North to benefit from urban development

The Ministry of Construction and the World Bank (WB) on Wednesday launched a results-based national urban development program in the northern mountainous region.

The seven-year (2015-21) program will be funded by a US$250 million loan from the WB's International Development Association.

The project seeks to upgrade urban infrastructure, protect the environment, and improve local residents' livelihoods so as to ensure sustainable socio-economic development in the cities and townships of the northern mountainous provinces of Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Dien Bien, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, and Yen Bai.

The program will strengthen local authorities' capacity for urban planning and management while helping ministries develop policy frameworks on key issues.

Construction Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said investment was needed not only in big cities, but also smaller ones, particularly in disadvantaged areas like the northern mountainous region.

He said the development of infrastructure in mountainous urban areas would release traffic, healthcare and education pressures on central cities, thus creating a more harmonious urban network in the country.

German foundation helps build rural infrastructure in Soc Trang

Germany’s Schmitz Stiffung Foundation has agreed to fund 6.5 billion VND (305,500 USD) for the construction of five bridges and four schools in the southern province of Soc Trang.

A 27-metre bridge has just been completed in My Phuoc commune, My Tu district, benefiting 300 residents living in the area. The bridge cost 420 million VND to build, to which Schmitz Stiffung Foundation provided 230 million VND.

Work on the construction of another bridge began in late September in My Tu commune, My Tu district. The 18-metre reinforced concrete bridge has an investment of 400 million VND (18,800 USD), with 250 million VND coming from the German foundation.

Three schools and two bridges funded by the foundation are expected to be put into operation this month, while the remaining facilities are scheduled to be completed in December.

Hanoi readies for 10th ASEAN Skills Competition

The Organising Board of the 10th ASEAN Skills Competition gathered in Hanoi on September 30 to look at final preparations of the event.

The 6-day event running from October 23- 28 is expected to draw 300 competitors aged under 22. It demonstrates commitments of Vietnam and ASEAN to developing qualified human resources as the ASEAN Economic Community draws closer.

The board reported that between October 15 and 22, equipment and machinery servicing competitions will be installed and have a test run.

Competitions will take place from October 24-26 and the closing ceremony will be held on November 25.

A sideline programme themed “A nation a school” will be held on October 22 with the participation of 10 junior high schools in the capital. It will have job orientation sessions to be joined by competition delegates.

City tours and visits to the traditional Bat Trang ceramic village, Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, the first university of Vietnam, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, and Hanoi’s Old Quarter were arranged for the delegates.

Vietnam organised its national skill competition in May, three months earlier than the time when the previous ones took place, selecting 51 from the best 77 performers for the ASEAN competition.

The country first hosted the ASEAN competition in 2004, topping the medal tally with 13 of the 18 gold medals. At the 9th event in Indonesia in 2012, it came second, with 44 workers competing in 22 skills.

BIDV presents scholarships to Cambodian students

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has granted 55 scholarships worth 375,000 USD to Cambodian finance and banking students for the 2014-15 academic year.

As part of the programme, the bank on September 30 presented scholarships for 44 Cambodian studying in Vietnam and at home as well, in realising a cooperation agreement between BIDV and Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.

Speaking at the event, Cambodian Secretary of State for Education, Youth and Sport Yok Nguy highly valued the support of BIDV as well as the Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia for social welfare activities in the country.

The assistance clearly reflects practical social contributions of Vietnamese investors, helping strengthen the friendship between the two countries, he said.

Vietnam values WIPO assistance in promoting intellectual property

The growing technical cooperation between Vietnam and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has helped the country establish regulations and technical facilities for the intellectual property system.

WIPO also helped train Vietnamese officials related to intellectual asset management and build development centres, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung, who attended the 54th series of meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the WIPO from September 22-30, told Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Geneva.

At the sessions, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Thanh, Vietnam’s permanent representative to the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organisations, was elected as the new Chair of the WIPO Coordination Committee.

