Mong culture day kicks off in Ha Giang

Mông women drinking corn wine. 

The Mông Culture Day, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Hà Giang’s People Committee, began yesterday in northern mountainous Hà Giang Province. 

The event aims to promote the traditional culture of the Mông group, one of 54 different ethnic minorities in Việt Nam, with performances by artists from 13 different provinces.

“Preserving the culture of ethnic groups is an important task in the context of modernisation. The event is also a meaningful cultural activity and an opportunity to promote the indigenous culture of Mông people and for the Mông group to showcase their responsibility for traditional culture preservation,” said Nguyễn Văn Bình, Head of the Northwest Steering Committee.

“Mông people in Hà Giang maintain many unique traditional cultural values, making the province an attractive destination for researchers and international and domestic visitors,” said Nguyễn Văn Sơn, Chairman of the Hà Giang People’s Committee.

The culture day occurs on November 19 with various activities including traditional Mông costume and art performances and a space where traditional games, festivals and linen hand woven crafts will be exhibited.

Participating provinces will also prepare some traditional food and drink of Mông people like corn wine, mèn mén (steamed minced corn) and thắng cố (a dish made from horse meat and its organs).

From yesterday, Mông people gathered at the event’s main location, Hà Giang square, to prepare for the event.

Hoàng Văn Sinh, a Mông native in Bắc Kạn province, was invited to perform at the event. 

"Men in the family will make traditional corn wine and women will make traditional costumes at the event. This is a good opportunity to introduce and preserve our traditional food and culture," said Sinh, 70. 

"Corn is a staple in our area. I learned to make corn wine from my father. Normally, we make wine for family use but if someone wants to buy it, we also sell at VNĐ30,000 per litre," said Sinh. 

Giàng Thị Xay from Hà Giang brought her weaving machine to introduce linen weaving. “Most Mông women know to weave linen. We make clothes for the family and recently joined a co-operative to make clothes, bags and purses for sale,” said Xay.

Meanwhile, Sùng Sáu Chính has a booth to exhibit and sell traditional instruments of Mông people which include flute, khèn, traditional bamboo instrument and gậy sinh tiền, an instrument used in traditional festivals and funerals. 

"These instruments were made by my father, who is among very few people carrying on the craft. It takes lots of time and patience so not many young people learn this," said Chính. 

This year’s event is the second of its kind.

Hà Giang, northernmost mountainous province of Việt Nam is home to 19 different ethnic groups. Among them, the Mông group accounts for nearly 33 per cent of Hà Giang’s population.

HCM City steps up Zika virus prevention efforts

Health officials in HCM City have been instructed to take serious measures against the Zika virus in wards and communes that have had no reported Zika cases.

Eight more people had tested positive to the Zika virus, raising the total to 46 as of Thursday, according to the Preventive Health Centre.

Nguyễn Trí Dũng, head of HCM City’s Preventive Health Centre, said that 80 per cent of patients infected with the Zika virus had not shown symptoms such as fever, joint pain or red eyes.

Dũng spoke at a meeting of the Cultural and Social Affairs Board at the city’s People’s Council held this week in Bình Thạnh District, which has had nine Zika cases, and is one of two districts with the highest number of cases in the city.

However, the real number could be higher because many patients infected with the Zika virus do not have symptoms, said Nguyễn Hữu Hưng, the city’s deputy head of the Department of Health.

The district has a total of 140 suspended construction projects, areas which are favourable breeding grounds for mosquitoes. In addition, many water containers in the district contain larvae.

He told district health officials to closely monitor and check the effectiveness of preventive methods.

Nguyễn Hồng Hà, deputy head of the Cultural and Social Affairs Board, said that local authorities and organisations must take serious steps to prevent the spread of the virus.

Bình Thạnh District has a total of 45 women who are three months pregnant and need close surveillance.

Family medical clinics needed: officials

The HCM City Department of Health plans to create the best conditions for the private sector to open more family medical clinics to provide comprehensive primary healthcare service to residents.

The deputy head of the health department, Nguyễn Hữu Hưng, said that family medical clinics had been located in only 13 six private facilities in the last three years.

Hưng spoke at an international family medicine conference held yesterday in the city by the department and Phạm Ngọc Thạch University of Medicine. 

Family medical clinics are included in 20 out 23 district hospitals in the city, and in 191 out of 319 commune and ward-based health centres, but they “have not attracted a lot of patients,” he said.  

