Vietnam is highly vulnerable to typhoons every year with over 70 percent of 92 million people suffering natural disasters such as flooding and storm, said a representative of the World Bank.

A workshop was organized in the south-central province of Binh Dinh on January 22 to launch the Emergency Natural Disaster Reconstruction Project in several localities in central Vietnam.

The project is being implemented from 2017 – 2021 in the central provinces of Binh Dinh, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, Ninh Thuan and Ha Tinh.

The World Bank has agreed to provide Vietnam with US$118 million of official development assistance (ODA) for disaster relief in the country’s above-mentioned central provinces. The amount will be used for building infrastructure, drainage system and improving locals’ awareness.

Deputy Chairman of People’s Committee in Binh Dinh Province Tran Chau said undertaking the project will help localities raise its competence in coping with natural disasters, reconstructing infrastructure which storm destroyed for development.

Subsequently, Binh Dinh pledged to use the assistance loan for proper purposes to meet the project’s goal.

Achim Fock, country director for the World Bank in Vietnam, said that the project will benefit about 5.1 million residents in five central provinces. 

JICA experts said that before, JICA had built some works for coping with natural disasters in some central provinces such as Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Ha Tinh, Nghe An and gained huge achievement.

Accordingly, JICA said that the project should include maintaining construction works regularly or constantly and restoring all projects.

Grassroots healthcare plays key role: Ministry

Medical services at the grassroots level help save costs and ensure sustainability in healthcare. Healthcare at grassroots level has played a key role contributing to the improvement of medical service quality, said Deputy Health Minister Phạm Lê Tuấn.

However, according to the Health Ministry, healthcare at the grassroots level have showed weaknesses, requiring changes to better serve people.

There are 11,162 clinics at commune, ward and town levels nationwide. The Health Ministry said that the number of medical services at commune-level clinics has met only 52.2 per cent of health check-up and treatment demand. There is a shortage of basic medicines and drugs covered by health insurance at this level.

The quality of medical equipment, infrastructure and medical workers is not ensured. Patients have lost trust in medical quality at the grassroots level due to a series of medical calamities and moved to clinics or hospitals of higher level. This fact has led to overcrowd at district-level or central level healthcare facilities.

Deputy Health Minister Tuấn said that we are facing double disease burden (from communicable and non-communicable diseases).

Efficiency of human resources remains low in the context of limited financial source. The humble capacity of medical service provision at the grassroots level has prevented health insurance holders to enjoy their benefits and increase healthcare costs.

“There is an increasingly widened difference in getting access to healthcare quality between regions,” he said.

In this context, improving and renewing healthcare at the grassroots level are a sustainable solution because it is the nearest system for people to get access to. The nationwide system of healthcare network at the grassroots level and equal medical quality will ensure equity, he said.

The resolution of the 6th Plenum of Communist Party of Việt Nam puts focus on improving disease preventive capacity combined with healthcare facilities at the grassroots level.

By 2020, 95 per cent of communal health centres, wards or towns will undertake the task of preventive medicine, health management and treatment of certain non-communicable diseases, the resolution says.

The Health Ministry has launched essential medical packages covered by health insurance, serving disease prevention and improving healthcare. This has helped people get better access to quality healthcare network at their residential areas.

The ministry also considers improving healthcare quality at the grassroots level as a key to universal healthcare coverage. Healthcare at home is an important solution to improve local medical quality. Medical workers of district-level clinics or hospitals are sent to commune-level healthcare facilities twice or three times a week and vice versa for professional exchanges.

HCM City approves construction plan

The Ministry of Construction yesterday said its adjusted construction master plan for the HCM City Zone to 2030 with a vision to 2050 had been approved by the Government last month.

“With the official announcement, we hope that all eight provinces in HCM City Zone will publicly announce the construction master plan and invite stakeholders to take part in the implementation process,” Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Mỹ Linh said at the ceremony held yesterday.

“Based on the construction master plan, localities should adjust their regional and provincial master plan,” she said. “Related ministries and industries should mobilise resources to support localities in carrying out the master plan, especially in promoting satellite urban regions and industrial parks with clean, green and modern technologies.”

