Food & Hotel Hanoi 2018 kicks off

At the event (Source: Foodnhotelhanoi.com)

 

The Food and Hotel Hanoi 2018 international exhibition kicked off in the capital city on November 28. 

Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Hotel Association Le Mai Khanh said the event has gathered over 150 firms from 20 countries and territories worldwide, providing a platform for them to seek partners, especially those in the northern region; expand markets; and improve their competitiveness towards the sustainable development of the food and tourism sector.

She said Vietnam’s tourism sector has been witnessing considerable growth, with a 20 percent rise year-on-year and 11.6 million tourist arrivals. 

The number of hotels and restaurants has so far hit 26,800 with 532,000 individual rooms, growing 10 percent annually. 

The three-day event has brought together prestigious brands in food, beverages, and hospitality equipment. 

Foreign exhibitors from Russia, the US, Spain, and Singapore, such as Lutosa, Yuai, Unox, Syarikak, Mulwara Export, Meltique Beef, and Grupa Maspex, are showcasing their fruits and vegetables, cattle meat, seafood, tea and coffee, food materials, and processed foods. 

Interior decor, kitchen utensils, laundry system, pastry and coffee making machines are also available. 

A professional cooking and beverage competition, a food and hotel Hanoi barista workshop, and some specialised forums are also planned for the event.

Fire destroys many tanker trucks in Nha Trang parking lot

At 7:20pm on November 27, a huge fire broke out at a petrol tank parking lot in Phuoc Dong commune, Nha Trang city in the south central province of Khanh Hoa.

Eye witnesses said they heard several explosions while four to five petrol tanks were rapidly engulfed in flames.

Households in the neighbourhood fled the area failing to take along their property. Upon hearing the news , more than 10 fire engines and fire fighters rushed to the scene immediately to extinguish the inferno.

Electricity supply was cut off to prevent the fire from further spreading.

At 9 pm the same day, the fire flared up again and until 10pm, it was not brought under control.

Property damage and casualties have not been reported.

Fire engulfs Hanoi clothing store, leaving one dead

At 1 am on November 28, a fire suddenly broke out at a clothing store in Xuan Mai town, Chuong My district, Hanoi, leaving one dead and destroying a large quantity of property.

According to eye witnesses, several explosions were heard and the fire rapidly engulfed the clothing store, preventing fire fighters from saving the victims.

The fire left one dead and destroyed a motorbike and many belongings inside the store.

After the fire alarm was raised, two engines and fight fighters rushed to the scene immediately to tackle the blaze.

The fire scene was still blockaded for further investigation.

Malaysian woman arrested for illegal cocaine transportation

A female passenger with Malaysian nationality has been arrested at Tan Son Nhat International Airport for allegedly transporting cocaine from Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City, announced PC 04 - Ho Chi Minh City Police on November 28.

The suspect is Sharina Binti Mohdzaini, 28, from Malaysia.

At 21:00 on November 26, customs authority at Tan Son Nhat International Airport discovered 4.42 kg of cocaine hidden in her check-in baggage.

malaysian woman arrested for illegal cocaine transportation hinh 1
The Malaysian national said she helped her boyfriend carry two suitcases from Brazil to Ho Chi Minh City for US$1,200 (VND28 million).

The case is under further investigation.
Forum gathers young Vietnamese intellectuals worldwide

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh (centre) and participants in the forum pose for a photo 

The first Global Young Vietnamese Intellectual Forum opened in Da Nang city on November 28, looking to capitalise on the strength of the young intelligentsia in the Industry 4.0 era.

The event, held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, attracts nearly 200 young Vietnamese intellectuals from 21 countries.

Addressing the forum, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said that after more than three decades of reforms, Vietnam has obtained enormous achievements in national construction and defence, which has been greatly contributed to by Vietnamese intellectuals, including the young, both at home and abroad. 

The Party, State and people of Vietnam always treasure their significant contributions, he added.