The clinics in wards and communes in districts 2, Thủ Đức and Tân Phú have seen an increase of patients since the beginning of this year.

More doctors from district hospitals are working for short periods and training medical staff at clinics, which has increased confidence among patients.

“This helps improve treatment capacity of doctors and gains trust from local residents,” Hưng said.

All the clinics at district hospitals, ward or commune-based health centres as well as private facilities have treated 652,261 patients and provided emergency aid to 922 people. They have performed surgery on 5,845 patients.

To increase quality, the department plans to provide sufficient equipment and training, especially to clinics at ward- or commune-based health centres, Hưng said.

“All health centres in the city’s wards and communes will have a family medical centre by 2020,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Health, 332 family medicine clinics had been set up in eight provinces and cities as of June.

By 2020, 50 of 63 provinces and cities in the country are expected to have such clinics, the ministry said.

Deputy Minister of Health Phạm Lê Tuấn said the health system was striving to reach the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

However, public hospital facilities have faced patient overcrowding, Tuấn said, adding that “many of them provide healthcare services of limited quality”.

The country, which has an aging population, "has seen an upward trend of non-communicable diseases," he said.

Developing family medical clinics is “the proper method” for helping solve these challenges, he added.

According to Professor Michael Kidd, executive dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Flinders University in Australia and president of World Organisation of Family Doctors, seniors need an accessible place to go to for medical care.

They have many health problems such as stomach ulcers, chronic pain and hearing impairment.

Family medical clinics at grassroots health facilities could help solve this inaccessibility, he said. The clinic staff could provide comprehensive healthcare services to seniors and detect functional impairments as well as other health problems.  

PM urges Hoa Binh to improve investment environment

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged the northern province of Hoa Binh to further improve its investment environment in order to attract investors.

Addressing a local investment promotion conference on November 19, the PM said Hoa Binh enjoys many comparative advantages, such as its location at the gateway to the capital city and part of the Hanoi capital region master plan, beautiful natural landscape, rich culture and potential in construction materials, mining, hi-quality agro-fishery processing, resort and eco-tourism.

However, most investment projects in the locality are of small scale, he said, calling on investors to explore opportunities in Hoa Binh, particularly in the tourism sector. 

Hoa Binh officials affirmed their resolve to build an open and transparent business and environment, and expressed the wish to attract investment in infrastructure, hi-tech industry and agriculture, support industry, health care, education, tourism and trade.

In the first 10 months of this year, the province licensed 39 projects, including one foreign-invested project worth 3 million USD and 38 domestic ones capitalising at nearly 4.6 trillion VND (208.5 million USD). 

During a working session with local authorities earlier the same day, PM Phuc recommended that Hoa Binh pays attention to organic agriculture and tourism, considering the province’s natural advantages.

As the rate of local poor households remains high, up to 24 percent, he requested speeding up poverty reduction, fight the trafficking of drugs, and prevent wastefulness in the use of State assets and budget. 

The leader also called for pooling public resources into infrastructure so as to ease pressure on the State budget. 

Local authorities proposed the Defence Ministry consider the launch of a hydroplane service from Noi Bai international airport to Hoa Binh lake, which is expected to give a boost to local tourism. 

The same day, the PM attended the great national unity festival in Dan Chu commune, Hoa Binh city.

Friendship associations work to cement Vietnam-Lao relations

Chairmen of Vietnamese and Lao friendship associations held talks in Hanoi on November 19 on furthering their coordination to strengthen the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

Chairman of the Vietnam – Laos Friendship Association Tran Van Tuy and Chairman of the Laos – Vietnam Friendship Association Vilayvong Bouddakham highlighted the bilateral faithful relations which were nurtured by generations of Vietnamese and Lao Party and State’ leaders and peoples.

They informed each other on the socio-economic situation as well as recent friendship activities in their respective countries.

The two sides agreed to focus on the celebration of significant events in 2017 such as the 55 th founding anniversary of Vietnam – Laos diplomatic ties (September 5, 1962) and the 40 years of signing the Vietnam – Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (September 18, 1977).

They suggested increasing communication campaigns about the special friendship and comprehensive collaboration between Vietnam and Laos, with a focus on young people.

The two associations agreed to co-organise the fourth Laos – Vietnam People’s Friendship Festival in Laos in 2017, and jointly publish a special publication on the bilateral rapports in June the same year.