Trần Vĩnh Tuyến, deputy chairman of HCM City People’s Committee, said: “The official launch of the construction master plan has helped HCM City cope with challenges related to infrastructure development, and closely link with neighbouring provinces in the region to ensure quick and stable development.”

Under the master plan, the HCM City Zone includes the administrative boundary of the city and neighbouring provinces of Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu, Bình Dương, Bình Phước, Tây Ninh, Long An, Đồng Nai and Tiền Giang, covering a total area of about 30,404 sq.km.

The zone would expand towards the east and northeast in a compact urban model.

By 2030 the zone is expected to have a population of 24-25 million, including 18-19 million people in urban areas and 6-7 million people in rural areas, with an urbanisation rate of 70-75 per cent.

HCM City, which is the country’s largest economic centre, is expected to be a nuclear urban area and connect to and support other urban areas in the zone.

The plan targets developing the zone into a major Southeast Asian centre for culture, education and training, science and technology, and healthcare.

The plan calls for the city to be an international trading centre and a hub to link economic zones and key economic zones in the South, the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, the Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) region and the south-central coastal region.

In developing the zone’s transport system, the plan focuses on completing expressways and belt road systems.

By 2030, new expressways, including Biên Hòa – Vũng Tàu, HCM City – Thủ Dầu Một – Chơn Thành, HCM City – Mộc Bài, and Dầu Giây – Đà Lạt, will be built.

By that time, the city’s Belt Road No. 3 is expected to be operational, while construction of the Belt Road No. 4 will begin.

New railway routes, including Trảng Bom – Sài Gòn Railway Station, Biên Hòa – Vũng Tàu, HCM City – Mỹ Tho – Cần Thơ, HCM City – Tây Ninh, will also be built.

Health facilities call for blood donations for Tết

HCM City’s Blood Bank, Blood Donation Centre of HCM City and hospitals have organised blood donation programmes throughout the city for Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday to prepare for a possible shortage as more accidents occur during the period.

Donations are expected to decline during the period as students, who are the main blood donors, and other residents who return to their hometowns during Tết will not be available.

Dr Trần Thị Như Tố, head of the Blood Donation Centre of HCM City, told Việt Nam News Agency that several health facilities in the city lacked blood for treatment but there was not a severe shortage of blood last year.

The city’s Blood Bank, which is in charge of supply and regulating units of blood for all hospitals in the city, needs more blood for storage, according to Tố.

The city has called on state officials and students to donate blood until February 13, Tố said.

The centre aims to collect 14,000 to 16,000 units of blood. Of these, 8,000 to 12,000 units will be sent to the city’s Blood Bank, Tố said.

At Chợ Rẫy Hospital’s blood transfusion centre, which is the fourth largest in the country, its staff are busy testing all the blood collected from the five provinces in the southeastern region.

Dr Lê Hoàng Oanh, the centre’s deputy head, said there has been a shortage of blood types A and O for some time.

The centre aims to collect more than 16,000 units of blood to produce other products for emergency aid and treatment at Chợ Rẫy Hospital and 35 other hospitals in five southeastern provinces.

If it cannot reach the target, it will ask for help from blood centres in Cần Thơ, Khánh Hòa Province’s Nha Trang City and Bình Dương Province.

Staff at HCM City Hospital of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, where the city Blood Bank is located, will co-operate with organisations and universities in the city to organise many blood donation programmes.

Dr Phù Chí Dũng, the hospital’s head, said that to ensure blood storage for all 100 hospitals and health clinics in the city and neighbouring provinces, the hospital has organised frequent blood donation programmes.

It has also set up satellite centres to receive blood donations at the city’s gates, Dũng said, adding that a bank for rare blood types has been set up at the hospital.

The Blood Bank needs at least 8,000 to 12,000 units of blood for storage during Tết holidays, he added.

Over the last several weeks, students at universities have been donating blood in response to the need.

Huỳnh Quỳnh Như, a new graduate of HCM City University of Foreign Languages-Information Technology, told Việt Nam News that she has blood type O and is ready to donate many times.