He noted the Party Central Committee and the Government have made clear the viewpoint that the country has to optimize its golden population structure to make full use of the attainments in Industry 4.0.

The forum is a platform for young intellectuals to discuss their visions, missions, roles and capability of contributing to national development, thereby helping with Vietnam’s economic integration into the region and the world, Binh said.

He expressed his hope that participants will share both successes and failures of other countries, especially those with developed science, technology and innovation, and propose mechanism and policy solutions so as to help the country succeed in Industry 4.0.

The Party and the Government respect young intellectuals’ opinions and will consider institutionalising them, he emphasised.

The Deputy PM stressed that attracting talents, especially young intellectuals from around the world, is the Party and State’s consistent policy to mobilise their contributions to national development and defence.

He also called for their suggestions about how to attract talents so as to bring into better play their role in the development of the country.

For his part, First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee Le Quoc Phong voiced his hope that the forum will become an annual event for young Vietnamese intellectuals to suggest ideas to the Government to realise development targets. 

It will also be a channel through which domestic agencies consult the intelligentsia on ways to deal with difficulties and challenges facing the nation, he added.

At the two-day forum, participants are scheduled to discuss the promotion of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to build high-quality human resources in Industry 4.0, the application of Industry 4.0 technologies in environmental protection and climate change response, and the enhancement of innovation in production and business activities.

Huge knife removed from man’s chest

The knife that was removed from a male patient’s chest in the central province of Bình Định. -- Photo baogiaothong.vn

Doctors from Bình Định Province General Hospital removed a 112mm knife from chest of a male patient on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old patient was taken to the hospital on November 17 after being stabbed and suffering serious bleeding. The knife wounded his lung.

After more than a week of intensive care to stabilise the patient’s health, doctors conducted a surgery to remove the knife on the morning of November 27.

The surgery lasted from 8:30 to 9:15. Dương Thanh Luận – one of the three surgeons – said it was lucky the patient did not bleed much when the knife was removed.

“If the patient had serious bleeding, doctors would have cut part of his lung,” Luận said. 

Fire hits fuel tank garage in Nha Trang City

The fire at a fuel tank garage in the central city of Nha Trang on Tuesday evening. 

A fire burned in a fuel tank garage on Nguyễn Tất Thành Boulevard in Phước Đồng Commune, the central city of Nha Trang for more than four hours on Tuesday evening.

The fire was detected around 7:20pm, allegedly starting from one fuel tank and then spreading to the others. The fire was accompanied by an explosion that caused panic for people living around the garage.

Witnesses said they heard the explosion and saw at least four or five fuel tanks burning.

More than ten fire engines and 100 fire fighters were mobilised to extinguish the fire.

The fire was partly under control by 9:00pm, but sparked again 30 minutes later according to head of Nha Trang Fire Fighting Prevention and Control Department Nguyễn Xuân Cảnh.

Chairman of Phước Đồng Commune People’s Committee Đặng Lợi said no human loss was reported. Relevant authorities are investigating the fire cause. 

Gia Lai ready for gong culture festival

A gong culture festival will be held in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai from November 30 to December 2. The preparation for the Central Highlands event has been basically completed.

Ia Ka commune, Chu Pah district, Gia Lai province is the cradle of the gong culture. Despite being busy during the coffee harvest, local residents still gather for practicing. They are eager for the event that aims to conserve all long-lasting cultural values of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands region.

The festival, held to promote the unity of local ethnic groups, aims to honour the cultural space of the gongs in the Central Highlands.

Included in 2008 on the Representative List of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the cultural space of the gongs in the Central Highlands is closely linked to the daily life of the local people and the cycle of the seasons.

Ecopark set to host fun festival this weekend

A creative activity at a previous KHOE Creative Festival - Photo: Courtesy of the organizer

KHOE Creative Festival, a day full of fun and creative activities, will be held at the Spring Park of Ecopark Urban Area on December 1-2.