Activities held in response to Word Toilet Day

A meeting accompanied by a series of activities was held in Hanoi on November 19 in response to the World Toilet Day by the Ministry of Health, Vietnam Youth Federation and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). 

According to Nguyen Thi Lien Huong, Director of the Health Environment Management Agency (under the Health Ministry), environmental sanitation and hygiene in Vietnam’s rural areas remain poor despite great improvements in living standards thanks to rapid economic development over the past years. 

Huong said only 65 percent of households in rural areas had standard toilets as of the end of 2015, and more than five million people still continue to defecate openly. In the Mekong Delta region, many fish ponds are used as toilets. 

Meanwhile many schools, offices and public areas lack toilets, and those existing facilities are often sub-standard, affecting studying and working conditions and service quality as well as economic development, she added. 

Poor public awareness and lack of attention on the part of local authorities are the main reasons behind the lack of sanitation facilities. 

Huong urged ministries, localities and schools to boost popularisation of the importance of standard toilets among the public. 

An UNICEF representative told the meeting that about one third of child deaths in Vietnam are linked to malnutrition, which is related to diarrhoea and parasitic worms caused by poor sanitation condition. 

A show of standard toilets and a run to promote hygienic toilets for children took place at the meeting, attracting the participation of over 3,000 people.

Vietnam Red Cross Society celebrates 70th anniversary

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) hosted a ceremony in Hanoi on November 19 to celebrate its 70th founding anniversary (November 23). 

Speaking at the event, VRCS Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu recalled that VRCS is Vietnam’s first professional humanitarian organisation in Vietnam. 

The VRCS was founded on November 23, 1946 by President Ho Chi Minh, who was also its honorary president until his death in 1969. 

On November 4, 1957, the VRCS was recognised as a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), opening up a new charter in the development of ties with organisations in and outside the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 

During the renovation period, the organisation has been active with many large-scale humanitarian initiatives. Since 2008, it has raised nearly 115 million USD for the needy. The campaign “New Year for the poor and Agent Orange victims” presents gifts worth 500 billion VND (22.7 million USD) to 1.8 million people each year. 

The “cow bank” project, launched in 2010, has handed over around 20,000 cows to 20,000 households in 61 cities and provinces at a total cost of approximately 10 million USD. 

Over the past decade, VRCS’s chapters have raised nearly 225 million USD, given support to 22.2 million disaster-hit victims, and collected 1 million units of blood each year in the voluntary blood donation campaign. 

On the occasion, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan presented Labour Order, second class, to the VRCS in recognition of its dedication to humanitarian cause. 

It was the second time the VRCS has been honoured with the distinction.

Asian-Pacific news agencies discuss modern media challenges

Challenges facing the modern media and how to cope with them were the focus of discussion at the November 18 discussion at the 16th General Assembly of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Baku, Azerbaijan . 

Opening the event, OANA President Setgei Mikhaylov, who is also head of the Russian news agency TASS, stressed that OANA members have work dedicatedly in modernising their shared website, updating news on social networks such as Facebook and Google+, encouraging initiatives and solutions to reform and development through OANA awards, and establishing a set of common rules on news coverage and editing. 

New agencies are now under the strong impacts of d igital technologies, which have brought about changes in methods to provide information to the audience as well as in the public’s access to information, General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Nguyen Duc Loi said. 

He stressed that a dapting to and leading new trends in modern communications are vital to news agencies, which will require big investment in operation overhaul, human resource rearrangement and technological infrastructure. 

Measures to overcome the challenges proposed by the VNA General Director included offering around-the-clock news services based on multimedia platforms. 

Other reports discussed a number of issues such as artificial intelligence and cooperation among news agencies in covering global events. 

The General Assembly also elected the President, Vice President and a 12-member Executive Board for the 2016-2019 tenure. The Azerbaijan News Agency was elected OANA President, while the Vice President posts were held by TASS, Xinhua (China), AA (Turkey), and Yonhap (the Republic of Korea). The VNA was re-elected to the executive board. 

On the sidelines of the 16th OANA General Assembly, the OANA award for quality media products was announced, with TASS’s information quality control system winning the prize. 

VNA’s RapNewsPlus, which report news in the form of rap songs, was ranked second among all nominations. 

OANA was set up in 1961 as an initiative of the UNESCO with the goal of promoting direct and free information sharing among news agencies in the Asia-Pacific, a region with dynamic economic development and more than half of the world population. 