Thanh chaired the committee’s 70th meeting on September 26, during which he appointed Deputy Directors General and Assistant Directors General of the committee and considered the US’s proposal for a Supplementary Agenda Item entitled “the WIPO Coordination Committee to Provide Advice to the Lisbon Union Assembly regarding the Convening of a Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a Revised Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications in 2015”.

WIPO is the global forum for the promotion of intellectual property (IP) policy, services, information and cooperation. As a specialised agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 187 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework that meets society’s evolving needs.

It provides assistance in obtaining IP rights in multiple countries, resolves disputes, delivers capacity-building programmes to help developing countries benefit from IP, and provides free access to unique knowledge banks on IP information.

Vietnam, Laos cooperate on HIV/AIDS

A bilateral conference on cross-border HIV/AIDS prevention in Vietnam and Laos took place in Hanoi on September 30.

The event’s objective was to address the difficulties and challenges in HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the two countries’ bordering localities; to review the implementation of signed memoranda of understanding and agreements in this field; and to discuss an action plan for the near future.

Speaking at the conference, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the increase in transnational activities in the Vietnamese-Lao border area, including drug trafficking, trade and labour migration, was increasing the risk of HIV/AIDS infections for those living and working there.

There is therefore a need to develop a coordination mechanism for the two countries, such as detailed cooperation plans at the national and provincial level.

The two sides were urged to speed up the exchange of information on the situation of HIV/AIDS in each country and identify factors behind the increased rates of HIV infections in border areas.

During the conference, the HIV/AIDS Prevention Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the Lao Ministry of Health’s Centre for HIV/AIDS and STI Prevention and Control signed a memorandum of understanding on the basic principles for bilateral cooperation to minimise the impact of HIV/AIDS and increase access to preventive healthcare and treatment in their border areas.

All Central Highlands communes have infirmaries

All communes in the Central Highlands have medical stations that provide basic healthcare services to ethnic minorities in the region, according to the Central Highlands Steering Committee.

The infirmaries recorded a 95 percent success rate for the expansion of immunisation programmes. The number of pregnant women visiting the medical stations for examinations increased, and common diseases in the localities, such as malaria, TB, goitre, and cholera, were brought under control.

Thanks to the efforts of the Central Highlands provinces, the number of medical staff at commune-level infirmaries increased to 18,325, approximately 3.5 times higher than in 2001. All the medical stations have paediatric nurses and midwives, and over 81 percent of have doctors.

In addition, the Central Highlands provinces provided training for traditional midwives on community-based healthcare services.

As a result, 30 percent of commune-level medical stations in the region met the national standards for healthcare, with Dak Lak province meeting 45 percent of the standards.

Local authorities urged the Government, relevant ministries and agencies to increase investments to repair and upgrade medical stations and provide them with equipment, and fund professional training for and recruitment of medical staff.

The Central Highlands region comprises Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum with a population of over 5.4 million people, 25.7 percent of which are ethnic minorities.

Comprehensive climate change policy framework is essential: experts

In order to develop specific action plans for the Support Programme to Respond to Climate Change (SP-RCC) for 2015 and beyond, it is essential to increase the coordination between ministries, sectors, localities and donors, said representatives of the World Bank (WB).

At a meeting with the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment and SP-RCC donors in Hanoi on September 30, with a view to reviewing the implementation of the programme, they emphasised the WB’s commitment to continue supporting Vietnam to develop its policy framework on climate change and to promote green growth in the future.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha highlighted the importance of the SP-RCC, saying that comprehensive assessments of the programme must be made to identify limitations and make necessary adjustments.

He said it was essential to promote cooperation, share information and create a forum to work out appropriate policies for each region.

Launched in 2009, the SP-RCC aims to boost the performance of the national target programme on climate change response. It received attention from a number of ministries, sectors and localities throughout the country and benefitted from the technical and financial assistance offered by the international community.

The programme is supported by six sponsors, including the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the French Development Agency, the Australian Government, the Canadian International Development Agency, the WB, and the Republic of Korea’s Eximbank.

The programme helped Vietnam’s ministries improve their legal documents and set up a policy framework on climate change adaptation, contributing to the implementation of the Party and State’s climate change policy.