On January 16, she donated blood at the launch ceremony of a community-based programme called Nhà Sạch Đón Tết (Cleaning House to Welcome Tết) to raise funds for Lunar New Year charity activities, organised by the honorary South African Consul in HCM City.

Under the Red Sunday Programme in HCM City, which lasts from January 2 to 21, 15,152 blood units from many students were collected.

The programme was held by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, the National Traffic Safety Committee, Tiền Phong (Vanguard) Newspaper and others.

Diagnostic centre ties up with EDoctor to use app

EDoctor Joint Stock Company and Hòa Hảo Medical Diagnosis Centre yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to use information technology in the medical sector to better meet demand for diagnosis and treatment.

People can book for general health checks at MEDIC Hòa Hảo or get blood samples taken at home for testing at the centre via eDoctor mobile app and receive the results online.

The app also enables patients to receive medical advice and instructions at home from experienced doctors.

Dr Phan Thanh Hải, director of MEDIC Hòa Hảo, said though his centre opens at 4am daily and works seven days a week, there is always a large crowd, and people have to wait for long for their turn.

The tie-up means patients do not have to travel and can save time while also avoiding the gauntlet of infection they always have to run when visiting medical facilities, he said.  

Đặng Công Nguyên, director of eDoctor, said the tie-up would bring about a revolution in health checks and treatment in the south.

Patients would benefit from the convenience IT provides, the wide medical network of eDoctor and MEDIC’s quality medical checks and treatment.

EDoctor is a Vietnamese tech start-up in the medical sector.

It has a network consisting of family doctors and nurses, and provides services such as booking for general medical check-ups, taking blood samples at home and healthcare at home.

More than 10,000 people have used its services since 2014.

MEDIC Hòa Hảo is a private diagnostic centre and clinic that has been in operation for more than 30 years.

There is a MEDIC hospital system in many provinces serving nearly one million patients a year.

District achieves no poor households 3 years early

HCM City’s District 6 is the first in the city to no longer have households under the poverty line, achieving the target three years ahead of schedule.

According to the city standard, a poor household has an average income below VNĐ21 million (US$925) per year per person, and a near-poor household has an average income of VNĐ21 million-28 million ($1,233) per year per person.

Early last year, District 6 had 660 poor households with 3,541 people, accounting for 1.13 per cent of total households in the district, and 2,700 near-poor households.

Nguyễn Thị Thu, deputy chairwoman of the People’s Committee of HCM City, praised the district’s achievements in poverty reduction.

The district’s fund for poverty reduction provided a loans totalling VNĐ35 billion ($1,541) to more than 1,200 poor and near-poor households last year.

It awarded 5,200 scholarships worth over VNĐ5.1 billion ($224,591) to students, including more than 3,600 who live in difficult circumstances, and provided vocational training to 116 children living in poor and near-poor households.

Thu urged the district to continue to support policies for people living under difficult circumstances and ensure that poverty reduction is sustainable.

Deadly typhoon that struck Vietnam among world’s most neglected crises of 2017

Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in central Vietnam in mid-September, causing multiple deaths and leaving around 1.5 million people without power.

Barely heard of it? Possibly because it did not get widespread media coverage.

The typhoon that caused damage amounting to more than VND16 trillion (US$704.6 million) in Vietnam has been named one of the 10 most neglected humanitarian crises of 2017.

“Suffering in Silence,” published by CARE International on January 22, said that 2017 was marked by scores of humanitarian crises, but fewer reports came from places that are not popular tourist destinations, considered a low priority for global security or simply too hard to reach.

The Geneva-based humanitarian agency said it chose countries in which at least one million people were affected by natural or man-made disasters and came up with a list of 40 crises which were then ranked by the size of media coverage, in English, German and French given their broad reach.

It analyzed more than 1.2 million online articles from January 1 to December 22, 2017, using Meltwater media monitoring services.

Typhoon Doksuri in Vietnam was mentioned in 4,255 media articles and ranked the world’s seventh most under-reported crisis of the year.