The organisation now has 43 news agency members from 35 countries, supplying aroung 70 percent of the total amount of information circulated around the world each day. 

Earlier, the fifth News Agencies World Congress took place in Baku, Azerbaijan on November 16-17.

Japan helps Yen Bai develop rural areas

A delegation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had a working session with Yen Bai authorities on November 18 on the pace of a pilot rural development programme launched in the northern mountainous province since May. 

It was reported at the function that based on guidelines provided by the JICA, Yen Bai has so far established 16 models on intensive farming of rice, corn and soybean in Van Yen, Luc Yen and Yen Binh districts. At these facilities, 56 technical training classes have been held for more than 2,000 local households. 

Of the 18 irrigation and transport sub-projects, two have been underway in Van Yen and Van Chan districts. 

Communications campaigns on anti-human trafficking and healthcare for mothers and children have also been implemented. 

At the working session, local authorities and JICA agreed to set up three teams to inspect the implementation of farming promotion, infrastructure projects and social activities under the programme. The teams will then submit reports to the JICA and the Ministry and Agriculture and Rural Development. 

Earlier, JICA sponsored a similar programme in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien from 2010 to 2015. The programme succeeded in boosting local farming capacity. Based on this experience, Dien Bien had complied a detailed farming handbook. 

The programme is now expanded to five localities with geographical features similar to Dien Bien, which are Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Son La and Lai Chau. The five provinces have been using the Dien Bien handbook to replicate the farming models. If their outcomes prove effective, they will receive further investment from JICA.

Social Policy Bank helps build over 8.7 million sanitation facilities

The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) has helped build more than 8.7 million clean water and sanitation facilities for family use in the past 12 years under its credit programme designed for the purpose. 

The bank said as of the end of October this year, total loans under the programme came to 40.5 trillion VND (1.8 billion USD) with more than five million customers. 

The bank has collected 16.9 trillion VND (760 million USD) in debt payment, while overdue debts stood at 37 billion VND, or 0.16 percent. 

The credit programme was first piloted in 10 provinces – Son La, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Dak Lak, Tien Giang, Kien Giang from 2004 to 2005. 

It was then expanded to all provinces and cities. 

Under the programme, rural households can borrow a maximum six million VND (270 USD) to upgrade or build clean water and sanitation facilities. The current interest rate for such loans is 0.75 percent per month. 

The national strategy on clean water and environmental sanitation in rural areas approved on August 25, 2000 set the target that all rural residents will have at least 60 litres of clean water meeting national standards per day and access to sanitary toilets by 2020.

Vietnamese lacquer paintings displayed in Germany

International art lovers get an insight into the development of the Vietnamese lacquer painting art when visiting an exhibition underway at Fahrbereitschaft exhibition house in Lichtenberg district, Germany’s Berlin. 

The lacquer paintings on display are drawn by generations of Vietnamese artists such as Tran Van Can, Nguyen Tu Nghiem, Nguyen Sang and Phan Ke Anh. 

Addressing the opening ceremony on November 17, Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), said the exhibition aims to introduce Vietnamese lacquer paintings and culture in general to friends from Germany and other country, thus helping promoting cooperation between Vietnam and Germany, including culture and tourism collaboration.

Echoing’s Thanh view, Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany Le Thi Thu said the exhibition offers an opportunity for Germans to understand more about the land and people of Vietnam. 

Axel Haubrok, Fahrbereitschaft Director, said the paintings are attractive to visitors as they are different from other works showcased at the exhibition house. 

The exhibition, jointly held by the MCST and the Vietnamese Embassy, will run through November 24.

Project looks to improve reproductive health services for youths

Health experts gathered at a workshop in Hanoi on November 17 to discuss a draft project designed to improve the population situation, reproductive health and family planning services for adolescents and youths. 

Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy Head of the General Office for Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health, said adolescents and youths make up nearly 24 percent of the country’s total population, equivalent to over 22 million people. 

He noted that his office has enacted a number of measures to provide pre-marital consultations and medical check-ups, and reduce child and consanguineous marriages among ethnic minority groups while offering healthcare services for young workers at industrial parks. 

However, the outcomes remains limited, he said, adding that the building of the project is needed to increase knowledge, awareness and behaviour of youngsters in the field. 

Chief Representative of the UN Population Fund in Vietnam Astrid Bant stressed that most of Vietnamese young people lack fundamental knowledge about reproductive and sexual health. 

One-third of the youngsters are facing difficulties in gaining access to relevant services, which leads to unsafe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and abortion. 