In the meeting, donors said financial assistance should be allocated to priority and urgent climate change projects. They also gave recommendations on policy and the monitoring and evaluation of the programme’s implementation.-

Campaign for elderly people’s health reviewed

As many as 32,500 old and retired people across the nation received free health check-ups, medicine and gifts thanks to a campaign calling for more efforts in caring the health of the elderly, which began on August 3.

About 500 others got free eye surgery during the two-month programme, said Tran Van Thuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Young Doctors Association (VYDA), at a ceremony to review the outcomes of the campaign in Hanoi on October 1, coinciding with the 23rd International Day of Older Persons.

The campaign, jointly organised by the Central Committees of the Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF) and the VYDA, and Nhat Nhat Pharmacy Co., Ltd, drew the participation of about 3,000 young doctors and 5,000 volunteers.

Speaking at the event, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan praised efforts made by the organisers in implementing the significant programme.

He affirmed that caring older people is the responsibility of the whole society and asked the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the VYF and the VYDA to design more significant and creative programmes to take care of the elderly in the future.

Workshop looks into building learning society

The idea of building a learning society is to create equal opportunities for all individuals to study regularly and for the whole life, experts said at a workshop on October 1 in northern Phu Tho province.

The event offered a chance for over 150 delegates from 24 northern cities and provinces to discuss concepts and share experience in implementing plans under the national project on building a learning society in 2012-2020 which was approved by the Prime Minister in 2013.

The project has gained positive outcomes in reforming general education and developing the community-based learning system, thus catering for the demand of people of all ages, said Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien.

Vietnam is now home to 721 continuing education establishments and more than 10,900 community-based learning centres.

Participants however said there are gaps among localities in the field, proposing that more policy dialogues be held at both central and local levels to raise awareness about the characteristics of the learning society that Vietnam is striving to build.

They also suggested measures and mechanisms to facilitate the building of a learning society at the grassroots level.

The workshop is only one among a wide range of activities such as seminars, workshops and book-reading festivals which are being held nationwide in response to the life-long learning week that was launched on September 29.

EU helps Vietnam build annual tourism report

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has been preparing an annual report on the country’s tourism in 2013 with the assistance from the EU-funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development (ESRT) Project.

The report, the first of its kind built following international practice, will provide valuable information about both domestic and international tourism activities for the Government, potential investors, State management offices and travel agencies across the country.

The report will serve as a basis for relevant sides to define tourist trends in the future and contribute positively to the sector’s development.

It was designed to have seven chapters, coming up with an overview on the sector’s achievements gained in 2013, as well as marketing and promotion activities. Difficulties and challenges facing the sector in the future are also mentioned in the report.

A draft report is scheduled to be introduced at a workshop in Hanoi on October 2.

The 11-million-EUR ESRT project aims at mainstreaming responsible principles into Vietnam’s tourism sector in order to enhance the competitiveness of the industry.

Japanese experts continue supporting Vietnam

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung has spoken highly of Japan’s initiative to send experts to Vietnam to assist its socio-economic development.

While receiving former Japanese Senator Iowa Matsuda in Hanoi on Oct. 1, Tung said a number of Vietnamese businesses, institutes and universities have got significant support from Japanese experts. They have offered design assistance to Vinaxuki, helping the firm develop and diversify automobile market.

At the reception, Iowa Matsuda proposed sending Japanese leading experts and engineers to Vietnam to assist in the field of science and technology. It is expected to help the country promote socio-economic development as Japan underwent development process like Vietnam.

Tung said the Government has issued a decree on attracting overseas Vietnamese and foreigners to take part in scientific and technological activities in Vietnam. This is a legal framework for foreign experts, including Japanese, to operate in Vietnam.

Vietnam is in high demand for good experts who are experienced in science, technology and post-harvest processing to help raise added value in agriculture and boost the development of the support industry, Tung said

For his part, Iowa Matsuda pledged to study and build a proper programme in line with Vietnam’s needs, contributing to strengthening bilateral cooperation in science and technology in the future.

