French building to be moved for Kinh Thien Palace restoration

​Kinh Thien Palace is now left with a staircase bordered by two stone dragons.

The Prime Minister has approved the moving of the two-storey building of the Department of Operations to a new location for the restoration of Kinh Thien Palace of Thang Long Citadel Complex in Hanoi.

The French-built building where the Department of Operations was located during wartime blocks the front view of Kinh Thien Palace and disrupts the direct link between the palace and Doan Mon (South Gate) of the citadel.

According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu (Complete Annals of Dai Viet), construction of the palace began in 1428 under the reign of King Le Thai To and was completed under King Le Thanh Tong.

The palace is among the most important buildings in the citadel complex which was often used for royal meetings during the Ly (1009-1225), Tran (1226-1400), Le (1428-1789) and Nguyen (1802-1945) dynasties.

Most of it was destroyed by French in 1886. They left behind only the floor and a staircase bordered by two stone dragons.

From October 10, 1954, when anti-French resistance troops took over the city, the site served as an office for the Ministry of Defence.

The project aims to partly recreate the royal space in front of Kinh Thien Palace for big cultural and political events.

It will be implemented by the Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage Preservation Centre between now and 2017 at an estimated cost of more than 14.9 billion VND (over 670,000 USD).

Digital Emotion exhibition comes to HCM City

Nearly 90 exhibitors from seven nations and territories will participate in the Digital Emotion exhibition in HCM City from May 12 to 14.

The exhibition, with 200 booths, includes famous brands broadcasting, radio, imaging and AV. They will showcase advanced technology such as Canon's DSLR EOS 1Dx Mark II and flycam.

Six flycam competitions will be conducted on three days of the exhibition, according to the organising board.

Pay TV development trends will be discussed at a conference and new services will be launched.

The exhibition is expected to attract 30,000 visitors. It is being held at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7 of HCM City.

Sustainable eco-tourism branched out in Quang Nam province

Boasting historic-cultural values as well as gorgeous landscapes, Triem Tay village in Dien Ban town, the central coastal province of Quang Nam has great potential for sustainable eco-tourism.

With support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), an agricultural cooperative offering tourism services was founded in the village with the participation of 25 local households.

Thanks to ILO and UNESCO training, locals’ daily activities such as gardening, fishing and farming now double up as tourism products for holiday-makers.

Visitors can see raw countryside as well as enjoy a local family atmosphere when staying in a local homestay in Triem Tay village. Along with making upgrades to farms and roads, local farmers also invested in repairing their houses to welcome tourists.

More than 3,000 visitors have arrived in Triem Tay tourism village in the first six months since tourism services were launched in the locality in September, 2015. The locality raked in nearly 300 million VND (13,461 USD) from tourism.

According to Le Van Thanh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, sustainable tourism in Triem Tay village has improved livelihoods while ensuring sustainable use of cultural and environmental resources.

He highlighted that responsible and sustainable tourism should be integrated with public tourism, eco-tourism, farm tourism and craft tourism to encourage public involvement in preserving culture and the environment.

In his visit to Triem Tay, Cornelius Gregg, Skills Technical Specialist from ILO, said that to increase tourism revenue the village should enhance the capacity of tourism service providers, raise public awareness of sustainable tourism and develop more tourism products.

Tourism must preserve culture, which helps local people preserve the village’s identity during development, he said.

Party chief meets with Hanoi voters

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other candidates running for the seats in the 14th National Assembly presented their action plans while meeting with voters in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem and Tay Ho districts on May 6-7.

They will be voted at Hanoi’s constituency No.1.

At the meeting, voters appreciated the action plans of the candidates, and discussed many interesting issues with them such as food safety, health care, educational reform, eco-environmental protection and corruption prevention.

They expressed their hope that the 14th legislature will continue improving itself to build a socialist state ruled by law and of the people, by the people and for the people.

The legislative body should intensify supervision over important projects and programmes, as well as carry out more decisions to boost socio-economic development and maintain defence and security.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong thanked constituents for their practical ideas and recommendations.

He stressed that there are a lot of things to do to make the economy grow sustainably, better the building of the Party and the political system, prevent corruption and wastefulness, and maintain defence security, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The candidates affirmed that if elected they will actively contribute to making and enforcing laws, and coordinate with competent agencies to address voters’ petitions.

In any position, they will also do their utmost to fulfil all tasks assigned by the Party and State, they said.

Deputies to the 14th NA will be chosen at the same time as all-level People’s Councils for the 2016 – 2021 term on Sunday May 22.