This is an opportunity for creative individuals and organizations to meet, introduce their products, and join hands for a social cause.

Participants can take part in 20 creative and interactive activities organized by well-known organizations, especially an auction of artworks created by children. They will also see a unique artwork: a giant installation made from 30 colorful cottage models.

All proceeds from the event will be used to build a residential and vocational center for children of ethnic minorities in Yen Minh District of the northern province of Ha Giang.

Tickets are VND120,000 per adult and VND100,000 per child. The organizer offers discounts of 20% for guests buying 10 to 50 tickets and 30% for 51 tickets or more.

Truck driver’s luck runs out

The scene of the accident. — Photo news.zing.vn

A Hyundai truck driver from the northern province of Thái Nguyên might be the most unlucky man on earth. He was involved in two accidents in a single day.

On the afternoon of November 22, his car hit another truck stopped on the roadside while he was driving on Hà Nội - Thái Nguyên Express way.

The collision was so strong that the front of his truck was bent totally out of shape. The driver was seriously injured and was stuck inside the cabin for 30 minutes while local residents attempted to pull him out.

Soon after he was put in a taxi to be transported to the hospital, another truck running in the same direction smashed into the back of the taxi, causing damage to its tail.

The incident left three people injured including the taxi driver, the truck driver and a local resident who wanted to help the truck driver. They were later sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The proverb “misfortunes never come singly” certainly proved true for the truck driver.

Both of his legs were broken after the first accident and after the second one, he suffered injuries to his head and was unconscious.

Kayaking in HCM City’s floodwater

The tropical depression following Storm No 9, internally known as Usagi, has flooded many roads in HCM city, affecting the lives of residents. However, for Klyde Kristian Elisan Mata, an English teacher from the Philippines, it created the chance for an unforgettable memory.

On Sunday night, he invited some of his friends to come to his house to watch a movie. Due to heavy rain and severe flooding they could not return home. Mata and a friend from Australia thought of using a kayak, which was left at his house by another friend from the United States.

“At first I was not sure that I could kayak. But we could row to the nearest KFC shop and buy some food for our friends,” Mata told Vnexpress online newspaper.

As the city Department of Education and Training has ordered the closure of schools on Monday, Mata had a day off and he continued kayaking, venturing out on the boat to purchase his breakfast.

"I’m from the Philippines,” he told the paper. “Every year we face at least two major typhoons. I used to experience more severe flooding situations. This is not a big deal for me.”

He said this was his first time in a kayak, adding that kayaking in floodwater could be an “amazing” experience. 

Ethnic costumes, jewelry on display at Vĩnh Long Museum

Students view items at an exhibition on costumes and jewelry of ethnic minorities from the Mekong Delta at the Museum of Vĩnh Long Province. 

The Museum of Vĩnh Long Province in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta is hosting an exhibition showcasing costumes and jewelry of different ethnic minorities in the region.

The exhibition is co-organised by the museum, the Museum of Cần Thơ City, and the Museum of An Giang Province.

The showcase includes 350 photos, jewelry pieces and clothing made from the 17th to 20th century by the Vietnamese, Khmer, Hoa and Chăm ethnic people.

On display are everyday clothes and costumes for special events made of cotton or silk.

The jewelry on display includes brooches, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings made of gold, silver, precious gems or ivory.

Nguyễn Xuân Hoanh, deputy director of Vĩnh Long Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, noted that the Mekong Delta is home to various ethnic minorities, mostly Vietnamese, Khmer, Hoa and Chăm.

The exhibition provides information about techniques and styles used to make costumes and jewelry by each minority, and offers a perspective on the life of minorities in the region.

“I hope young generations can better understand the culture and history of the minorities in the region, and contribute to preserving and promoting the country’s heritage,” Hoanh said.

The exhibition closes on March 30. 