Earlier, Matsuda held a working session with State President Truong Tan Sang and Chairman of the National Council for Science and Technology Policy Hoang Van Phong to discuss measures to further promote cooperation in science and technology between Vietnam and Japan.

Hand-foot-mouth disease, dengue fever hit HCM City

The number of hand-foot-mouth disease and dengue fever patients saw a sharp increase in September, and is predicted to spread more widely this month.

Addressing an Oct. 1 meeting, Director of the HCM City Preventive Health Department Nguyen Tri Dung, reported that five people have died of the mosquito-borne tropical disease since the beginning of this year. Dengue fever patients were detected in all 24 districts and precincts of the city.

District 2 took the lead, with 400 patients in the last week of September, while more than 300 people, both adults and children, were hospitalised for the disease, Dung said.

He also raised concern about a sharp increase in the number of hand-foot-mouth patients. Notably, an 8-month baby in Tan Phu district was killed by the deadly virus.

The hand-foot-mouth disease reached its peak at present, and is predicted to continue spreading in the coming months, warned Dung.

Vietnam places 45th in Global AgeWatch Index 2014

The nation ranks 45th among 91 countries in Global AgeWatch Index 2014 (GAWI).

The ranking is made by HelpAge International with the support of the United Nations Fund for Population and Development (UNFPA) on the United Nations' International Day of Older Persons (October 1).

The Index provides an overview of the quality of life experienced by older people in 91 countries.

A dashboard of thirteen separate indicators has been put together under the four domains of income security, health, education and employment and enabling (age-friendly) environment. Together this information measures the economic, social and political elements that interact to create a healthy environment for later life.

Many press agencies fined between Jan and Sept

The Ministry of Information and Communications fined 26 press agencies a total VND1.8 billion (US$85,710) for violations in the first nine months of this year.

Among those, 10 newspapers were fined a total VND450 million (US$21,428) for publishing inaccurate information. One of the more notable cases was that of Tri Thuc Tre, an online newspaper, which was fined VND207 million (USD9,857) and suspended from posting for three months for depicting women from the southwest of Vietnam in a bad light.

The article, entitled “Three characteristics of southwestern women” was a commentary in which the writer characterized women who live in the region as beautiful, obedient and unintelligent. The writer even used a colleague to exemplify these traits.

Meanwhile, 13 newspaper faced fines for violating advertising regulations. Many of them carried advertisements for nutritional supplements with inaccurate information, while others advertised alcoholic beverages. Television stations which featured too many ads during programming were also fined.

A number of newspapers were fined for publishing images and articles deemed not suitable to Vietnamese culture and traditions. Other cases were related to copyright infringement.

Water shortages hit Hanoi

Many Hanoi residents are facing water shortages for the past 20 days, making daily life very difficult.

Hundreds of households in Mo Lao Ward, Ha Dong District have been going to extremes to collect and store clean water. Some families stay up all night waiting for water to become available. When it is, they quickly turn on their pumps and try to fill their tanks. But the supply is intermittent and unpredictable, so there usually is not enough.

The wells, which were closed long ago, are now open again. Meanwhile, other families have resorted to going to relatives' or acquaintances' houses for bathing or washing.

Dao Thi Suu, head of residential cluster no.12, said since last year the water supply would dry up about once a month and water shortages could last for a week. This is the most serious shortage in a long time, however, lasting for nearly 20 days. "We don't know what caused this, and haven't received any notices or warnings from the supplier," she said.

Cuc, another resident, said, "I know the water from the wells is not really healthy, but we have to use it. Still if this continues, the wells wouldn't be able to supply all our needs."

Oanh, who lives in the same cloister, has just spent over VND500,000 (USD24) on bottled water. "I've just bought 10 bottles of water. If this goes on, I'll go bankrupt."

Locals say their water comes from Da River Water Plant, owned by Vinaconex Water Supply Company. However, their direct supplier is Thong Nhat Cooperative, based in Tu Liem District. They tried to contact the organisation to report the case but have not received any reply.