Ship serving General Election reaches Sinh Ton island

Naval ship 633 of the Naval Region 4 High Command reached Sinh Lon island commune, Truong Sa district, central Khanh Hoa province, on May 7, bringing equipment needed for the upcoming elections to the 14th National Assembly and People’s Councils.

The ship left the Cam Ranh military port in Khanh Hoa on May 5.

Luong Quoc Anh, President of the Sinh Ton communal People’s Committee, said preparations for the election have been completed, adding that 24 local candidates will run for 15 seats in the communal People’s Council in the 2016-2021 term.

Truong Sa district has organised six voting units and 24 polling stations, with three units and 21 polling stations on the islands.

While voters on land will go to the poll on the General Election Day slated for May 22, residents on islands will cast their vote on May 15.

Constituents in Truong Sa district will select 30 out of 48 candidates to become deputies to the district People’s Council for the 2016 – 2021 tenure.

Vietnamese bands join int’l youth jazz festival

Phu Sa Band and a group comprising of students from the Hanoi Arts College and the National Conservatory of Music are participating in the 5 th World Youth Jazz Festival which opened in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on May 6.

As many as 22 bands from 8 countries are attending the three-day event.

According to head of the organising board Nik A. Azmi, the festival offers a chance for the participating bands to show off their passion towards jazz as well as demonstrating how jazz can mix with other genres of music.

He also said Vietnamese singers always have interesting performances.

Besides students, he invited the Phu Sa band because he appreciates their talent and passion for jazz when he watched them perform in Malaysia previously.

Germany to train more Vietnamese orderlies

Germany decided to expand a Vietnam-Germany orderlies training pilot project, receiving more of Vietnamese workforce to take care of the elderly in the country.

The information was revealed at a press conference on the expansion of the project held by the Department of Overseas Labour Management (DOLM) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) in Hanoi on May 6.

In 2016 and 2017, the programme will send 100 Vietnamese trainees annually to pursue a training course in Germany to become orderlies taking care of the elderly.

Since 2013, the MOLISA has cooperated with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in a pilot project on training Vietnamese paediatric nurses in Germany .

Under the pilot project, 200 Vietnamese trainees were sent to Germany in 2013 and 2014. The first 100 of them, graduated in October 2015, are now working at German nursing centres.

World Vision distributes drinking water in drought-hit province

World Vision is providing relief to vulnerable children and poor people in the southern province of Bình Thuận, suffering from the country’s worst drought in nearly a century.

The initial relief effort is worth some US$60,000 and focuses on providing drinking water and domestic water supply facilities.

Till date, more than 3,000 children and adults in the Hàm Thuận Bắc and Bắc Bình districts have benefited from the organisation’s work, which includes distributing clean water for 60 days (120 litres per person), water tanks, water pipes and water filters. The initiative began in late April and will continue until mid-May.

“We’re seeking further funding opportunities to expand our emergency relief efforts to more drought-affected people,” Lê Văn Dương, World Vision’s National Coordinator of Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs in Việt Nam, said.

Drought and saltwater intrusion began affecting the Mekong Delta last December, causing massive damage to the crops, threatening food security, worsening sanitation and affecting the people’s health.

World Vision’s actions in the two districts are in response to Việt Nam’s first-ever appeal for international support of some $48 million in April 2016 to address the prolonged drought and the saline intrusion impact in 20 provinces in the Mekong Delta, the South Central Coast and the Central Highlands.

World Vision has implemented 15-year area development programmes in Việt Nam, specifically in Hàm Thuận Bắc since 2007 and in Bắc Bình since 2005. The programmes have focused on nutrition, education, child protection and participation, livelihood, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

So far, with World Vision’s help, the living conditions of more than 52,000 people, including vulnerable children, in the two districts have improved.

More than 33,000 Vietnamese labourers sent abroad in 2016

Over 33,600 Vietnamese labourers have been sent to work abroad in the first four months of this year, including more than 12,800 women.

The number has been announced by the Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalid, and Social Affairs.

The department said only in April, there were nearly 10,500 Vietnamese labourers sent to work abroad. Taiwan was the market receiving the highest number of Vietnamese labourers with about 4,990 people, second was Japan with nearly 3,350.

According to the department, the export labour market showed positive signs during the first four months of this year, offering job opportunities for Vietnamese labourers in Thailand and Australia.

A maximum of 200 Vietnamese labourers would be given visas for visiting and finding jobs in Australia this year.

In the meantime, Thailand allowed 10 Vietnamese companies to send labourers to work in sectors of fishing and construction this year.