Project helps mountainous students to create artworks

Visitors view artworks by students from the Vocational Education and Training Centre in Lào Cai Province. 

High school students from the northern province of Lào Cai’s Vocational Education and Trainning Centre are creating artworks by themselves using technology for the first time.

Bùi Thị Mai Hạnh, Trịnh Trung Thành and Nguyễn Long Vũ performed as professional virtual reality artists at the Art and Culture Education in the Digital Era project’s closing ceremony at the weekend at the South Korean Cultural Centre in Hà Nội.

"It was very useful to gain access to technology," said Hạnh at the ceremony on Saturday. "It is new for us and I never thought that I could create artworks like drawing logos and using virtual reality technology to play music."

The event also included artworks made by the students. The project was carried out by the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service (KACES) to train the students how to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create art. 

“I’m very satisfied with the project’s result,” said Park Iljun, one of three Korean teachers helping Lào Cai students to learn about AI. “Digital tools help people in remote and moutainous areas to access art easily.”

KASES started a five-year project in 2013 to provide arts and culture education programmes for elementary and middle school students as well as training programmes for teachers to enhance their creativity and to share pedagogies in Sa Pa, Lào Cai Province. 

"The project is an opportunity for the students to know more about art," said Nguyễn Đình Sùng, head of Bản Phố High School in Bắc Hà District. "It will orient their job paths to become artists, photographers or Vietnamese and Korean culture researchers in the future."

The project was launched to train art and culture in public schools and communities. It is international project and funded by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Việt Nam is the first recipient and Indonesia is the second this year. 

Quảng Trị to urge environmental protection

The central province of Quảng Trị has approved a plan to help businesses deal with pollution problems.— Photo baoxaydung.vn

The central province of Quảng Trị has approved a plan to help businesses deal with pollution problems.

A fund of VNĐ161 billion (US$7 million) has been set aside to help companies over the next three years.

More than VNĐ144 billion ($6.2 million) is from the State budget whereas the remaining is from local budget.

The province now has more than 100 enterprises causing serious pollution, according to the provincial people’s committee, including rubbish dumping, local traditional markets, slaughterhouses, hospitals and traditional handicraft villages. The places are in different districts such as Gio Linh and Cam Lộ.

Most of the enterprises lack waste water and solid waste treatment system.

Under the project, the province will set up environmental supervision plans, improve inspection to prevent wrongdoings, and encourage high-tech application to environmental protection. 

130,000 new jobs expected next year in HCM City

HCM City expects to have an estimated 320,000 job vacancies in 2019. Of the number, 130,000 will be new jobs. 

As many as 320,000 job vacancies are expected in HCM City next year, according to Trần Anh Tuấn, vice director of the city’s Human Resources Forecasting and Labour Market Information (Falmi) Centre.

The figure includes 130,000 new jobs, he said, adding that 80 per cent of the jobs would require trained employees.

In the first quarter of the year, the city will need 90,000 workers for jobs in marketing, sales, market research, advertising, logistics, tourism services, restaurants-hotels, packaging, electricians, housekeeping, and security.

For the second and third quarter, the city will need 155,000 additional workers and another 75,000 for the fourth quarter.

Recruitment needs for the logistics field have increased sharply because of import and export demand, he said.

Many logistics agencies require workers with English speaking and information technology skills.

Candidates for jobs in network security, programming, web design and application development are also needed for the city’s "Smart City for 2017-20, vision to 2025” project, said by Trần Thị Anh Đào, director of the centre.

The city plans to improve the quality of vocational education and training to meet development needs, she said. 

HCM City issues new rural area criteria

HCM City has issued a new set of criteria for rural communes from 2018 to 2020. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

The HCM City People’s Committee has issued a new set of criteria for rural communes that will be in effect until 2020.

Under the criteria, a rural commune has to have at least one to two new co-operatives whose businesses are efficient, while its production/consumption model should include at least 10 per cent of the commune’s main agricultural products over a stable time period of two years or more.