The project should ensure the access to necessary reproductive and sexual health services for all juveniles and youngsters in urban, rural and ethnic minority-inhabited areas as well as HIV-infected and homosexual groups. 

The draft project sets a target of reducing 50 percent of youngsters with unplanned pregnancy and increasing the number of centres providing reproductive health services for young people to 75 percent by 2020.

Cà Mau farmers bet on blue-clawed prawns

Farmers in Cà Mau Province have begun to breed a new batch of blue-clawed prawns in rice fields, according to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Thới Bình, U Minh and Cái Nước districts and Cà Mau city are estimated to have 12,000ha of rice fields where the prawn is farmed.

Thới Bình alone accounts for nearly 10,800ha, up 3,000ha from last year.

The model of farming blue-clawed prawns in rice fields has fetched large profits in recent years.

Trần Văn Phước in Thới Bình’s Biển Bạch Đông Commune said he began breeding the prawn in 2014.

In his first crop he had 3,000 prawns per hectare and earned a profit of nearly VNĐ20 million (US$900) after three months.

The crustaceans are easy to breed, and their harvest time depends on the tending, according to the farmer.  

If they are given additional food, they can be harvested after 85-95 days of breeding.

Nguyễn Phi Thoàn, deputy chairman of the Biển Bạch Đông Commune People’s Committee, said past success persuaded many farmers to expand their prawn farming areas this year.

In his commune it has increased by 600ha to 2,200ha, the largest blue-clawed prawn breeding area in the district.

Nguyễn Hoàng Lâm, head of the Thới Bình Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the model of intercropping blue-clawed prawn in rice fields had been assessed as effective and sustainable since there had been no disease outbreaks.

The average yield is 150-220 kilogrammes per hectare. At VNĐ130,000-150,000 ($5.9 – 6.8) per kilogramme, farmers earn a profit of VNĐ20-30 million ($900- 1,400) per hectare, Lâm said.

Thới Bình has recommended that farmers should expand blue-legged prawn farming areas, he said.

Cà Mau Province, the country’s largest shrimp producer, has developed various shrimp-farming models that offer high yields and are sustainable, according to its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The models include advanced extensive farming, industrial farming, rotating shrimp and rice in rice fields and breeding shrimp in submerged forests.  

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has more than 175,800ha devoted to shrimp farming, with advanced extensive farming accounting for the largest area of 85,099ha.

The average yield is 540 kilogrammes.

Cà Mau plans to rotate rice and shrimp on 50,960ha this year. But farmers have bred shrimp on only around 30,000ha because of the drought and high salinity earlier this year.

Under the model, in the dry season farmers allow saltwater to enter their fields to breed shrimp before switching to rice in the rainy season.

To sustainably develop shrimp farming, Cà Mau has adopted many comprehensive measures like reviewing farming schedules and identifying shrimp species suitable for breeding and meeting the market’s needs.

It has also stepped up inspection of shrimp feed and breeding pairs and provided advanced training to farmers.

It has also advocated expansion of effective shrimp farming models.

Currently the province’s key varieties are black-tiger shrimp and white-legged shrimp.

Last month the Government decided to develop Cà Mau into one of the country’s largest shrimp producers with advanced farming techniques to produce clean shrimp with high competitiveness at home and abroad.

Hà Nội meet promotes pedal power

"The role of bicycle transportation in the city and international experiment exchange and how to apply it in Việt Nam" was the theme of an international seminar as part of the ongoing 5th Vietnam International Bicycle Exhibition or Vietnam Cycle 2016 held in Hà Nội.

The event, which took place on Thursday, showed the Government’s interest in using bicycles in transport development, said Vice Chairman of the Việt Nam Auto, Motorcycle and Bicycle Association Nguyễn Hữu Sơn.

At the seminar, Lionel Bayard, Export and Marketing Manager of France’s Peugeot Cycles shared the experience of the French government in encouraging citizens to use bicycles.

France reduced taxes for those who cycle to work, offered free bicycles or assistance on bicycle routes and required new buildings to provide bicycle parking, he said.

A pilot project on public bicycles in Hà Nội, BK-BIKE, was introduced at the event.

Phạm Tuấn Hiệp, Director of BK-BIKE, said the project will pilot bicycle renting stations at the Hà Nội University of Science and Technology in 2016.

