamese representative organisations in Beijing and Australia, as well as the concerned domestic organisations to complete all necessary procedures in order to bring the fishermen back home as soon as possible.

Bac Lieu citizens suffer from clean water shortage

More than 17,000 citizens in Ganh Hao Town in Bac Lieu Province, who have not had stable clean water supply for years, are looking forward to a water supply plan.

To Minh Duong, party secretary of the town's party committee in the southern province, said despite living in an urban area, the people in the town have not had access to clean water for years.

Duong said the coastal town faced fresh water shortage, disrupting daily life and production activities.

The people had to store rain water, drill wells or buy fresh water to cook and drink, he said.

On average, three families share a well and more than 1,000 wells have been drilled in the town.

However, according to the environment and natural resources department of Dong Hai District, the amount of iron and manganese in the well water is much higher than the permitted level.

Tang Thanh Hien, a resident, said they used well water for bathing and washing only as the water had a high salt content.

Hien said she stored rainwater or bought fresh water for cooking and drinking.

Nguyen Van Thanh, another resident, said his family spent almost VND200,000 (US$ 9) to buy water for cooking every month. The sum is almost equal to the monthly water bill of a family in Ha Noi.

Meanwhile, the implementation of a private water supply plan that began in the town a few years ago has remained incomplete as the investor has left the project.

Dengue fever cases decrease in HCMC

According to Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the number of dengue fever cases in the city decreased 19 percent compared to average cases of previous weeks with 396 cases in the past week.

Last week the city had no death caused by dengue fever, said the Department. Since the beginning of the year, cases of dengue fever have been on downward trend.

While hand-foot-mouth disease showed a 19 percent increase compared to 4 previous weeks with 65 cases; no death was reported also.

However, chicken pox, mumps and flu have more cases compared to a week before.

Microsoft expert team provides IT training to Vietnamese teachers

A 35 strong team of Microsoft yesterday arrived in Duc Tri Junior High School in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 to provide IT training courses to teachers.

Additionally, they introduced newly advanced technologies and usefulness of new program Office 365.

Moreover, they talked about IT career to vocationally orient students’ future career.

Duc Tri Junior High School is the first state school in HCMC which applied Office 365 in managing and teaching IT to students.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that additional 65 cases of hand-foot-mouth were hospitalized last week showing an increase of 19 percent compared to four weeks before.

The department said that there was no report of cases of hand-foot-mouth disease and deaths in schools. To actively prevent the disease, the deapartment warned that parents and children takers should eat safe food, wash hand with soaps and clean toys, houses and environment.

Dengue fever showed a decrease of 19 percent compared to average cases of 4 weeks before. In addition no death due to dengue fever was reported in the week. Since end of 2015 to date, the hospitalization of dengue fever have been on downward trend.

Price of 1,880 medical services rises as of today

As per document between the ministries of Health and Finance which takes effect today, medical service prices in hospitals across the country will hike as of today.

Yet the increase is just for health insurance card holders. For those who have not bought health insurance, price frame will abide with Law of Price, Law of Treatment  and other related documents

As of today, the cost of 1,880 medical services just surge by 30 percent compared to old frame.

It includes allowance for medical workers’ night shifts and operation fee. It will once again leap on July 1 when medical workers’ wage and other spending are added into.

Apart from which, self-financing medical facilities will increase the cost of medical services including direct fee, medical workers’ allowance and wages.

Vietnam Railway chairman disciplined

The Ministry of Transport has announced a decision disciplining Tran Ngoc Thanh, chairman of Vietnam Railway Corporation (VRC), for his involvement in a plan to import over 100 train cars which have been used for over 20 years from China.

The ministry did not specify the sanction against Thanh but stressed last Friday that it will be implemented in line with the existing regulations, as he backed the plan for the purchase of goods that are banned from import.

Earlier, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang ordered Nguyen Viet Hiep, general director of Hanoi Railway Transport Company, be disciplined when the plan to buy the old train cars were brought to light. VRC holds over a 90% stake at Hanoi Railway Transport. Thang made the order before he moved to HCMC to serve as secretary of the HCMC Party Committee before the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

Also, Thanh of VRC earlier decided to punish Hiep for signing a document on the import of old train cars, which was sent to the transport minister and relevant agencies. At the same time, Hiep was assigned to work as deputy head of the investment department at VRC.

The VRC leader denied responsibility for the plan, saying he did not permit or guide Hanoi Railway Transport to study the deal. However, Thanh wrote in response to a VRC proposal on October last year that he definitely agreed with the purchase of second-hand train cars from China and urged implementation.    

The Ministry of Transport then set up an inspection team to look into the case and discovered that the Government only allows building new train cars, according to the 2012-2015 railway development scheme. VRC and Hanoi Railway intended to buy old train cars without permission of the transport ministry and the Government.