In addition, the proportion of children attending kindergarten must reach at least 90 per cent, while the rate of six year-old children attending first grade should be 100 per cent.

The proportion of 11-year-old children completing primary education would be at least 95 per cent, while children aged 15 to 18 should be enrolled in school or occupational education reaching 95 per cent or more.

Rural communes will also have to provide effective healthcare services for people with medical insurance.

As for environmental concerns, rural communes should also collect 100 per cent of solid waste and treat it in strict compliance with regulations, while at least 50 per cent of domestic waste must be classified and treated.

Each road has to meet drainage requirements and locals should be encouraged to plant trees along the roads.

About 90 per cent of households with breeding facilities must ensure environmental hygiene.

Under the criteria, in terms of security and public order, a commune must be transparent and efficient in carrying out administrative tasks. 

International flights to operate from Phù Cát

Tourists at Phù Cát Airport in Quy Nhơn City, Bình Định Province. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

The Civil Aviation Administration of Việt Nam, the Vietnam Airlines Corporation and domestic carriers have backed a plan to launch international flights from Phù Cát Airport in Quy Nhơn City, Bình Định Province.

The move was made after the provincial People’s Committee asked the Ministry of Transport to allow international flights to operate out of Phù Cát Airport to cope with the growing number of tourists.

Domestic carriers Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways have a plan to open international flights to serve tourists from Quy Nhơn to Thailand, Japan, South Korea and China in 2019.

Hồ Quốc Dũng, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said tourism development was a priority for the local economy.

To promote tourism development, the province had implemented tourism promotion activities, he said.

In 2017, Bình Định welcomed 3.7 million tourists, up 15.6 per cent over 2016, and 3.4 million tourists in the first nine months of this year.

The Vietnam Airlines Corporation (ACV) has completed infrastructure at the airport including a parking lot and domestic terminal to meet the demands of domestic and international passengers.

ACV is also upgrading the airport’s old terminal to serve international tourists.

At the recent meeting with Bình Định Province, Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thể supported the plan to open international flights to and from Phù Cát Airport and to improve infrastructure to meet international standards.

In May, ACV officially moved its operations to Phù Cát Airport’s new terminal.

Vietnam Airlines is operating 35 flights per week to and from the city, including 14 flights between Hà Nội and Quy Nhơn and 21 flights between HCM City and Quy Nhơn.

Quy Nhơn City is striving to welcome 4.67 million tourists by 2020. 

First forum to gather Vietnamese young intellectuals around the globe

Overview of a press conference on the first Vietnamese Young Intellectual Forum on November 26 (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)

The first Vietnamese Young Intellectual Forum – VYI Forum 2018 will take place from November 27-29 in Da Nang central city with the participation of more than 200 Vietnamese young intellectuals residing in 21 countries and working in 52 different areas.

According to the organizers - the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the Vietnam Youth Federation - 27 percent of the participants are assistant professors, doctors and post-docs, 25 percent hold MA degrees, 33 percent have bachelor degrees and 5 percent are outstanding students.

The forum aims to seek breakthrough solutions to innovative startup in Vietnam.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee Nguyen Ngoc Luong said the union hopes that the event will be held annually in Vietnam, creating opportunities for young intellectuals living in and outside the country to raise their initiative and new ideas, thus contributing to the Government’s efforts in implementing national development goals.

It is also a channel for Government and State agencies to receive advice from the young intellectuals on current issues, as well as difficulties and challenges facing the country.

Participants will discuss the visions, missions, roles and capacity of Vietnamese young intellectuals, while giving recommendations on mechanisms to attract and promote high quality resources, and encourage the youth to actively contribute to the national construction and development.

Vice Standing Chairwoman of the Vietnam Youth Federation Nguyen Thi Thu Van said that within the forum, a discussion between leaders of the Party, State, and Government agencies with Vietnamese young intellectuals around the globe will take place, focusing on technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in environmental protection and climate change response, and promoting innovation in production.