The storm was the 10th to affect Vietnam last year. Carrying winds of over 130kph (80mph), it was forecast to be the most powerful storm to hit the country in a decade, and thus triggered mass evacuations from the storm-prone central region.

The storm carved a destructive path through seven provinces, killing at least 11 people, according to an initial report from Vietnam’s General Statistics Office. An updated report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as cited by CARE, said that 14 people had died, four were missing and 112 had been injured.

About 1.5 million people were left without power for days while hundreds of houses were destroyed and hundreds of thousands were left badly damaged.

Official statistics showed that 80,300 hectares of rice fields and other crops were damaged.

According to CARE, the deadly typhoon did not receive due attention because it came in the shadows of many others.

“Vietnam is one of the most hazard-prone countries in Asia and the Pacific,” it said.

According to the World Bank, about 70% of the country’s population is exposed to risks such as typhoons, floods, droughts, storm surges, salt water intrusion, landslides, forest fires and occasional earthquakes, the risks which have been further exacerbated by global climate change and fossil fuel emissions.

Last year, Doksuri was just one of 16 tropical storms to hit the country, a record number besides a long list of floods, which killed 389 people in total and caused combined damage of more than VND60 trillion (US$2.6 billion).

The other most neglected crises, in order, were: oppression and hunger in  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, drought and repression in Eritrea, persecution and violence in Burundi, 13 years of war and hunger in Sudan, displacement in Congo, aid dependency and malnutrition in Mali, conflict, hunger and displacement in Lake Chad Basin Region, violent clashes in the Central African Republic, and the worst flooding in decades in Peru.

According to CARE, 70 million people were affected in these crises, and as they have fallen off the media radar, they have received little attention from aid workers or donors.

Six of the 10 most under-reported crises on the list also appear in a United Nations’ report of the most underfunded emergencies in 2017.

2 Lao drug traffickers caught by Ha Tinh police

Central Ha Tinh Province border guards, customs officers, and police cooperated in the arrest of two Lao nationals who had concealed 1 kg of methamphetamines at a hotel in the province.

Earlier on January 22, police in coordination with other relevant forces searched the room that the two Lao nationals were staying in at Le Xuan Hotel in Huong Son District and seized 1 kg of methamphetamines, two mobile phones, and one motorbike.

The two traffickers hailing from Bolikhamxay province in Laos initially confessed to having transported the drugs across the border from Laos to Vietnam.

The two suspects and associated material evidence were turned over to the Ha Tinh police department for processing in line with legal regulations.

Wanna visit Hanoi after seeing this CNN ad? This survey bets you will

TV commercials aired by US broadcaster CNN have been introducing Hanoi to people around the world for the past year, sparking an interest in travel to Vietnam's capital.

The network started airing two commercials featuring the best of the 1,000-year-old capital in early March last year as part of a US$2 million tourism deal with Hanoi.

In “Hanoi – Heart of Vietnam” and “Hanoi – Cradle of Heritage”, Australian travel writer Phoebe Lee visits the city’s most popular sites – the red The Huc Bridge across Hoan Kiem Lake, Saint Joseph's Cathedral, the Temple of Literature, which was Vietnam’s first university, the Perfume Pagoda and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

She is also seen enjoying a cyclo tour, a motorbike ride and a chat with a street vendor.

The ads have resulted in 92% of viewers saying they'd like to travel to Hanoi, a survey by UK research firm BDRC Continental has found.

Hanoi lured five million foreign tourists last year, up 23% against 2016, according to official data, and the city hopes the commercials will entice more in the year to come.

But many locals and experts say the efforts and money that Hanoi has spent will be in vain if tourists experience low-quality services.

It would be better if the city could guarantee quality services so that tourists want to come back for more.

Return tourism is a problem for Vietnam, even though the country welcomed a record 12.9 million foreign visitors in 2017, up 29.1% from the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Official data published in August last year shows that 80% of foreign visitors don't return to Vietnam.

Another problem that insiders want Vietnam to improve on is that it prioritizes certain tourist destinations.

