Volunteer soldiers receive deep affection from the Cambodians

It has been 40 years since Vietnamese volunteer soldiers stood side by side with Cambodian people in the cause of fighting against Khmer Rouge and helping rebuild the country, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers received deep affection from the Cambodians. They were respectfully called the “Buddhist troops.” 

After taking power in Cambodia in April, 1975, the Khmer Rouge regime committed barbaric crimes. Heartlessly, with utmost cruelty, it killed millions of Cambodians and many foreigners, including Vietnamese living in country’s border regions.

Responding to Cambodian people’s cries for help, Vietnamese army not only pushed back the Khmer Rouge’s invasions of its territory, but also helped Cambodia escape by ousting the savage, genocidal on January 7, 1979.

Over ten years of standing side by side with Cambodian people in the cause of fighting against Khmer Rouge and helping rebuild the country, Vietnamese volunteer soldiers received deep affection from the Cambodians. They were respectfully called the “Buddhist troops.”

In 1989, having fulfilled their noble international mission, all the Vietnamese volunteer soldiers withdrew from Cambodia.

In many cities and provinces in the land of Angkor, Vietnam-Cambodia friendship monuments stand as symbols for the gratitude of the two countries’ States, peoples and armies towards heroes, fallen Vietnamese and Cambodian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for independence and freedom of the nations.

Vietnam targets vaccination rate of 95 percent for under-1-year-old children

The health sector aims to have over 95 percent of under-one-year-old children nationwide fully vaccinated in the expanded national immunization programme by 2020, heard a conference in Hanoi on January 7.

Speaking at the event, Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) Dang Duc Anh said the programme will continue to support disadvantaged localities to increase their vaccination rate through improving the capacity of medical staff, and making it easier for the people to access the expanded immunisation service. 

In 2019, the NIHE will promote communication campaigns to raise public awareness of the benefits of full vaccination, and additional vaccination shots so that people can actively take their children to fully vaccinate on schedule.

It will also focus on popularise knowledge about monitoring and taking care of children after vaccination in the community, Anh said.

The conference heard that 2018 was the 18th year that Vietnam had successfully protected its goal to eliminate polio, and the 13th year the country had maintained the achievement of removing neonatal tetanus nationwide. 

Measles outbreaks were controlled, while the number of rubella was low in the year. 

The institute has successfully implemented a new vaccine called inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) into the programme under the support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). Since September 2018, the IPV has been used at all health stations of communes and wards. Around 297,390 children across the country have been given this vaccine. 

It has also successfully used measles-rubella vaccine produced by Vietnam, instead imported ones for 18-month-old children from April 2018, and provided the 5-in-1 ComBe Five vaccine for under-one-year-old children across the country from December 2018.

The vaccination of hepatitis B for newborns within 24 hours in many localities has been promoted with more active participation of hospitals. The model has been also expanded to some mountainous and remote areas, contributing to maintaining the rate of hepatitis B vaccination for newborn babies at over 70 percent in the first 11 months of 2018.

Attention was also paid to activities of vaccination against measles-rubella and diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus for 18-month-old children, and tetanus vaccination for pregnant women. 

The national immunisation information management system has been deployed nationwide since June 2017.  So far, 11,183 (or 99 percent) of medical stations across the country applied the system to manage individual immunisation status. In 2018, more than 1.7 million children were registered on the system to store personal vaccination information, facilitating the management of vaccination at the local level.

Major drug case busted in Thanh Hoa province

Police from the north-central province of Thanh Hoa have arrested two men attempting to traffick 17,133 synthetic drug pills and two kilograms of methamphetamine.

The arrestees are Bui Khac Tho, born in 1980 and residing in Tinh Gia district of Thanh Hoa; and Nguyen Dinh Tho, born in 1996 and from Ky Anh district of central Ha Tinh province.

They were seized by the police on January 6 while transporting the drugs by car.

This is the biggest case that has been discovered in the province.

2019 - a year of breakthroughs in administrative reform for HCM City

Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan at the meeting with the press 

The year 2019 will be a year of breakthroughs in administrative reform in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Meeting with the press on January 8, Nhan said accelerating administrative reform is key to realizing this year’s socio-economic development goals.

He said that all districts, wards and communes must publicise administrative procedures, striving to provide 30-40 percent of public services at level-3 and level-4 category which means people, businesses and management units can perform administrative formalities, submit documents and receive results online.

As satisfaction of citizens and businesses measures the efficiency of administrative reform, authorities at all levels will enhance inspections on the work, he added.