A report on recommendations and policy proposals will be released after the discussion. 

Participants will also debate the operation of a network connecting Vietnamese young intellectuals around the world.

The event will conclude with a youth startup forum to seek breakthrough measures for the development of Vietnam’s innovative startup. This is an opportunity for startup firms, investors, experts and advisors to give their ideas and solutions, contributing to the expansion of the national startup ecosystem, and supporting the youth in launching their startups.

Letter contest launched to engage youths in efforts to save bears 

The Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), on the occasion of Vietnam Bear Day (November 26), launched a letter writing contest with the aim of engaging young people in bear protection efforts.

The contest, which is open to all youths, aged between 11 and 17 years old, asks contestants to write letters to bears owners, persuading them to voluntarily hand over their captive bears to rescue centres. The letter must be handwritten and not exceed 500 words. Each participant can submit more than one entry to the administrator board of his school, which in turn will select a maximum of 10 outstanding letters to send to ENV.

The deadline is before March 15, 2019. Winners of the competition will be announced and awarded in September the same year.

ENV Deputy Director Nguyen Phuong Dung said it is time to exert more pressure on bear owners, forcing them to give up bear captivity. 

The contest provides a venue for the community to share their thoughts and feeling thus contributing to ending the practice, and spread the message to the public, she added.

In Vietnam, bears had been kept to extract bile, a digestive fluid used in traditional Eastern medicine, until the 1990s. Bear bile farming was outlawed in 1992 but owners were not forced to give up the bears they held, only serving to prolong the harmful practice.

According to ENV, the number of bears in captivity sharply declined between 2005 and October 2018 from 4,300 to below 800. Its survey also showed that bile demand dropped by over 60 percent between 2009 and 2014.

In 2017, the government of Vietnam agreed a plan with the non-profit group Animals Asia to shut down all bear farms in the country and move all remaining captive bears to sanctuaries.

“The 2 Sides Project” documentary screened in Hanoi

“The 2 Sides Project”, a feature documentary that follows the journey in Vietnam of six US sons and daughters, who had all lost their fathers during the war in the Southeast Asian country, was screened in Hanoi on November 27.

As part of a project of the same name, the documentary, filmed in 2015 and completed in 2017, captures the story of US and Vietnamese sons and daughters, who shared the loss of their fathers during the war and met for the first time in December 2015. 

The screening in Hanoi attracted the participation of 17 Vietnamese and six US sons and daughters, who shared the story on the screen.  

The event took place as part of a trip to Vietnam by a US delegation from the “2 Sides Project” (2SP) to enhance the people-to-people exchange between the two nations. Launched in 2015, the 2SP aims at connecting children of fallen Vietnamese and US soldiers on the Vietnam – US war, encouraging exchanges between them to share losses and difficulties.

Earlier, the 2SP delegation led by founder and executive director of the project Margot Delogne met with Nguyen Tam Chien, head of the Vietnam-US Society. 

During their Vietnamese trip from November 25 to December 10, the delegation is scheduled to visit a high school in Y Yen district in the northern province of Nam Dinh, which was bombed by the US on October 10, 1967. They will plant trees in commemoration of victims of the raid, visit a site in Nghe An where the father of a member in the delegation went missing, and visit a number of Vietnamese martyrs’ families. They will also tour scenic locations in Quang Ninh in the north, Thua Thien – Hue, Quang Nam and Da Nang in the central region, and Long An and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.

Vietnam-US relations have developed significantly since the two countries set up diplomatic ties in 1995. From enemies at war, the two nations improved their relations to become comprehensive partners in 2013, opening the way for expanded cooperation in multiple fields – from politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, and investment, to security and defence, culture, education, science and technology, to the settlement of war aftermaths, and people-to-people exchange.