In early February, Hanoi Railway Transport proposed importing 160 second-hand train cars from China, and the ministry later told VRC to dismiss Hiep.

The case caught public attention and residents wondered the responsibility of VRC, especially its leader, which led the transport ministry to set up an inspection team to look into the matter.

Vietnam, Japan share experience in civil service exams

Representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) exchanged experience in civil service examinations during a workshop in the northern port city of Hai Phong on February 29.

Deputy head of the training and recruitment division under the Hanoi Department of Home Affairs Tran Thi Thu Ha said Vietnam and Japan shared similarities in the field such as the decentralization of the recruitment of public servants, the forms of examination like writing, multiple choice questions and interviews, and basic steps in organising examinations.

The fundamental difference is that in Japan, high school graduates can also sit for civil service examinations while in Vietnam, only graduates from college and university are eligible to attend, she noted.

According to the official, in 2015, the Hanoi People’s Committee entrusted the Department of Home Affairs to open two short-term training courses for 120 officials from agencies in charge of recruiting civil workers. Experts from Japan were invited to lecture on skills in drafting exam questions and interviewing, which were appreciated by the courses’ participants.

She proposed reforming the recruitment of public servants in Vietnam, stressing the need to develop legal documents to ensure publicity, transparency, and efficiency.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan highly appreciated the recommendations of participants at the workshop, which he said will make significant contributions to the reform of civil service examinations.

Women’s celebrations to fill up March

A range of activities will be held this month to mark International Women’s Day (March 8), the 1976th anniversary of the Trung sisters’ uprising and 30 years of the Kovalevskaya Prize.

Winners of a painting contest on gender equality are to be presented prizes at a ceremony on March 1, and about 40 best paintings selected from the contest will be put on show at the Vietnam Women’s Museum (VWM) from March 1-15. The contest was jointly held by the UN Women, the Belgian Embassy and the VWM as part of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's UNITE to End Violence against Women campaign.

An event is scheduled for March 6 to mark 30 years of the Kovalevskaya Prize for female scientists. On the occasion, the prize for 2015 will be awarded to outstanding female intellectuals for their contributions to the country’s scientific and technological development, women’s campaigns and gender equality.

On March 7, the Vietnam Women’s Museum (VWM) will organise an exhibition on women in the central provinces of Quang Binh and Thua Thien-Hue who have lost their houses and assets after floods. The event will last throughout the month.

The Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Central Committee will coordinate with the Tien Giang province Party’s Committee to hold a workshop on the life and revolutionary career of Nguyen Thi Thap, a late President of the VWU, in the Mekong Delta locality on March 9.

Sexual assaults against women will be discussed at a seminar co-organised by the Israeli Embassy and the VWU at the Hanoi-based French Cultural Centre - L’espace on March 10.

Particularly, this month will feature a string of book-related events in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Vinh Long province accelerates building of new-style rural areas

The Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long aims for 50 percent of its communes to hold the title of new-style rural area by 2020, local officials said at a meeting on February 29.

The target was set as Vinh Long joins localities nationwide in a national target programme on building new-style rural areas. It began in 2011 and aims to boost the development of rural regions in Vietnam.

Provincial officials said communications must be prompted to encourage the public’s engagement in the programme. Local authorities must facilitate residents’ participation in discussing, implementing and monitoring related activities.

The province will press on mobilising resources to upgrade existing infrastructure, expand production activities and restructure agriculture, ultimately improving rural residents’ incomes.

Meanwhile, communes already recognised as new-style rural areas will be assisted to better their performance, participants added.

Over the last five years, Vinh Long spent nearly 3.4 trillion VND (152.5 million USD) on building and upgrading infrastructure such as traffic and irrigation works, power facilities, schools and clinics. Those efforts have helped 99 percent and 60 percent of local families access electricity and clean water from concentrated water supply systems, respectively.

Twenty-three communes have met all 19 new-style rural area criteria, accounting for 25.8 percent. Rural residents’ incomes have increased, reaching 26.1 million VND (1,170 USD) in 2015.

The national programme’s criteria covers infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others. A district must have at least 75 percent of its communes meet all the 19 criteria in order to receive the title of new rural district.

As many as 1,300 communes were recognised as satisfying the criteria, or 14.5 percent of the total, as of November 2015. At the district level, 11 were accorded the status, including those in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, Nam Dinh, Lam Dong, Dong Nai and Hau Giang.

Vietnam wants 50 percent of all communes nationwide to meet all the requirements by the end of 2020.

Hau Giang fosters forest development

The Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang has undertaken efforts to develop thousands of hectares of forests in areas prone to salinity intrusion such as Long My and Vi Thuy districts, Nga Bay town, and Vi Thanh city.