The city is working to cut compensation, resettlement and land clearance procedures, and will ask the Government for permission to pilot the programme, aiming to protect the rights of citizens and investors, Nhan said.

In response to questions on city development, Nhan said municipal leaders have made efforts to build smart urban areas, with the project “building Ho Chi Minh City into a smart city during 2017-2020 with vision towards 2025” focusing on construction of four “core centres”, namely a socio-economic simulation and forecast centre, an information safety centre and a shared database and open database eco-system centre.

Also, he added that implementing a National Assembly resolution on piloting special mechanisms and policies to bolster the development of the city has brought positive results, improving the working efficiency of local staff, streamlining state apparatus and attracting talent to develop the city.

At the event, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said the city will work out various measures to prevent floods and handle arising issues in urban areas.

Health insurance fund to cover several Hepatitis C drugs

A health worker collects a blood sample for a hepatitis C test. 

Several new-generation drugs for hepatitis C treatment will be covered by the health insurance fund as part of a recently-released circular by the Ministry of Health.  

"After consulting with experts and leading hospitals, the health and insurance sector agreed to bring new drugs for hepatitis C treatment into the list of medicine covered by health insurance fund,” said Director of the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, Prof. Nguyễn Văn Kính.

Kính said that the new medications help shorten treatment duration because they are effective and have fewer side effects.

“The inclusion of new drugs to treat hepatitis C on the list covered by health insurance opens more opportunities for Vietnamese patients to access advanced treatments," Kính said.

The health ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department’s deputy director Nguyễn Trọng Khoa said Việt Nam ranks 4th in the world in terms of mortality from liver cancer. The country has about 1 million people infected with the hepatitis C virus and 10 million infected with hepatitis B, so the community’s need for treatment services is increasing day by day.

"The practice is an important milestone to achieve the goal to eliminate hepatitis by 2030 and reduce the burden of liver diseases in Việt Nam,” said Khoa. “Hepatitis C and hepatitis B are the main causes of liver diseases in Việt Nam.”

Antiviral medicines can cure more than 95 per cent of people with hepatitis C, thereby reducing the risk of death from liver cancer and cirrhosis, but access to diagnosis and treatment is low, according to Khoa.

Khoa said the ministry also worked with foreign pharmaceutical companies to franchise drug production and boost production in Việt Nam at a cheaper price, creating favourable conditions for patients to access treatments for liver diseases.

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus, according to the World Health Organisation.

The health body stated that some 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C infections globally whereas about 399,000 people die each year from hepatitis C, mostly from cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. 

Hoi An Kumquat tree growers optimistic

People who grow kumquat trees in the central city of Hoi An are busy as the Lunar New Year nears. 

Pham Huu Phuoc in Cam Ha Commune said that the favourable weather condition has helped the kumquat tree to develop well.

“This year, kumquat prices are higher than last year. A kumquat tree is sold at between VND300-900,000. The price is even up to tens of millions of VND for special kinds of kumquat tree,” Phuoc added. 

He revealed that the majority of his kumquat garden has been ordered by traders, while he only keeps the remaining 20 percent for retail or for hire.

Over recent years, the trend to loan out big kumquat trees for Tet decorations has been on the rise.

In 2018, a large number of kumquat trees in Hoi An were damaged due to storms and flooding. This year, the situation is better. 

Dinh Hoai An, a trader from Binh Dinh Province, has visited Hoi An to buy kumquat trees. He said he preferred buying Hoi An kumquat trees as they are often carefully cared for and can live well until four months after Tet.

Mekong Delta chess and Chinese chess champs to start

The Mekong Delta chess and Chinese chess championship is scheduled to start on February 8. — Photo daycovua.vn

The Mekong Delta chess and Chinese chess championship is scheduled to start on February 8 in the Đồng Tháp Province city of Cao Lãnh.

The event will attract the participation of players from 13 provinces including Bình Dương, Bình Phước, Tây Ninh, Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu.

Participants will compete in men’s and women’s individual and team categories in age groups from seven to 15 and in professional events in standard, rapid and blitz categories in a round-robin format.

The event, which aims to select the best players for the national teams, will last until February 13. 

Vinh Phuc spends 4 trillion VND on building new-style rural areas

The northern province of Vinh Phuc is planning to spend more than 4 trillion VND (172.5 million USD) on the national target programme on building new-style rural areas in the 2017-2020 period.

Local authorities have asked competent agencies to enhance the communication work to encourage people’s participation in the programme. The province also strives to ensure the appropriate usage of the programme’s financial sources to prevent losses or wastefulness.

In particular, the implementation of the national target programme must be combined with the development and restructuring of the industrial sector.