80 % IT jobs require experienced candidates

More than 80 per cent of companies in HCM City requires candidates having at least one year-work experience before recruiting them for IT-related jobs.

It is the latest survey from the Centre for Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information under the city’s Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Department conducting in April with participation of 1,868 local companies.

Over a half of companies demanded candidates graduated from universities, 29 per cent requested candidates graduated from colleges for positions of computer programmer, software engineer and database administrators.

Only 16 per cent of companies recruit labourers graduating from vocational and training schools to work as computer technician or computer-component salesperson.

Trần Anh Tuấn, head of the centre said the labour market in the city was stable in the first four months of this year.

The companies gave priorities for experienced labourers and candidates graduating from universities, he said.

HCM City expands pension payment at post offices

The HCM City Social Insurance Agency on Wednesday began to pay monthly pensions and social insurance benefits to pensioners through post offices in a few more districts.

It has added Hóc Môn, Củ Chi, Nhà Bè and Cần Giờ besides three wards of Tân Phú. Last July it had begun a pilot scheme to pay through post offices in Districts 1 and Bình Chánh.

The new model is aimed at replacing the traditional one that requires pensioners to go to local people’s committees to get their money.

Nguyễn Thị Hồng Liên of Nhà Bè District said it took her just five minutes to complete the paperwork and get her monthly pension at the Nhà Bè town post office.

The post office workers were polite, Liên, who was among nearly 100 pensioners who went to the post office on Wednesday (May 4), said.

The Nhà Bè post office is scheduled to pay around 500 pensioners every month.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Vân, deputy director of the HCM City Post Office, said money would be delivered home to people aged above 80 and those who are sick for free.

Cao Văn Sang, director of the HCM City Social Insurance Agency, said most pensioners have expressed satisfaction with the service they receive at post offices nine months into the pilot programme.

The procedures for pension payment have been streamlined to make them faster and more convenient, he said.

A total of 5,217 people in District 1 have got pensions and social insurance benefits worth VNĐ21.1 billion (US$942,000) at post offices in District 1 since last July.

In Bình Chánh, VNĐ5.4 billion ($241,000) has been paid to more than 1,700 people.

The scheme will be expanded to all wards in the city by October when nearly 124,400 people will benefit.

34 fishermen rescued near Hoàng Sa Island

The Regional Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre No 2 (MRCC Đà Nẵng) rescued 34 fishermen from a sunken fishing ship off the Hoàng Sa Islands (Paracels) of Việt Nam on Wednesday.

The crew members from Quảng Nam Province were all healthy and uninjured.

The fishing ship was rammed by an unidentified ship near the island around midnight on Tuesday.

Tân, director of MRCC2, said they asked for help from China MRCC before sending the rescue ship to the sea near the Hoàng Sa Islands.

Most of the crew were on the ship, but several fishermen were fishing on coracles 10 nautical miles away.

Captain Phạm Phú Thành said the ship was hit on the side and flooded with water. The crew had to escape on emergency boats. They called for help from other fishing ships nearby, as well as sending an SOS to the rescue centre.

Ministry names safe produce suppliers

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development officially announced addresses of 69 stores nation-wide certified for providing food products that meet safety requirements.

The list of safe food outlets was released yesterday at a press conference held by MARD.

The move, part of the ministry’s programme “Địa chỉ xanh – Nông sản sạch” or Green outlets – Safe farm products, was expected to help sooth public fury on food hygiene and safety, which has overwhelmed the food market in recent years.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vũ Văn Tám said this was the first step taken by the ministry to introduce safe farming products and reliable suppliers to consumers.

He said he hoped the programme would raise consumer confidence on food safety, and encourage safe food production and distribution.

Nguyễn Như Tiệp, director of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Quality Management, said the list of 69 outlets was a small number among other safe manufacturing units. But MARD would continue to build more supply chains and conduct more inspections to certify products.

He said that by the end of this year, MARD expected to issue certifications to any provinces that proposed that their local food suppliers met all quality and hygiene requirements.

To meet this goal, the ministry will promote GAP and GMP processes and support the development of supply chains, Tiệp said.

Also during the press conference, the ministry announced Safe Farm Foods Week, which will be organised at the Trade Promotion Centre for Agriculture on Hoàng Quốc Việt Street in Hà Nội from today (May 6) to 12.

The event will feature about 100 stands displaying VietGAP-certified products or those produced under the food safety chain management from more than 40 co-operatives and agribusinesses across the country.

Green city transport project approved by PM

The Prime Minister has approved all the technical support programmes for the HCM City Green Transport Development Project to improve the efficiency of public buses along a high-priority corridor.