“The biggest complaint is how the Vietnamese tourism industry focuses too much on the Five H's - plus S for Sa Pa - which are overcrowded now and have lost their ambiance and charm,” Carl Robinson, a former American war correspondent who used to lead tours in Vietnam, told VnExpress International in September last year, referring to Vietnam’s five top tourist destinations: Hanoi, Ha Long, Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City.

“Why aren't tourists visiting other more off-the-map places where they can still experience the 'real' Vietnam? Most people are satisfied with doing the same-same as everybody else and where they are basically hanging with other tourists in bars and restaurants,” he said.

“The only Vietnamese they meet are in many ways the hustlers and hasslers. It makes a bad impression and no wonder people don't come back,” he added.

GGGI urged to support Vietnam’s Green Growth Strategy

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has suggested that the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) continues supporting Vietnam in developing its legal framework, in studying to enhance its management, promoting communications work to raise awareness of green growth, and sharing information and knowledge on green growth.

He made the suggestion at a meeting in Hanoi, on January 23, with the Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Frank Rijsberman.

The hosts also urged the GGGI to help train and develop human resources, and include green growth in the socio-economic development plan; analyse the feasibility of evaluation tools for Vietnam’s green growth and pilot them in several provinces, cities, and key sectors.

Deputy PM Dung highly appreciated the GGGI’s assistance for Vietnam in developing and implementing its Green Growth Strategy.

Meanwhile, he affirmed that Vietnam is accelerating its process of economic restructuring, and reforming its growth model in an intensive, cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly manner.

For his part, the GGGI Director General extended his thanks to the Government, ministries, sectors and localities of Vietnam for their support and close cooperation with the GGGI representative office in Vietnam in implementing green growth strategies in the finance, water and urban sectors.

Central Offices asked to fulfil advisory role

Vietnam's Central Offices should continue to fulfil their advisory role through strengthening their connection with the people to settle any problems from the grassroots level up.

The remark was made by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the annual meeting held in Hanoi on January 23 to review the coordination work between the four Central Offices in 2017, including the Party Central Committee Office, the President Office, the Government Office and the National Assembly Office.

The meeting heard that, despite facing many difficulties in 2017, Vietnam posted impressive achievements in its governance work, Party building, socio-economic development, anti-corruption, and foreign affairs, particularly the success of the 2017 APEC Year which helped to affirm Vietnam's position in the international area.

In 2017, the four Central Offices also coordinated closely with each other in counselling work and effectively implemented the agenda set by the leaders of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly.

PM Phuc praised the efforts made by the staff of the four Central Offices, saying that the good results in 2017 demonstrated the close and effective cooperation between the Central Offices, which should be promoted further in the future.

The PM asked the four Central Offices to continue to boost reform and coordination among Offices in order to gain better outcomes in 2018.

He also told the Central Offices to continue promoting information on Party guidelines and State policy to the people, while emphasising the importance of preventing interest groups and corruption for national development.

Experts propose to expand Ho Chi Minh Highway

The management board of Ho Chi Minh Highway Project proposed the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnamese Prime Minister expand the highway from two lanes to four lanes.
The budget of the expansion will be under loans from the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ with total investment capital of VND 11, 485 trillion.

The proposal was submitted to the Science, Technology and Environment Committee at the survey of the highway project by the committee yesterday.

Head of Science, Technology and Environment Committee Mr. Phan Xuan Dung and leaders of the Transport Ministry yesterday surveyed La Son-Tuy Loan road, a part of the Ho Chi Minh Highway project. 

The construction of Cam Lo, La Son and Tuy Loan with total length of 180 kilometers was invested under BT (Build-Transfer) in parallel to the North-South Expressway project which was begun in 2015, including the La Son- Tuy Loan Highway with total length of 78 kilometers stretching central city of Da Nang and province of Thua Thien- Hue.

According to the Ho Chi Minh Highway Project Management Board, the cost of the highway was reduced because prices of construction materials decreased and one of the parts of the highway was cut out to connect to the North- South Expressway.

Head of Science, Technology and Environment Committee Mr. Phan Xuan Dung said that the proposal on the highway expansion must be submitted to the government.