Up to 102 out of 112 communes in Vinh Phuc province have been recognised as new-style rural areas after seven years of the programme. Rural infrastructure has been greatly improved, thereby facilitating the province’s agricultural development and improving local people’s living conditions.

In addition, the province is working to help local farmers purchase agricultural machinery to raise economic efficiency and quality of farm produce. 

The National Target Programme on New-style Rural Area Building, initiated by the Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to give a boost to rural regions across the country.

The number of criteria was increased to 20 in 2015 and includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values.

By the end of 2018, a total of 3,787 communes nationwide, or 42.4 percent, have been recognised as new-style rural areas, representing a year-on-year rise of 8.02 percent. 

In 2019, the target is to raise the percentage of new-style rural areas to about 48-50 percent of total communes. At least 10 more districts are hoped to earn the recognition, while they hope to ensure each commune has completed at least five or more of the criteria.

Vietnam-Cuba friendship school built for Cuban handicapped children

School children in Cuba. Illustrative image 

A Vietnam-Cuba friendship school has been inaugurated in Santiago city, Santiago de Cuba province of Cuba for children with physical disability on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Cuban Revolution (January 1).

The school is located in Villa Elvira, an ancient building recognized as a national architectural relic site of Cuba.

Speaking on Manbi broadcast channel of Santiago, Director of the provincial Education Department Raul Savon Soto said that the debut of the school is the realisation of a long-time dream, as Cuba previously has only one facility of its kind in Havana.

The school is expected to welcome 120 children studying in different levels from pre-school to ninth grade. Of the students, 76 will be full boarders.

Since 1960s, many works of Cuba, including buildings, residential areas, factories and stadiums and schools, have been named after places or well-known figures of Vietnam. 

Hanoi, the name of the capital city of Vietnam, has also become a popular name among Cuban people born in the 1970s, which reflects the special sentiments that Cuban and Vietnamese people give to each other.

Tien Giang’s tourism sector to take off

Cai Be floating market in Tien Giang province 

A wide range of activities will be organised at the Culture-Sport-Tourism Festival in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang from January 10-14, hoping to create momentum for the local tourism to thrive.

Exhibitions, fairs, cuisine festivals and a forum on tourism startups are scheduled during the event.

According to Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Duc Dam, the locality welcomed more than 2 million visitors in 2018, including 811,000 foreigners, up 8.98 percent and 10.42 percent from the previous year, respectively. More than 992 billion VND (42.79 million USD) was generated from tourism services, equivalent to 109.66 percent of the yearly plan and up 26.19 percent from 2017.

A report from the provincial People’s Committee shows that during 2013-2017, more than 1.9 trillion VND (81.96 million USD) was poured into tourism development. The province witnessed an average tourist growth of 7.95 percent in the five-year period.

As a new feature in the local policy, tourism connection inside and outside the province is part of local authorities’ efforts to promote sustainable tourism development. Tourists have been impressed by new tours linking Cai Be tourism site (Cai Be district) with Tan Phong islet (Cai Lay district) and Binh Hoa Phuoc islet (Vinh Long province), and other waterway tours to An Giang province, Can Tho city and Cambodia.

Tien Giang province is now famous for community-based, cultural, spiritual and health care tourism, with such fascinating destinations as Thoi Son islet, Dong Hoa Hiep ancient village, floating market and traditional craft village in Cai Be district, orchard garden in Tan Phong islet, Dong Thap Muoi ecological conservation area, and Truc Lam Chanh giac monastery.

In 2019, Tien Giang province targets 2.1 million tourists, including 850,000 foreigners, and 1.14 trillion VND (49.19 million USD) in tourism revenue.

Dong Nai remembers victory of southwest border defence war

Nguyen Phu Cuong, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council, presents flowers to participating delegates (Source: nhandan.com.vn)

The southern province of Dong Nai on January 7 held a get-together to mark the 40th anniversary of the victory of the southwest border safeguarding war and  the Vietnam-Cambodia joint victory over the genocidal regime.

Attending the event were Nguyen Phu Cuong, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council; Im Hen, Cambodia’s Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City; Cambodian officials and students learning at Nguyen Hue University; and nearly 500 veterans and experts who directly helped Cambodians escape from the genocidal regime.

Delegates recalled memories of the southwest border defence war as well as the fight with Cambodian people to overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime.

They affirmed that to promote the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia, Dong Nai has set up close twining ties with Cambodia’s Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham provinces.

At the function, Im Hen stressed that together with people across Vietnam, the armed forces and experts from Dong Nai province made great contributions to helping Cambodian people escape from the genocidal regime.