Unplanned pepper cultivation causes diseases to spread

The fact that farmers have hastily grown pepper on unplanned areas owing to a jump of pepper export prices can lead to widespread diseases, as soil conditions in certain areas are deemed unsuitable for pepper cultivation.

Nguyen Xuan Hong, head of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in a meeting on food safety held in Hanoi last week that the affected area now makes up 10-15% of the country’s total.

The pepper price has now surged to US$7,500 per ton, nearly five times higher than in 2006, said Hong. This results in a rapid expansion of the area under pepper cultivation, at 62,000 hectares nationwide at the moment.

Besides farming pepper in unsuitable areas, many farmers, especially inexperienced ones, have overused fertilizer and plant protection drugs for their crop.

The Plant Protection Department has recently detected plant protection drug residues exceeding the permissible level on one sample out of 30 samples taken for testing, after warnings of such residues from foreign importers.

As such, the department plans to issue regulations on the use of chemicals as well as criteria for plant protection drugs.

Statistics from the agriculture ministry showed that Vietnam exported 140,000 tons of pepper worth US$1.06 billion in January-September, a year-on-year rise of 24.5% in volume and 42 % in value.

The average pepper export price in the first seven months of this year reached US$7,820 per ton, up 10.7% over the same period last year. The U.S., Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India are the four largest buyers of the country’s pepper in this period, making up 45.73% of the market.

UN’s One Plan funds GHG emissions control project

One Plan, a common programmatic framework for UN agencies in Vietnam, will finance a project on managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worth US$770,000 in agriculture in Vietnam, including local counter capital of US$70,000.

The project was discussed at a seminar on September 30 in Hanoi on a mitigation action program co-organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The project aims to improve and strengthen awareness of national agencies about the importance of GHG emissions reductions in agriculture.

Accordingly, training courses of the project would be set up to support practitioners, researchers and officials in building national mitigation action plans and methods for calculating the amount of GHG emissions. Successful methods and scientific researches would be shared and applied for policymaking.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Le Quoc Doanh said the methods play a vital role in agriculture as the sector not only has been affected by climate change but also caused serious GHG emissions.

Paddy cultivation led to 57.3% of the total amount of GHG emissions in the agricultural sector, and agriculture in turn is responsible for 43.1% of GHG emissions in the country.

Besides, the ministry has established a working group with an aim of advising relevant agencies, implementing activities of the project and improving capability of agriculture officials and experts.

John Habe, FAO representative, noted that success in GHG emissions reductions required interdisciplinary collaboration and special efforts of leaders.

Conference on official statistics to be held in Da Nang

The International Association For Official Statistics (IAOS) is organising a conference in the central city of Da Nang on October 8-10, according to the Vietnamese General Statistics Office (GSO).

The official statistics conference entitled “meeting the demands of a changing world” will discuss a number of contemporary issues, such as changes in user requirements, the impacts of new technology, and budget requirements for official statistics.

Approximately 200 international and 100 Vietnamese officials and researchers working in the field will attend the event, which provides an opportunity for experts to exchange their views on statistics management and expertise.

The Vietnamese delegation will present four studies from 2010, including violence against women; the application of the statistics process model in Vietnam’s GSO; the use of administrative figures in official statistics; and the application of official statistics to the analysis of health care services.

IAOS, founded in 1985, holds a conference on official statistics for its member states every two years.

Vietnam-UK Research Institute makes debut in Da Nang

The British Council in collaboration with Aston University of the UK and the University of Da Nang held a ceremony in the central city of Da Nang on October 2 to launch the Vietnam-UK Institute for Research and Executive Education.

The institute, based at the University of Da Nang, will become operational in the 2014-2015 academic year and recruit students for the 2015-2016 year.

It will include the UK-ASEAN Research Centre which is designed to develop scientists’ research capacity in the fields of electronics-telecom, bio-technology, and finance-banking.

The centre will also serve as a venue for the UK and Vietnam as well as other ASEAN nations to exchange research results and boost cooperation in the field.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga said the institute is considered an international higher education and scientific research facility in the central region, paving the way for the establishment of the Vietnam-UK International University in the future.