The localities along the road needed to create favorable conditions for the construction, he added.

One part of Ho Chi Minh Highway roughly coincides with the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War. It is designed to run along ranges of mountains in the west of the country, different from the National Highway 1 which runs along deltas in the east of the country. It is a two-lane highway and is planned to become an 8-lane highway and it will connect Cao Bang province by the Chinese -Vietnamese border to Ca Mau province with the total length of 3,167 km. 

HCMC leader gifts poor residents in Long An province

A delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, People’s Committee and Fatherland Front led by Deputy Standing Party Secretary Tat Thanh Cang yesterday arrived in the Mekong delta province of Long An to present gifts to disadvantaged households on the occasion of Tet holiday ( the Lunar New Year)

In Can Giuoc district, the delegation gave 100 gifts each worth VND1 million ($ 44) to social welfare brackets, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, and low-income people.
Deputy Standing Party Secretary Cang said though these gifts are of little value, they manifested love and heart of the Party Committee, administration and people in HCMC towards locals in Can Giuoc District.
The delegation also handed out VND500 million to locals in the remaining districts of the province. On behalf of HCMC leaders, Mr. Cang sent his wishes to disadvantaged households in Long An a wealthy Tet holiday.

“Red Sunday” launched nationwide

This year’s Blood Donation Campaign named ‘Red Sunday 2018’ was held at Hanoi University of Science and Technology on January 21. Thousands of students and young volunteers joined in the program.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh stated at the event that blood donation was such a noble action to honor our long-lasting tradition of humanity. For more than 20 years, this national campaign has attracted millions of people, gathering more than 1.2 million units of blood just last year alone to meet 70 percent of the demand of treatment as well as emergency situations.

“I am deeply moved by the number of enthusiastic blood donors, many of whom have already donated their blood numerous times, or even taken part in the program of ‘Live Blood Bank’ not only to donate blood themselves but also to mobilize others to join in the campaign. All of them are brilliant examples for citizens in their own communities”, said Binh.

Mr. Binh also highlighted that in the last few days, the media have mentioned about the serious situation of blood shortages, especially type O, among many hospitals nationwide, which leaves us concerned about the patients who were not able to receive blood in time.
The good news is that via the media, thousands of people have come to the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion as well as other hospitals to donate their blood. This should be considered as a noble action since it alone signals both love and responsibilities of healthy people towards the sick in particular and the community in general.

The ‘Red Sunday 2018’ campaign themed ‘Donate Blood to Save Life: Mine and Yours’ was jointly organized by Tien Phong Newspaper, the National Steering Committee on Traffic Safety, and the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion prior to every Tet holiday.

The event of the Tenth Red Sunday this year was held from the middle of December 2017 in 31 provinces and large cities with more than 60 hubs of blood donation, attracting the participation of many offices, organizations, universities, colleges, and businesses. Up till January 21, it had already collected nearly 25,000 units of blood, with the anticipation of at least 35,000 units when the campaign finishes at the end of this January.

On January 21, just under 3,000 officers, lecturers, and students of many schools as well as enterprises in HCMC joined in the campaign of ‘Red Sunday 2018’.

According to Mr. Vu Tien, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong Newspaper and Deputy Head of the Organization Board of ‘Red Sunday 2018’, the campaign have taken place since December 10, 2017 until January 28, 2018 with more than 60 hubs of blood donation in cities and provinces nationwide.

It is estimated that 150,000 people will take part in the event.

Particularly, in the morning of January, in HCMC alone, nearly 1,600 units were collected successfully. Before that, the organization board also cooperated with the Humanitarian Blood Donation Center to gather over 15,000 units of blood from donors in various locations to add into the National Blood Bank.

HCMC announces seven day Lunar New Year holiday

Specifically, they will be off from February 14-20, the 29th day of the 12th month in the year of the Rooster to the fifth day of the first month in the year of the Dog.
HCMC announces seven day Lunar New Year holiday

Because February 17 and 18, the second and third day of the lunar new year, fall on Saturday and Sunday, workers will be absent from work on two following days February 19 and 20.