They will be completed by 2020 at a cost of US$10.77 million, of which $10.5 million will come from non-refundable aid from Switzerland routed through the World Bank.

Areas will be zoned along the corridor and urban designs will be adjusted in line with the transit oriented development, which refers to a mixed-use residential and commercial areas designed to maximise access to public transport and often incorporates features to attract passengers.

The city will create a mechanism to encourage the private sector to get involved with public transport infrastructure.

A legal framework and regulations for the city’s sustainable development around bus rapid transit (BRT) stations are also part of the technical support package.

Public spaces will be built along the corridor to increase the attractiveness of the BRT system and enable urban development around BRT stations.

The number of passengers using the BRT is expected to increase to 27,000 a day five years after the start of the project and 29,000 a year later.

Newly-approved projects to benefit northern and central localities

The Prime Minister has approved a number of construction projects, including inter-regional transport development projects in northern mountainous provinces and a technical support project for development in several central provinces.

The project to construct the Noi Bai-Lang Son expressway section at the Huu Nghi Border Gate in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son will be implemented from 2016 to 2019, using loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Built with a total budget of 388 million USD, the project aims to reduce traffic congestion and accidents in the National Road No.1 and shorten the time for goods transportation and travelling, thus promoting Lang Son’s economic and tourism development, and investment attraction.

Regarding the loan agreement for the Hanoi Metro Rail System Project, Finance Deputy Minister Truong Chi Trung represented the Government to sign the agreement with authorised representatives of the Bank of America and Natixis Investment Bank. The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to implement necessary procedures for re-lending with the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee.

Meanwhile, the inter-regional transport development project supporting socio-economic development in disadvantaged districts in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai will be financed by the Saudi Fund for Development, towards promoting inter-regional connection among the provinces of Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang.

The project will also develop essential infrastructure works in rural and mountainous areas, thus improving livelihoods and income for locals, promoting sustainable poverty reduction.

Accordingly, as many as 41 million USD will be invested in the construction of about 52 km of inter-district transport road, along with water drainage systems and protection works in Luc Yen and Van Yen districts.

The Asian Development Bank- funded project on technical support for developing basic infrastructure works serving comprehensive development in the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri is scheduled to be implemented within two years with a total investment of 780,000 USD.

It aims to assist the building of project documents in accordance with the Vietnamese Government and the ADB for an investment project to develop basic infrastructure towards comprehensive development in the four localities.

Vung Tau announces hotline to receive public feedback

The People’s Committee and Party Committee of the southern Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu Province officially put into operation a hotline and an email address yesterday to receive opinions and proposals from local organisations, businesses and residents.

Organisations or individuals can call 088.880.0247 or send email(s) to duongdaynong@baria-vungtau.gov.vn any time of the day or week.

Nguyễn Văn Chinh, head of the provincial Party Committee’s office, said the hotline and email address had been launched to effectively implement provincial administrative reform and improve the capacity and the services offered by the administrative bodies.

Investors, enterprises and residents can propose measures to develop the province, report cases related to political security, social safety, order and express dissatisfaction on the work done by public servants.

The feedback will be forwarded to the authorised agencies for further action.

"The provincial Party Committee will issue a specific regulation on the operation of the hotline and ensure those who fail to record information are penalised," Chinh said.

Meanwhile, in a related report, Mai Ngọc Thuận, Secretary of the Vũng Tàu City’s Party Committee, urged the city’s authorised agencies to continue their efforts to maintain the safety and the cleanliness of the beach.

The ban on all food businesses on the city’s beach – mostly seafood BBQ provided by local tourism cooperatives – officially came into effect last month.

Reports by the Vũng Tàu People’s Committee reveal there were some 100 businesses, under the management of the two largest tourism cooperatives Vũng Tàu and Thùy Vân, which rented beach chairs and provided cooking services to the beachgoers. These businesses failed to keep the beach clean, leading to an adverse effect on the sea environment.

In a recent official dispatch, Thuận also called for the setting up of a team responsible for patrolling and imposing fines on those violating beach regulations.

The city’s Party Committee leader also ordered the establishment of a new cooperative to ensure environment protection and sustainable tourism development of the coastal city. The new cooperative will include members from the local tourism cooperatives of Vũng Tàu and Thùy Vân, who used to operate businesses on the beach.

Bắc Ninh Province to ban dredging river bed, trading

Dredging the river bed and trading in agricultural products on the Cầu and Đuống rivers will be banned, the northern province of Bắc Ninh’s People’s Committee has reported.