UK Ambassador to Vietnam Giles Lever spoke highly of the birth of the institute, saying it is an important step forward in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

The UK pledged to continue its efforts to enhance cooperation with Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, he said.

On this occasion, Tate and Lyle Plc, a UK-based multinational agribusiness firm, committed to granting scholarships worth 210,000 USD to outstanding students from disadvantaged areas to help them pursue education at the Vietnam-UK International University.-

HCM City intensifies education for disabled kids

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training held a meeting on October 2 to launch special education tasks for the 2014-2015 academic year, with more support to be given to children with disabilities and development disorders.

Nguyen Thanh Tam, Director of the city’s rehabilitation and education centre for children with disabilities, said a number of activities have been undertaken to integrate the group into the community over the past years.

The centre has coordinated with hospitals to send doctors to local nurseries in order to detect children with special needs, while schools of special education have organised refresher courses to improve the capacity of their teaching staff, he added.

However, representatives of some special schools said they are not well connected with authorised agencies in giving early detections and diagnoses of disabilities, and current facilities are insufficient and unsuitable for special education.

Additionally, textbooks designed for primary students with disabilities have not yet been issued, causing many difficulties for the teaching, the meeting heard.

Nguyen Tien Dat, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Education and Training, said the sector will increase support for the target children by applying different therapies and giving professional training to teachers and education officials.

It will build more special schools and equip existing ones with appropriate facilities, he added.

Thousands of senior citizens receive free-of-charge medical check-up

The program “ For the  senior’s health in 2014” provided free medicines and examination of heart diseases, diabetes, cancer to more than 32,500 senior people in the country within two months, said Chairman of the Association of Young Doctor Tran Van Thuan at a meeting held to mark the International Day of Older Persons (October 1).  

The meeting to review the program “ For the  senior’s health in 2014” themed “ Young doctors follow Uncle Ho’s teaching and act voluntarily for community health” was held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Association of Young Doctor held

The program lasted from August 3 to October 1 nationwide.

Over 3,000 young doctors and 5,000 members of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union worked voluntarily in 63 provinces of the country to provide medical check-up to elderly people.

The program also presented 35,000 gifts to elderly people and retired persons from families in the top welfare brackets. The program doctors conducted more than 500 free eye operations for elderly people.

Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee President Nguyen Thien Nhan highly appreciated the initiative of the Association of Young Physician in taking care of senior citizen, affirming that young people have contributed much to the country.

Various voluntary activities across the country manifest their kindness, he added.

Mr. Nhan pointed out that currently Vietnamese elderly population comprised 10 percent of the nation's population; accordingly, taking care of senior people is the responsibility of the society.

He encouraged the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Vietnam Youth Federation and the Association of Young Doctor to continue many programs to support elderly citizens in the country.

Mr. Nhan also issued a guideline to the National Committee of Ageing of Vietnam, the Ministry of Health and the Association of the Elderly of Vietnam and related agencies to facilitate the activities of the Young Physician Association.

Mr. Nhan also suggested organizing the special day for the elderly people monthly.

At the meeting, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien was announced to be honor chairman of the Association of Young Doctor.

On this occasion, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien highly appreciated and lauded the association’s activities in the past time.

Minister Kim Tien said that the Ministry was focusing on building more hospitals and special divisions in medical clinics to treat elderly people’s disease.

There have been special policies for such honor senior citizens as well, said the minister.

The ministry will mobilize all units under the departments of health in 63 provinces to accompany with activities of the Association of Young Docotr in taking care of elderly people in distant and disadvantaged areas. Especially young good doctors will be sent to work voluntarily in poor regions in the country.

First int’l refraction training course opens in Vietnam

For the first time, a refraction training course was held jointly by Brien Holden Vision Institute, Pham Ngoc Thanh Medicine University and the Eye Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Foreign eye experts will lecture the course in English.

Professor Pham Dang Dieu, vice principal of Pham Ngoc Thach Medicine University said that currently the country has total three refraction practitioners while the demand of the human resource is increasing.