It is expected to test replacing motorbikes in the next two years with 1,500 bicycles and 50 public transport stations. The project will be expanded to Hà Nội’s central districts with 400 stations and 12,000 bicycles by 2020.

Nguyễn Huy Tiến, Deputy Head of Environment Department under the Ministry of Transport, suggested launching policies to upgrade infrastructure for bicycles.

Programmes and campaigns on using bicycles among the public should be implemented with government institutes as pioneers, he said

The Vietnam Cycle 2016 features 150 booths of 50 manufacturers from the United Kingdom, France, Italia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and Việt Nam.

The exhibition brings together various domestic and international brands such as Thống Nhất, Bamboo Bike, Việt Long, Giant, Galaxy and Phoenix.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Sơn said that the event aimed to increase the use of bicycles and promote green energy in big cities.

It would also offer a chance for businesses to promote trade and seek distributors, he said.

Work on key infrastructure project begins in Long An

Work to upgrade and widen Routes No. 830 and 824 linking Đức Hòa and Bến Lức districts in Long An Province began on November 17 on a build-operate-transfer basis.

It is one of the province’s three key projects and the first to be built in BOT mode.

To be done by a consortium comprising Bamboo Capital JSC and Băng Dương Trade-Construction-Investment Co. Ltd, the 24km long project is projected to cost VNĐ1.079 trillion (US$48.4 million) and be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The investors can collect toll for 18 years and five months.

Once completed the roads will connect industrial parks with National Highway 1A and the Long An International Port, facilitating transport of goods from the province to other southern provinces and generally promoting economic and social development.

To mark the occasion, the BCG-Băng Dương consortium donated two houses each worth VNĐ40 million ($1,793) to needy families in Đức Hòa and Bến Lức districts.

One killed, four injured in power substation explosion

One person was killed and four others were injured after a power substation exploded in the capital city yesterday.

The accident occurred at around 2:50pm on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street in Hà Đông District, causing many people to run off in a panic.

Vũ Ích, a local resident who witnessed the accident, said after the explosion, the power substation was ablaze, and the fire spread to a street vendor nearby.

He saw a man on fire running away from the scene. 

 “He rolled over on the ground several times until local residents doused him with water to put out the flames,” Ích told zingnews.vn

Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, a 57-year-old tea vendor, and her husband, Vũ Đình Thái, 63, suffered serious burns.

Two other residents who had been drinking tea at the vendor’s stall also suffered minor injuries.

Firefighters arrived quickly at the scene, and all the injured people were transported to the hospital for treatment.

Thái was pronounced dead at the hospital today, having succumbed to his severe burns.

According to Hà Nội Power Company, who is in charge of electricity management in Hà Đông District, an oil leak at the substation may have caused the explosion.

An investigation into the incident is underway.

Water-improvement programme targets 30,000 drought-hit residents

The United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) and Việt Nam Red Cross signed a co-operation agreement to improve drinking water and hygiene for areas suffering severe drought and saltwater intrusion.

The agreement, signed this morning, is worth VNĐ3 billion (US$125,000).

Some 30,000 people including 10,000 students and 15,000 women are expected to benefit from the assistance, which is applicable from now until next February in six provinces of Bến Tre, Bình Thuận, Ninh Thuận and Sóc Trăng, as well as Kon Tum and Gia Lai.

The assistance programme will focus on strengthening the management of rehabilitation initiatives and building resilience against droughts and saline intrusion in the project areas. It will also help strengthen human resources for community-based disaster risk management and promote communication on clean water and environmental hygiene in schools, families and communities in the area.

“Children are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which carries a potential risk to their health, so UNICEF has provided emergency support in co-operation with the government in response to the drought and salt water intrusion in Việt Nam since August 2016,” said Jesper Moller, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Việt Nam.

President of Việt Nam Red Cross Nguyễn Thị Xuân Thu said this was the first time UNICEF and the organisation had directly signed an emergency response agreement, even though UNICEF has co-operated with Việt Nam’s government since 1975.

She said she welcomed this development.

The signing of the co-operation agreement marks an important milestone in providing support to the children affected by the drought and salt water intrusion crisis, maximising the role of both organisations in facilitating an emergency response. UNICEF and the Việt Nam Red Cross will partner to deliver emergency responses across a total of 24 schools and 12 communes over the next four months, in close collaboration with their national partners and local governments.

This partnership has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the government of Japan, which made a $2.5 million contribution to UNICEF for the emergency response to improve the well-being of women and children in the affected areas.