Because the dam system on the rivers crossing the two provinces of Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang has been weakened, relevant offices had to keep close control of these dam systems, according to Bắc Ninh authorities.

The Bắc Ninh People’s Committee has asked the Việt Nam Inland Waterways Administration to stop all activities of the Giang Linh Transport and Trading Ltd Co, and other joint-stock companies that were involved in dredging the river bed and trading on the two rivers.     

Erosion has recently occurred in the area, reportedly related to the river bed dredging activity.

The administration was required to discuss and report regularly to Bắc Ninh authorities about inspection results of waterways projects. The granting of licenses for waterway projects must be approved by the provincial People’s Committee chairman.     

Recently, the river dredging of individual companies has become an urgent matter to local people.

Inspections would be strengthened over the coming period to discover and deal with cases of sand-exploitation. Bắc Ninh authorities reported that strict punishments would be applied to any individual, organisation or company found illegally taking sand or found violating other waterway laws.

In 2015, Bắc Ninh Province police discovered about 100 cases of illegal sand exploitation.    

In the first quarter of this year, 18 cases were discovered. Police seized three ships owned by a group of local people that were exploiting sand from the Cầu River bed in Quế Võ District’s Đào Viên Commune on March, 17-18.

Hanoi festival celebrates European food

A taste of European cuisine is once again coming to Hanoi as the National Library of Vietnam hosts its 10th annual food festival on May 14, said the organizers at a press conference.

Speaking at the presser on May 5 in Hanoi, Michael Behrens, chairman of EuroCham, said this year’s event is expected to be bigger and better than ever.

“We estimate that 1,300 guests will attend,” said Mr Behrens, and we’ve rounded up as many talented chefs from leading hotels and restaurants in Hanoi that we could find to put on a true culinary feast.

In addition to the food, the festival will include a vendors’ area, musical and folk dance performances, frozen food shows, lucky draws for cash and prizes, along with numerous children’s activities.

Tickets to the extravaganza are available now at the EuroCham office in Hanoi located at GF Sofitel Plaza, 1 Thanh Nien Street or they can be purchased at the gate on the day of the event.

Admission to the event is US$18 for adults including coupons for food and drinks. Entry is free for children under the age of seven.

Care center built from the love of animals

With the love and sympathy for animals abandoned or getting lost, Tran Uyen Nhu has hired an apartment in Binh Chanh District, HCMC and turned it into an animal care center.

Operational since August last year, the center is now home to 50 cats and dogs. Previously it was taking care of more than 200 cats and dogs but over 150 of them have been returned to their owners and adopted by animal lovers.

Those animals come from different parts of the country, such as HCMC, Vung Tau, Binh Thuan Province’s Phan Thiet and Ca Mau Province.

Nhu and her boyfriend spend their free time bathing those animals, brushing their fur and feeding them after working hours.

The cost of hiring the apartment and taking care of the animals is around VND40 million (US$1,800) per month. Part of the sum is funded by benefactors and the rest is covered by Nhu and her boyfriend.

Vietnamese nationals in RoK increase

The number of Vietnamese nationals living in the Republic of Korea (RoK) had reached 137,654 by the end of March, accounting for 7.1 percent of the total foreign residents.

According to the RoK’s Ministry of Justice, 1,943,576 foreigners reside in the East Asian nation as of the end of March this year, up 4.7 percent against February and 7.2 percent from a year ago.

By nationality, Chinese were at the top with 50.8 percent, or more than 986,000 people, followed by Americans at 7.4 percent , Vietnamese at 7.1 percent, Thais at 4.6 percent and Filipinos at 2.8 percent.

The number of foreign spouses increased to 152,025, up 1.2 percent compared to March 2013.-

Ho Chi Minh City youths take to hoverboards on pedestrian street

Many youngsters now get around Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street, a new get-together destination in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, on hoverboards to both have fun and showcase their riding skills.

The hoverboard is generally depicted as a motorized, self-balancing, two-wheel scooter.

The stand-up scooter is typically propelled on rechargeable batteries and can be steered with ease by just tilting the body to a particular direction.

Dubbed a smart electric bike, the device can pick up speed and slow down as its user leans forward and backward.

The hoverboard, which was a fictional flying scooter in the Back to the Future movies and now comes in a non-flying form, is considered environment-friendly for not releasing harmful emissions.

One can easily hire a compact, handy hoverboard for VND60,000 (US$2.7) for half an hour on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street.  

“It takes only two minutes for one to learn how to maneuver the novel tech toy,” Truong Son, who was steering his hoverboard, said.