Accordingly, the training course is very useful in developing groups of refraction bachelors who help to reduce overloaded hospital and minimize refraction disorders in the future.

The first refraction training course at Pham Ngoc Thach Medicine University will enroll 20 students who participated in the university entrance examination of Option B with qualifying score of 21 up and are good at English skills.

Mental health determines national prosperity

Mental health is crucial since it is directly linked to the quality of life, the happiness of families, social security and the prosperity of the nation, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan has said.

In a meeting to commemorate World Mental Health Day (October 10), the Vice President said Vietnam continuously regarded the provision of medical care, especially mental health services, as a leading priority for the improvement of the quality of human resources, who serve the country’s development.

The event saw the participation of scientists and experts from the World Health Organisation and the World Psychiatric Association, and numerous international specialists from all over the world, such as Japan, France, Australia, the US, the Republic of Korea, Canada, Germany, Cambodia and New Zealand.

The meeting heard that the number of people suffering from mental health problems is increasing due to the pressures of modern life and unhealthy lifestyles. Mental health problems come in different forms, including symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, and emotional and behavioural disorders.

Recent statistics show that approximately 15% of Vietnam’s population suffers from mental disorders.

Last year, almost 21,000 people were diagnosed with and treated for schizophrenia, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

According to the WHO, mental disorders account for 14% of diseases worldwide, with 75% of cases reported in low-and medium-income countries.

The rate of the elderly suffering from mental disorders has increased alarmingly. It is predicted that approximately 2,000 people will lose their sanity each day by 2030.

Vietnam has established a network of mental health care in the community, with a focus on providing treatment for patients living with schizophrenia.

However, the country also faces a number of shortcomings, including a shortage of medical staff and mental health facilities specialising in mental illness, as well as ineffective coordination between relevant sectors.

Khanh Hoa vows to implement environmental programme

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa pledged to ensure the effective operation of its new environmental facilities, which are currently still under construction with support from the World Bank, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Duc Vinh said.

Vinh attended a meeting on October 2 with a delegation from the bank on the implementation of the WB-funded Coastal Cities Environment and Sanitation programme, which is running a project in Nha Trang City.

According to the delegation, the project is 96 percent complete, with US$72.3 million out of the total US$93.6 million disbursed so far.

The project in Nha Trang City has been carried out since 2007 and ends in October. Funds were used to construct a wastewater treatment plant, a landfill site, sewer systems and pump stations.

Concrete targets for climate change adaption set

Viet Nam set the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8-10% compared to 2010, said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha at a press conference on Wednesday.

The country also aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in energy activities by 10-20% compared to the Conventional Development Scenario and energy consumption per GDP by 1-1.5% annually.

Viet Nam is drafting the report “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions” which defines Viet Nam’s contribution on mitigation, adaptation and the need for finance, technology transfer and capacity building to contribute to the goal of limiting the degree celcius rise in global temperature.

Speaking at the UN Climate Summit 2014, Deputy PM, FM Pham Binh Minh said Viet Nam commits to working closely with the international community and development partners in negotiation on climate change in order to achieve objectives set by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Hanoi pilots smart cards for bus travellers

Hanoi authorities are planning to introduce smart bus passes to passengers on Route 6 from Giap Bat Station to Cau Gie in a move to streamline the city’s public bus system.

Under the pilot scheme which starts on October 6, around 200,000 electronic bus passes will be issued free of charge to passengers on Route 6 who are currently using the monthly ticket.

This is part of a project, known as TRAHUD 2, to improve the quality of Hanoi’s public transport system with the assistance of the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA).

The smart card is also designed to bring convenience to users requiring them to simply swipe their cards through a reader installed on the bus instead of showing their monthly pass to the bus conductor.

According to a survey by the Hanoi Department of Transport, the number of passengers using monthly ticket accounts for 70% of total passengers on the city’s bus system comprised of more than 60 routes.

The smart card will be rolled out to the remaining bus routes and the urban rail system− currently under construction−in later phases of TRAHUD 2.

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