Organizations and businesses still working on Saturday will base on their plans to arrange a suitable and lawful holiday schedule.

In addition, the committee requires organizations, businesses, hospitals, armed force units and households to fly the national flag in the holiday.

HCMC takes initiative to tackle diseases

People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City has planned to fight against diseases in 2018 aiming to prevent dangerous disease and reduce infection and deaths due to contagious diseases.

As plan, the city can control and detect diseases, curbing the occurrence of the major epidemic for healthcare mission and socioeconomic development.

On the other hand, the city will raise competence against contagious diseases for the city’s healthcare steering boards in districts, communes, as well as develop infectious disease controlling system.

It will enhance supervision in the expanded immunization program and build supervision system for Dengue - Chikungunya - Zika. Plus, it can put infection cases under observation to curb spreading.

It also focuses on raising grass-root infirmaries’ competence of diagnosis and treatment to early detect and give emergency aid to case with contagious diseases in a bid to reduce deaths to the maximum and fight patient overload in big hospitals.

Cooperation between localities and the health sector is enhanced to carry out a comprehensive campaign to kill mosquito which spread diseases such as Zika and dengue. 

In addition, it increases information of the danger of dengue to locals to encourage them to participate in fighting the insect.

Binh Phuoc province to host its first ‘Spring Flower Street 2018’

Binh Phuoc Province will host the first ‘Spring Flower Street 2018’, according to the provincial People’s Committee at the press conference on January 22.

The 97-meter long flower street will be organized in the 23/3 Square under the three topics, “National spring-Binh Phuoc progress of urban development while still keeping indigenous tradition and cultural identity”, “Bright spring-Binh Phuoc dynamic and development”, “The spring of future-Binh Phuoc towards a bright future and new success”
Vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc province, Nguyen Tien Dung asked relevant departments to ensure the work progress, security and parking places for visitors.

Australia Day set for this Sunday in town

The Australian Consulate General in HCMC will host its second Australia Day community event on the Saigon South campus of RMIT University in HCMC’s District 7 this Sunday morning in commemoration of the Australian National Day (January 26).

Those participating in the one-day event will have the opportunity to join a variety of Australian sport activities and fun games such as Zorb-ball soccer, rugby, a bouncy castle and lamington-making.

A range of Aussie dishes prepared by leading restaurants and Australian chefs in the city are made available to serve party-goers during the festival while a music performance by students from the Australian International School, HCMC International School and RMIT University will entertain guests.

There will be a best-dressed competition, so participants are encouraged to wear Australian-style costumes featuring Aussie flag or kangaroo.

Australian Consul General Karen Lanyon told the Daily that the annual event is the first among a series of activities in 2018 to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and Vietnam (1973-2018) and contributes to deepening the long-standing friendship of the two nations.

Entrance tickets, costing from VND250,000 for adults and VND150,000 for children under 12 years old, can be purchased at Caravelle Saigon Hotel in District 1, Mekong Merchant in District 2, and Meatworks Butchery in District 7.

All the proceeds from the ticket sales will be donated to Nguyen Dinh Chieu School for the Blind to give a helping hand to less fortunate kids.

The event starts from 1 p.m. and lasts until 6 p.m. at 702 Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7.

Michelin Chef Maxime Lebrun comes to Sofitel Saigon Plaza

As part of a quarterly program to introduce Michelin Star chefs to guests, the Sofitel Saigon Plaza in downtown HCMC will host a culinary week featuring Michelin Chef Maxime Lebrun from January 22 to 27 at L’Olivier Restaurant on level 2 of the five-star hotel Sofitel Saigon Plaza.

Chef Lebrun from France has profound knowledge of diverse culinary cultures worldwide and has many years’ work experience at renowned restaurants in France.

During the event, the chef will showcase his exquisite and ingenious creations in a series of lunch and dinner as a gift for diners during his first visit to Vietnam. Besides, guests will have the opportunity to talk with him to learn about his cooking art and French culinary culture.

Guests can register for two-hour cooking classes from January 24 to 26 conducted by the chef to prepare a three-course lunch, at a price of VND1.288 million++ per person.