Thuc Loan, 12, delightedly showcased her flair on her own scooter.

“I got hooked on hoverboarding after practicing the sport for a few times here. I bought my own toy for VND6.1 million [$271] two weeks ago,” the young girl said.

The hoverboard can operate for around one hour after a three-hour battery recharge.

Friends and couples hoverboarding in the breeze together and stumbling down in giggles, skilled players performing technically-demanding maneuvers with stunning finesse, and rich color shades emitted from the gadgets all make a pleasing sight on the pedestrian street at nightfall.

There are safety warnings, though.

“A novice like me sometimes finds it hard to stay balanced on the board. I tend to fall when I lean backward,” Nguyen Hoang Hai Phong, 14, said.

Chi Lang, 31, a seasoned hoverboarding practitioner, admitted to difficulties keeping balance on the scooter.

“Users rely mostly on their legs and body to maintain balance without any other aid. Hoverboarding at maximal speed as an alternative means of transport can easily lead to injury if the riders fall backward, while bruises and scratches are common in the event of a forward fall,” he explained.

Lang noted that the toy is only suitable for use in parks and on walking streets.

“Users should make sure they stay away from cheap, shoddy battery rechargers, the hoverboard’s key part, as they may explode during charging,” he stressed.

Many Mekong Delta households in dire need of fresh water

Many households in the Mekong Delta are urgently searching for water for daily use though there has been sparse rain in the region in recent days.

Mai Anh Nhin, vice chairman of Kien Giang Province, said reservoirs in Rach Gia City have almost dried up while local residents need around 50,000 cubic meters of water a day. The city now finds it hard to meet its residents’ need for water.

He said the city had drilled ten more wells to supply an additional 20,000 cubic meters a day for locals, but that is not sufficient for the whole city.   

Severe drought has threatened water supply in rural areas, Nhin said, noting there are many places where locals have to pay as much as VND200,000 (US$8.97) per cubic meter.

Nguyen Tien Dat, a seller of water for residents in Ben Tre Province’s Binh Dai District, said water prices in the province remain high, at VND50,000 per cubic meter, while demand for it is huge due to the severe impact of protracted drought.

Dat told the Daily that he has doubled water supply to quench the thirst of people in the district for fresh water.

Nguyen Huu Lap, vice chairman of Ben Tre Province, said fresh water shortages have worsened as salination has affected underground water. Residents in coastal areas are reliant on water brought from elsewhere, he added.

Lap suggested the Government adopt a special mechanism for Ben Tre to enable the province to implement projects funded by official development assistance to better cope with drought and salination in the coming years, and meet water needs of locals.

Hoang Van Thang, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a meeting on drought and salination in Soc Trang Province last week that around 225,800 households in the Mekong Delta had run short of water for daily use by the end of April, 70,800 households higher than in early March.

The number of households in dire need of water includes 86,200 in Ben Tre, 43,000 in Soc Trang, 25,000 in Kien Giang, 21,400 in Tra Vinh, 15,500 in Long An, 14,500 in Ca Mau, 7,000 in Tien Giang, 3,200 in Bac Lieu, and 5,000 in each of Vinh Long and Hau Giang.

The Government has told provinces in the region to try their best to ensure sufficient food and water supplies for local households in the wake of prolonged drought and salination.

Border area development project approved

The Prime Minister has approved the contents of a project to support the development of border areas funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Its long-term goal is to tap the potential of five Vietnamese provinces in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) development triangle area.

In the foreseeable future, the project is expected to improve the income of the poor, especially ethnic minorities, facilitate farm produce’s access to domestic and foreign markets while improving the capacity of planning and inter-provincial coordination.

It will also build a road corridor to facilitate sub-regional integration and growth and raise farmers and entrepreneurs’ capacity to tap their strength in agricultural production and trade.

Moreover, the project will pool and allocate resources by rallying the involvement of the private sector in the country, the region and the world, towards promoting the progress of the CLV development triangle area, particularly its master plan.

Major activities include improving road connectivity, logistical infrastructure and transport management

The six-year project will cost more than 122.1 million USD, and be mostly carried out in the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Kon Tum, Gia Lai and Dak Nong and the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

HCM City urged to raise houses

HCM City’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment has urged the administration to provide relief to people whose houses have been affected by recent road upgrades.

Following recent works, thousands of houses are now much lower than the road outside and not many owners can afford to raise the level of their houses, it said.

Earlier the Department of Construction had also suggested paying compensation.