Since 2015, the two sides have accelerated the exchange of high-level visits, which have deepened the bilateral Comprehensive Partnership and fostered the development of ties on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, and with respect for each other’s independence and political regime.

Two-way trade between the countries soared from 500 million USD in 1995 to 50 billion USD in 2017. Vietnam is the US’ biggest export market in Southeast Asia, meanwhile the US remains in the top 10 investors in Vietnam.

Coordination in addressing the aftermaths of war is of special concern to the two sides, contributing to trust-building in their Comprehensive Partnership. Vietnam has worked effectively with the US in searching for missing US soldiers in the country while the US has also taken steps to assist in the clearance of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) and Agent Orange/dioxin detoxification. 

Vietnam and the US have also expanded cooperation in the fields of culture, education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchange. It was estimated that about 30,000 Vietnamese are currently pursuing degrees in universities and colleges in the US.

Workshop seeks to boost Hanoi’s air quality

Air pollution has reached alarming levels in some areas of Hanoi 

A workshop on cooperation for better air quality in Hanoi took place in the capital city on November 27, attracting nearly 200 delegates from Vietnam and abroad.

The event was co-organised by the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the German Development Cooperation Organisation (GIZ), and the Center for Learning and Living Environment and Community. It aimed at boosting dialogue and join together actions on the matter through the channels of the State, private sectors, social organisations, and development partners.

Participants discussed local air management and introduced initiatives for environmental protection and air quality improvement. They also put forth measures to help Hanoi complete its action plan in the current time and following periods.

Do Minh Khoa from the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment shared statistics from a 2018 survey, which said the capital city is home to about 8 million people, 6 million motorbikes, and 600,000 automobiles – all consuming some 40 million kWh of electricity and millions of litres of petrol and oil per day.

This, along with a boom of construction projects due to rapid urbanization, is the main source of greenhouse gases, polluting the air and massively contributing to climate change, he added.

Luu Kim Chi, deputy head of the Hanoi Environmental Protection Authority, reviewed the city’s air quality protection efforts, which included its implementation of a programme to plant 1 million trees; its control of pollution sources; and the installation of air quality monitoring stations for prompt public alerts.

Chi said the work needs strong and long-term intersectoral cooperation among authorities at different levels, research centres, civil and social organisations, and the public. 

Vietnam bolsters cooperation in diabetes prevention

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien 

A Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien attended the Ministerial Conference on Diabetes in Singapore on November 26-27.

The event drew the participation of 300 delegates, including health ministers, senior government officials, academics, and experts from 18 countries and territories.

Speaking at the conference, Tien said Vietnam is facing a huge burden of non-communicable diseases in general and diabetes in particular, adding that diabetes accounts for 4 percent of the country’s total death figures.

The rate of people with diabetes in Vietnam has doubled in 10 years, currently standing at 3 million people. The disease is also among the 10 major causes of disabilities in both males and females over the years, she noted. 

This year, the country launched the Vietnam Health Programme, focusing on 11 prioritised fields to improve people’s well-being, address factors such as nutrition, physical activity, and the prevention of harmful substances such as cigarettes, alcohol, and beer.

To enhance the prevention, screening, and treatment of diabetes, Vietnam has paid due attention to technological application in health information provision, as well as work to improve individuals’ behavioural capabilities in management and healthcare, she said.

In particular, the country has built a portal for the national health plan to raise public awareness and bolster guidance for people to assess health risks, discover their diseases, and take care of their health.

Accordingly, Vietnam looks to cooperate with other countries to share information, update new technology, and learn of the best practices in technology application and behavioural science in prevention of non-communicable diseases and diabetes, said the Health Minister.

Participants at the conference also called for more cooperation among countries in preventing diabetes in order to reduce the cost burden on patients and countries’ welfare systems. 

According to the World Health Organisation’s statistics, an estimated 8.5 percent of adults in the world, or 422 million people, live with diabetes.