Numerous incentives have been offered to encourage organisations, enterprises and households to get involved in forestation in combination with aquaculture.

The province plans to plant 1,000 hectares of new forests in the vulnerable areas. More than 62 billion VND (2.77 million USD) has been allocated for planting forests in the locality until 2020.

Annual tree planting campaigns have been launched across the province, while forest protection has been strengthened.

Hundreds of local households have received assistance in raising and breeding wild animals, including weasels, porcupines, crocodiles, vipers and snakes.

Communication work has been fostered to raise the public awareness about forest development and protection.

By 2020, 500 additional hectares of agricultural land will be added for forestation and another 1,340 hectares in Long My district will be zoned off for the purpose.

Currently, Hau Giang has a forest coverage of 2.04 percent of the province’s land.

The locality has earmarked 5,672 hectares for forest development, nearly 45 percent of which has been covered with production and special-use forests.

Youth union to mark 85th founding anniversary on March 25

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) will celebrate its 85th founding anniversary in Hanoi on March 25.

The celebration forms part of the activities in response to the 2016 Youth Month, which was launched in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on February 27.

Activities held during the first week of March will focus on occupations. Youths will be given advice on how to choose suitable jobs and offered chances to participate in visits to vocational training schools, trade villages and factories.

The second week’s theme will be “Green Environment”. A tree-planting festival will be held, and activities to raise youths’ awareness of environmental protection and climate change will be organised.

Meanwhile, during the third week of March, young people will take part in social welfare activities, including building houses for the poor, providing free health check-ups and medicine for poor people and policy beneficiaries, and presenting gifts to them.

The annual Youth Month aims to educate young people on the position and role the Youth Union plays in socio-economic development, nation-building and defence.

Vietnamese, Russian supreme courts strengthen ties

Vietnamese and Russian supreme courts agreed to strengthen bilateral ties as a result of talks between their leaders in Hanoi on February 29.

Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam Truong Hoa Binh and President of the Supreme Court of Russia Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lebedev vowed all possible support for local-level courts of Vietnam and Russia to establish twinning ties, firstly between the courts of Hanoi and Moscow.

In the foreseeable future, the Russian National University of Justice will assist the Vietnam Justice Academy in enrollment, tertiary and post-tertiary syllabi building and intensive training.

It will also offer annual courses on commerce and intellectual property to Vietnamese judges.

On the occasion, Lebedev presented the Medal of the Supreme Court of Russia, first class, to Chief Judge Binh in honour of his contributions to ties between the two courts.

Chief Judge Binh, for his part, vowed to do his best to further deepen ties between the two sides.

Lebedev is on Vietnam visit from February 29 – March 3 at the invitation of the Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam.

Saltwater intrusion worries Mekong Delta farmers

Long-lasting drought and saltwater intrusion over the past month have worried farmers in the Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Ca Mau.

The extreme weather has withered over 66,500 hectares of rice in Tra Vinh province. Tra Cu, Chau Thanh, Duyen Hai and Tieu Can districts saw the most damage.

According to the local hydro-meteorological station, increasing saltwater levels in the Tien and Hau rivers have encroached into over 60 kilometres of irrigation canals.

Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Director Doan Tan Trieu said the most effective solution at present is quickly dredging over 14,600 metres of canals to increase water levels for the rice fields.

Meanwhile, the water shortage has also hurt thousands hectares of rice in Ca Mau province. Rising sea levels have caused severe salt intrusion, particularly in coastal areas.

The drought and saline encroachment have so far destroyed over 20,000 out of 35,000 hectares of rice in the region. The districts hit hardest were U Minh, Tran Van Thoi and Thoi Binh.

According to the local hydro-meteorological centre, the effects of El Nino will continue over the next several months.

Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Director Nguyen Van Tranh said the department asked the People’s Committee consider the level of damage to provide proper support for the farmers.

Central Highlands aims at pre-school education for all five-year-olds

The Central Highlands region and neighbouring mountainous districts have set their sight on providing pre-school education to all five-year-old children by 2020.

They plan to have 10-12 percent of children between 0 and 2 years old sent to nursery schools and 85-90 percent of those between 3 and 5 sent to kindergartens in the next five years.

About 25-30 percent of the kindergartens in the targeted areas are expected to meet national standards by 2020, according to a meeting on education, training and vocational training development in Dak Lak province on February 29.

Participants at the event, including those from the Central Highlands Steering Committee; the Ministry of Education and Training; and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, urged for the establishment of new kindergartens.

They also asked the Government to consider giving priorities to the targeted region. It needed to expand beneficiaries of free lunch and tuition-fee reduction or exemption; and provide study expense supports for children aged 3-5 from near-poor families and disadvantaged areas.

Meanwhile, the rate of children attending primary schools at school ages is estimated at 99 percent, while the figures at junior high schools and senior high schools are set at 88-90 percent and 80 percent, respectively, in the following years.