If their recommendations are accepted, house owners will get low-interest loans of up to VNĐ500 million (US$22,700) to raise their houses or build new ones depending on the extent of the problem.

According to the environment department, four districts have been affected in this manner, including an estimated 7,315 in District 8 alone where the road is 0.4-1 metre above the floor of the houses.

The construction of the city’s most modern road - Phạm Văn Đồng in Thủ Đức and Bình Thạnh Districts -- has affected hundreds of houses. The road is one metre higher than the houses on average and level with the ceiling in some places.

Trần Thanh Chương, who lives on Tam Bình Street in Thủ Đức District, said after his road was upgraded, his house is now much lower, causing him to fall several times.

Residents in District 6 face the same problem, with many houses a metre below the road.

Huỳnh Minh Hùng, vice chairman of the District 6 People’s Committee, said the district has mobilised all available money from the labour federation fund, poverty reduction fund and women’s association to help locals upgrade their houses.

But of the 617 houses affected, not all have received the money.

Hà Thị Long’s roof in Lò Gốm Street is now only two metres above the street. She can only knock down the house and build a new one, and cannot fix the problem, she lamented.

She and her family members have great trouble getting into and out of the house, and things are even worse when they have to ride a motorbike, she said.

Someone suggested that she should borrow money from the local Women’s Association’s fund, but she discovered that a household could borrow only a few million đồng.

Đặng Tấn Nhơn, whose house is a metre below Lò Gốm Street, said his family has already spent VNĐ100 million (US$4,500) on upgrades.

Family clinics in HCM City foundering

Family medical clinics in HCM City, established more than two years ago, have yet to achieve their goal of providing comprehensive primary care as they are still short of doctors.

The family medical clinics, set up to provide a closer, ongoing relationship with patients, are located at 20 district hospitals and 136 ward and commune health centres in the city.

The Ministry of Health launched the pilot family medical programme in eight provinces and cities with the aim of reducing patient overload and improving the quality of health examination and treatment.

Dr Nguyễn Hữu Hưng, deputy head of HCM City’s Department of Health, said that family medicine clinics around the world had provided effective comprehensive primary care to local residents.

However, many residents in Việt Nam are not familiar with the concept, he added.

At the clinics, patients are monitored more carefully and health records are maintained electronically.

In Việt Nam, patient overload at hospitals prevents doctors from spending a lot of time speaking to patients about their medical history and offering counselling on treatment and prevention.

“It is not sufficient. Patients should be offered more insightful and personal guidance and treatment over time instead of official hours like now,” Hưng said, adding that doctors at family medicine clinics should be seen as “the patients’ own doctor”.

Family doctors are doctors who provide primary and continuing care for entire families within their communities and address physical, psychological and social problems, according to the HCM City University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

They coordinate other specialised wards as needed.

Dr Trương Đoan Hạnh of the Bình Chiểu Ward’s Family Medical Clinic in Thủ Đức District said that the clinic often did not receive updates about patients who had been transferred from the clinic to city- or central-level hospitals for treatment of serious disease.

Hạnh also was not informed if these patients were told to return to ward clinics for periodic treatment and monitoring.

“Clinics at district hospitals (unlike wards and communes) are trusted by local residents and attract a large number of patients,” Hưng said.

For example, Thủ Đức District Hospital’s family medical clinic saw an increase of patients from 66 each day in 2013, when it opened, to 117 last year.

As of last year, the clinic’s doctors, who studied family medicine as a major at university, can treat many health problems without the assistance of doctors working at other wards in the hospital.

In 2013, the hospital’s clinic had 13 patients transferred to the hospital’s other wards for treatment. Last year, the figure fell to two cases.

Hưng said that 136 of 319 ward and commune health centres in the city have family medical clinics.

These centres are equipped with ultrasound machines and testing devices to provide primary care, he said.

The patients at the family medical clinics also receive advice on whether they should be transferred to specialised hospitals in the city.

Dr Nguyễn Đỗ Hồng Ngọc of Thủ Đức Hospital’s family medicine clinic, who is charge in of providing technical assistance for family medicine at wards in districts, said that, unlike district hospitals, trust in doctors at ward and commune health centres remained low.

For example, the Bình Chiểu Ward Family Medicine Clinic in Thủ Đức District saw an increase in patients from 480 in 2014 to 3,783 in 2015.

But the figure was modest compared to the ward’s population with 90,000.

According to one doctor at a family medical clinic in Bình Thạnh District’s 21 ward, most residents in the ward do not want to visit family medical clinics there.

Several other ward-level family medical clinics have admitted only three or four patients.