For further information, call (08) 3824 1555. Sofitel Plaza Saigon is located at 17 Le Duan Boulevard, District 1, HCMC.

Changes in HCM City Region’s planning help foster localities’ connection

Adjustments of construction planning for the Ho Chi Minh City Region are expected to foster links among regional localities, thus promoting the growth of the region as well as the city’s role as a driver for development, said Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh.

Linh made the statement at a meeting in the city on January 23 to announce changes in the Ho Chi Minh City Region’s planning.

She urged localities to make public the adjusted planning, while building their own planning to match the general planning of the region, especially in transport, water and power supply, waste treatment, population and environment.

Meanwhile, Tran Vinh Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee said that after the adjusted planning of the region is applied, the city will hire consultation services to amend the city’s planning, especially for underground spaces.

According to the planning, the Ho Chi Minh City Region includes Ho Chi Minh City and seven provinces of Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tay and Tien Giang, covering 30,404 square kilometres.

In 2030, the population of the region is predicted to reach up to 25 million, about 19 million of whom live in urban areas. Its urbanisation ratio is expected to reach 70-75 percent, with the whole urban construction area about 290,000 hectares.

Vietnam, US boost trade union cooperation

Vice President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Mai Duc Chinh on January 23 received a visiting delegation of trade union staff from the US led by Director of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Labour Centre Kent Wong.

During the working session, the US delegates hailed the Vietnamese Government’s policy approach to benefit labourers, and highlighted the important role played by the VGCL in implementing development policies of the State. 

Chinh and Kent Wong highlighted the fruitful development of relations between the two countries, as well as ties between their trade union organisations. 

Chinh expressed his belief that the cooperation will be further enhanced in the future. 

He also briefed the guests on trade union and labour–related issues in Vietnam in 2017, and tasks and plans for its activities in 2018. 

The VGCL will work with the Government to submit the revised LabourCode, focusing on collective bargaining and dialogue, collective labour disputes and strikes, overtime, retirement age and the involvement of trade union organisations in climate change adaptation, he said. 

US delegates said their country’s trade union movement has learnt from Vietnam’s experience in how to improve welfare for trade union members. 

They hoped through exchange and experience sharing, the collaboration between the two sides will improve in the future.

Tet gifts for national revolutionary contributors

President Tran Dai Quang has signed a decision presenting gifts to people who made significant contributions to the national revolutionary cause on the occasion of the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) 2018.

Gifts worth 400,000 VND (17.72 USD) and 200,000 VND (8.86 USD) each will be given to those who participated in revolutionary activities up to the August Revolution (August 19, 1945), Heroic Mothers, Heros of the People’s Armed Forces, Labour Heros during the Resistance War, war invalids, and fallen soldiers’ relatives.

Sick soldiers and veterans affected by toxic chemicals are also among the beneficiaries.

Total expenditure for the presents is estimated at more than 386 billion VND (17.1 million USD) from the State budget.

Overseas Vietnamese communities gather to celebrate Tet

Vietnamese people in Indonesia on January 23 gathered at the Vietnamese Embassy in the country to celebrate the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet), the year of the Dog.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan reviewed the development of the country during the past year, as well as the Vietnam-Indonesia cooperative strategic partnership, highlighting delegation exchanges at all levels, participation in multilateral and bilateral forums and boosting bilateral ties in trade, investment and culture.

He lauded the solidarity among the Vietnamese community in Indonesia, hoping that they, including Vietnam’s representative offices, will continue contributing to the nation’s development and Vietnam – Indonesia ties.

The Embassy of Vietnam in Mozambique held a similar get-together in Maputo to celebrate Tet.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador to Mozambique Nguyen Van Trung highlighted the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Mozambique, particularly in economics, trade and investment.

The Vietnam Buddhist Association was established in Mozambique in 2017, the first of its kind in Africa, Trung noted.

The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha will hold the Vesak Festival in Mozambique, Trung said, adding that construction of a Vietnamese pagoda will be started on an area of more than 4 hectares in Maputo in 2018.-