At least 1.5 million Tet gift packages for underprivileged

A football and a jersey bearing the signatures of all players and members of the coaching board of the male Vietnam national team who won the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 will be auctioned to raise fund for the poor and AO victims (Source: http://baonhandao.vn)

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) will launch a programme entitled “The Strength of Humanity” on January 13 to call for support to the underprivileged ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, according to VRCS Vice President Tran Thi Hong Anh.

The programme, to be broadcast live on the Vietnam Television, will see the auction of a football and a jersey bearing the signatures of all players and members of the coaching board of the male Vietnam national team who won the AFF Suzuki Cup 2018 recently.

They are gifts that the team presented to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc who handed over them to the VRSC for auction to raise fund for the poor and Agent Orange/dioxin (AO) victims on the occasion of Tet.

Many agencies and enterprises have registered to support the programme, while the chapters of the VRSC in cities and provinces nationwide have also planned to present more than 2 million Tet gifts to the poor and AO victims.

The programme, themed “Tet for the poor and AO victims,” targets to provide at least 1.5 million Tet gifts for the poor, AO victims, policy beneficiaries as well as families affected by natural disasters. The VRCS Central Committee will provide 100,000 Tet gifts worth 7.2 billion VND (309,600 USD) to 42 provinces and cities across the country.

A mobile message campaign has been held as part of the programme to call for support from the society. By texting TET to 1407 from December 15, to February 14, 2019, a mobile service subscriber will contribute 20,000 VND to help the poor.

On the occasion, the VRCS Central Committee will also honour 40 collectives and individuals who have accompanied with the agency in conducting humanitarian and charity activities in 2018.

The “Tet for the poor and AO victims” movement has been launched since 1999. So far, the campaign has raised 6.7 trillion VND (288.1 million USD) to support more than 22 million disadvantaged people and AO victims during the traditional Tet festival.

Hanoi: nearly 400 bln VND for Tet gifts to policy beneficiaries

Hanoi will spend 378.9 billion VND (over 16 million USD) on gifts to 871,790 people on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year 2019, according to the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. 

Accordingly, policy beneficiaries and impoverished households, the elderly, outstanding individuals, and poor workers will receive gifts worth from 300,000 VND (nearly 13 USD) to 2,500,000 VND each.

Additionally, the city will present Tet gifts to 95 organisations which are caring for those who rendered services to the nation revolution, and outstanding business units of wounded and sick soldiers and disabled people in the city, as well as social protection centres. 

Financial support will also be given to those who work during the holiday.

The municipal People’s Committee also assigned the People’s Committees of districts and towns, and heads of relevant agencies to call for donations and assistance from organizations and individuals, thus bringing warm Tet to policy beneficiaries and poor people on the occasion of the longest and biggest annual festival in Vietnam.

Rice seedlings to be sent to Laos after disasters

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to supply 300 tonnes of rice seedlings from the national reserve as a relief aid to help Lao people restore production in the post-natural disaster time. 

The ministry was required to transfer the stock to Laos in accordance with legal regulations. 

Some 82,460 families with 236,188 people in 79 districts of 14 provinces of Laos were affected by floods after tropical storms Son Tinh and Bebinca brought torrential rains from the middle of July to the middle of August.

Flooding caused by the storms left at least 46 dead, 97 missing, and four injured in the neighbouring country.

Restoration of Hue’s Phung Tien palace completed

A corner of Phung Tien palace (Source:laodong.vn)

The restoration of Phung Tien palace, part of the Hue Citadel world heritage site in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, has now been completed with significant German support.

Coordinating on the project together, the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC) and Germany’s Society for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Fulda (GEKE) organised a session on January 7 to hand over the final outcomes.

Accordingly, the project cost a total of nearly 4.3 billion VND (168.614 EUR), of which over 3.4 billion VND (135,873 EUR) was sponsored by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Embassy of Germany in Vietnam, with the rest from Vietnam’s corresponding fund.

The restoration work ran under two phases between September 29, 2017 and December 31, 2018. It employed the fresco-secco technique of painting on dry plaster with pigments mixed in water. The technique helped the project win two third-place prizes at the provincial and national science and technology innovation awards last year.

Along with restoration work, the project also focused on offering advanced technical training to local craftsmen, painters, architects, and engineers, including those from the HMCC.

Constructed under the reign of King Minh Mang in the 19th century, Phung Tien was among the Nguyen dynasty’s five most important palaces. It was used to worship the Nguyen Dynasty kings and their wives. The majority of the palace has gone to ruin over time, apart from the remaining foundation, gates, and some stonework.