At a recent meeting with department and ward- and commune-level health centres, a representative of Tân Phú District’s ward health centre said that with only one doctor, it was difficult for the centre to set up a family medical clinic.

To remedy the problem, district hospitals such as Thủ Đức and District 2 have sent their own doctors to assist at ward and commune clinics. They also offer training to doctors at the clinics.

Dr Nguyễn Minh Quân, the head of Thủ Đức Hospital, said: “They usually encourage patients who visit the hospital’s family medical clinics to go to clinics in their ward for their next health examination.”

Hưng, deputy head of the city’s Health Department, said that hospital’s leaders had done a good job in building their family medical clinic programmes.

“Like building a house, the best way is to create a strong foundation to set up family medical clinics at ward- and commune-level health centres,” he added.

Hưng said that more communication in the community was needed to ensure that residents were aware of the services provided by the clinics

“When residents see that their health is being taken care of, they will not visit specialised hospitals or city-level hospitals unless the situation is serious,” Hưng said.

At a recent conference on family medical clinics held in the city, Dr Nguyễn Quý Tường, deputy head of the central government’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department, said that all doctors at ward- and commune-level health centres this year would receive additional training in three-month courses in family medicine.

The Ministry of Health will also offer more preferential policies to attract properly educated personnel and doctors to work at family medicine clinics.

Vietnam-UK friendship network supports Vietnamese AO victims

Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam – UK Friendship Network (VUFN) Warwick Morris has vowed to continue calling on international organisations to support Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims, adding it into the list of its major activities.

He made the pledge during a working session with the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) in Hanoi on May 6, together with a delegation from the Vietnam – UK Friendship Association (VUFA).

The VUFN and VUFA always support VAVA’s activities, Morris stated.

VAVA Chairman Nguyen Van Rinh, for his part, said VAVA chapters have raised more than 1.1 trillion VND (50 million USD) to offer scholarships, build homes and provide wheelchairs for millions of victims.

The association also built 26 rehabilitation facilities and offered vocational training to AO victims, he said.

Rinh hoped that ties between VAVA and VUFN as well as VUFA will further progress, and they will facilitate exchanges to raise mutual understanding.

Laos shares difficulties with Vietnamese people

Lao governmental offices and mass organisations have raised 257,000 USD to help Vietnamese people in the southern region overcome losses caused by recent serious droughts.

Sunthone Sayachak, head of the Lao Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, handed over the money to the Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos at a ceremony in Vientiane on May 6.

Sunthone Sayachak said the aid is not large, however, it demonstrates that the Lao Party, Government, and people are willing to share difficulties with the Vietnamese people.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Manh Hung expressed thanks to the Lao Party, Government, and people for the support.

Earlier, the Lao Government released water from its dams to the Mekong River to help Vietnam cope with drought and salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta.

From February and March, the Mekong Delta was hit a double blow of prolonged drought and salt intrusion due to the impacts of El Nino, as well as low ground water supplies and from the upper river.

Vietnam’s National Reunification Day marked in Cuba

A photo exhibition has been opened in Havana, Cuba to mark the 41 st anniversary of Vietnam’s Southern Liberation and National Reunification Day (April 30) and the 62 nd anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7).

The exhibition features nearly 100 photos that depict the wars for independence as well as the development of Vietnam over the past decades.

At a ceremony to mark the anniversary jointly held by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Cuban Military Medicine Institute, Ambassador Duong Minh praised the strong bond between the two countries as well as Cuba’s support to Vietnam, including training Vietnamese students.

Earlier, the embassy and the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) organized a visit to the Quang Tri Plastic Factory in Havana; the factory is named to commemorate the historic visit to Quang Tri province in central Vietnam by Fidel Castro in 1973.-

Japan media cover FM Kishida’s visit to Vietnam

A number of major Japanese newspapers have covered Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida’s visit to Vietnam where he held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Kyodo news agency reported that after paying a courtesy visit to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Kishida held a press conference to inform the outcome of his meeting.

Kishida said Japan and Vietnam shared a common view on China’s unilateral change of the status quo in the East Sea considering it dangerous for the international community, adding that they agreed on the importance of ASEAN sending a joint message regarding the issue.

Kishida said PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s attendance at the G7 summit, scheduled to take place later this month in Japan will offer Japan as G7 presidency the chance to learn of Vietnam’s proposals and desires, which can be included in the agenda of the coming extended G7 meeting.

Jiji newspaper reported on the talks between Deputy Prime Minister and FM Pham Binh Minh and Minister Kishida, where they reached a consensus on increasing cooperation in maritime security.

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