The localities will align local vocational training with the national manpower development plan and try to make sure 13-15 percent of the local junior high school graduates enroll in vocational training courses.

They will have 15 universities and junior colleges by 2020, raising the number of undergraduates per 10,000 people to between 235 and 240.

According to Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thi Nghia, the Central Highlands region and neighbouring mountainous districts have reached key related targets set for 2011 to 2015.

The rate of children aged 3-5 admitted to kindergartens is about 80 percent, while 98 percent of those attend primary schools at the school age.

All districts that are home to large numbers of ethnic minority people have had boarding schools for ethnic students. The number of undergraduates per 10,000 people now stands at 230, she added.

The Central Highlands region, comprising the provinces of Dak Lak, Kon Tum, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, and Lam Dong and a total area of over 54,600 square kilometres, is home to about 5.5 million people. Ethnic minorities account for 35 percent of the region’s population.

Organic shrimp farmers protect mangrove forests

After three years of implementation of the Mangroves and Markets Project (MAM), shrimp farmers have become more aware of organic production techniques and the need to preserve mangrove forests in their areas.

"Local farmers in the southernmost province of Ca Mau have been able to significantly increase their income. They now have higher productivity and prices for their organic shrimp, and get paid for environmental services," Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, project manager, said at a project review meeting of the first phase held in HCM City last week.

The goal of the project is to help local shrimp-farming systems become more profitable by combining them with protection of mangrove forests. This enhances profitability and sustainability while also increasing coastal resilience to climate change.

The project is carried out in the Nhung Mien and Dat Mui Protected Forests in Ngoc Hien District in Ca Mau Province, with 5,300 households on an area of 24,000 hectares.

Households have been provided training in managing household waste and forest protection, and have also been shown how to farm without industrial foods or chemicals. The training leads to NaturLand certification for farmers. The certification will allow farmers to charge five to 10 per cent more per kilogramme of shrimp.

From 2014 to 2015, the Nhung Mien Protected Forest expanded by 175 hectares. The project planted trees on 80 ha, while the remaining were planted by local farmers.

"The project has connected farmers, businesses and local authorities to ensure a livelihood for local residents as well as protection of mangrove forests in the context of climate change," Thuy said.

In the next phase of the project, expansion of international certification for organic shrimp will be important as it will help Vietnamese exporters in larger markets.

Improving shrimp feeding and attracting more resources for shrimp and forest research; increasing awareness of local communities; and co-operation among partners in forest planting, protection, management and aqua-culture production will all be needed, Thuy said.

Policies on payment for environmental services related to aquaculture must be completed and issued soon, she said, to ensure that shrimp raising is sustainable in a time of climate change.

"The project has helped Ca Mau so much to develop organic shrimp breeding," Chau Cong Bang, deputy director of the Ca Mau Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said.

The province accounts for 28 per cent of national aquaculture and 50 per cent of national mangrove forests.

The project has the potential to be a model of shrimp feeding and forest protection.

During the 2010-2015 period, the output of aquaculture increased 2.7 per cent annually, from 7,546 tonnes in 2010 to 9,605 tonnes in 2015.

By 2020, the province targets an increase in yearly growth of 6 per cent with total capacity of 14,300 tonnes each year, of which 60,000 hectares are expected to receive international certificate for organic shrimp.

Decree to benefit health insurance firms

Last year the Ministry of Finance issued a decree setting new fees for 1,887 hospital services, including check-ups, beds, and surgery.

From March 1 nearly 1,900 different services and products at public hospitals will become around 30 percent more expensive.

The new tariff regime will see patients pay for several things that were earlier subsidised by the Government - like power and water, maintenance of equipment and waste treatment facilities, and training and research.

The ministry's decision is expected to benefit health insurance firms.

Insurance sector insiders said awareness of the importance of buying insurance, particularly to cover health, has improved significantly in recent years.

A spokesperson for a non-life insurance firm in HCM City said in 2015 his company's health insurance turnover rose 37 percent from the previous year, and would continue to increase this year, especially with the new hospital rates.

Health insurance has for several years been one of the top selling products for non-life-insurance, and even life-insurance, firms.

Analysts expect the sharp increase in fees for 1,900 health services to encourage more people to buy health insurance.

To tap the opportunity, insurance firms plan to launch a clutch of new health products, including protection against accidents and injury and critical illness.

Besides, many insurance companies have established close ties with major hospitals so that they would accept their insurance cards.

Analysts say health insurance is always the most profitable segment for insurance firms, who focus their resources on fully exploiting this.

But they say insurance providers should co-operate with hospitals to reduce administrative procedures for insurance beneficiaries.

If they do this there could well be more takers for health insurance, they add.

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