School healthcare improves, still faces problems: forum

The number of medical workers in schools nationwide had doubled in the past five years, but students' healthcare remains an issue to both public health and education sectors, heard a conference yesterday in Ha Noi.

The conference, which reviewed the implementation of a prime ministerial instruction issued in 2006 on enhancing medical work in schools, showed that the rate of medical workers at pre-schools and high schools had increased from 17 per cent in 2006 to 37 per cent this year.

The number of high schools facilitated with a medical room had also slightly increased from 47 per cent to 52 per cent, while vocational schools increased from 56 per cent to 70 per cent.

Many healthcare campaigns addressing anti-infectious diseases and food safety were reported to be successful, helping raise the awareness of students in personal hygiene and disease prevention.

However, healthcare work for nearly 25 million students studying at 36,000 schools at all levels nationwide remained problems, heard the conference.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicated that up to one fourth of Vietnamese students were physically stunted and those in good health only accounted for 69 per cent. Other health problems included obesity for those in urban areas, eyesight problems and curved spinal columns. Some problems of modern society including mental, emotional and behavioural disorders, and gaming addictions had also affected students.

Reports also revealed that only half of schools with medical rooms met space requirements, while 93 per cent of schools were equipped with essential medical equipment, but just 44 per cent had a first-aid kit.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy said further improvement of medical facilities in schools was indispensable in the education development strategy of 2011-20.

Man with hemorrhoid suffers more pain at Chinese clinic

A man in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, went to a Chinese clinic for hemorrhoid treatment but suffered great pain for a week after a painful surgery for which he had to pay VND31 million (US$1,475), three times higher than in a State-owned hospital.

He later had to seek help from the HCMC Medicine and Pharmacy University Hospital, where doctors diagnosed him to suffer anal pain after the surgery and gave him some medicines. Several days after taking the medicines, he was not painful anymore and could travel normally.

In his complaint to VietNamNet, D.Q.P, a businessman, said he decided to go to the Hue Ha Clinic at 8B Ly Thuong Kiet Street, District 5, to have his disease treated on October 29 after watching an ad on TV.

He said he was very impressed with the ad that said, “A patient with hemorrhoid can travel normally just 15 minutes after surgery.”

At the clinic, a Chinese doctor told P. through an interpreter that he needed a surgery and would recover 15 minutes after the operation and could move around normally.

P. was asked to pay VND1.9 million for examination fees and VND15 million for the cost of operation by the Longo technique.

After the surgery, P. was given some transfusions and injections that cost him VND2.7 million but could not leave the clinic until 3 hours later due to heavy pain and anal bleeding.

The next morning, P. returned to the clinic in pain and another Chinese doctor examined him perfunctorily and asked him to pay VND3.7 million for transfusion and treatment with an infrared ray.

On November 1, he again came back to the clinic and was once again asked to pay the same amount for the same treatment.

On his third trip back to the clinic one day later, he was asked to pay VND4.1 million for treatment with an infrared ray. This time, a Chinese doctor prescribed 4 kinds of medicines and said, “After taking all the medicines, you will recover. If not, we will return your money.”

Two days later, P.’s condition remained unchanged and he decided to stop taking the medicines and went to the HCMC Medicine and Pharmacy University Hospital.

P. showed VietNamNet many prescriptions and test results that were all in Chinese, except for his name, a practice that violated Article 23 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment.

P. also said the clinic did not make any commitment about the possible result of the treatment before the surgery, but five days after that, it asked him to sign a treatment contract with some articles that put him at a disadvantage.

Talking with the press several days ago, the clinic said it would correct the practice of prescribing in Chinese. It also said it would return the cost of treatment to P.

Regarding the cost, a State-owned hospital charges just 8-10 million for the same surgery using the same method Hue Ha performed on P.

Men hospitalized after drinking challenge

Four men in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang challenged each other to finish 10 liters of rice alcohol in a party last Tuesday and later were hospitalized under serious conditions.

Nguyen Van Me (62), Nguyen Van Duc (61), Nguyen Van Giau (49) and Nguyen Van Son (48), who were relatives, met for their uncle’s death anniversary on Tuesday morning.

They then challenged each other to finish 10 liters of rice alcohol in big mugs.

After finishing the amount, the men went back to their houses.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Van, Me’s wife, said her husband went back home with a pale face and soon went into a coma.

Others also had syndromes such as vomiting and losing consciousness.

They were all taken to An Giang Central General Hospital.

Me and Giau, who were in the most serious conditions among the four, had blood purification and were put on a drip.

The four men all recovered on Thursday.

Within a month, there have been 2 alcohol toxicity cases in An Giang, causing 2 dead and 62 hospitalized.

13-month old boy die after falling in bucket

13-month old Nguyen Lam Nguyen Khanh in Rach Gia City, the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang died after falling into a 25-liter bucket in his school’s bathroom at 4pm last Wednesday.

According to initial information, after giving Khanh a bath, Tran Thi Thuy Dung, his main teacher at Childcare center in Hanh Phuoc private primary school handed him to substitute teacher Do Thi Nhung and nursemaid Huynh Thi Thao.

Nhung and Thao were busy running errands and did not notice Khanh.

On discovering that he had disappeared, the two went searching for him to find the 13-month old boy dead in the bathroom.

Police believe that Khanh climbed face-first into a 25 liter bucket of water and died from suffocation.

Senior lieutenant colonel Phan Buu Duong, head of Rach Gia police said they still continue to investigate causes of Khanh’s death.

Ex-HCMC Party leader dies at 84

Vo Tran Chi, a former Politburo member and Secretary of the HCM City Party's Committee, died on Wednesday at the age of 84 after a long-term illness, announced the Party's Central Committee yesterday.

Chi devoted 60 years to revolutionary activities and was bestowed the Ho Chi Minh Order, the second highest national order.

A State-level funeral will be held today in HCM City.

Son-burning father gets 20 years in jail

Thanh Hoa Province People’s Court yesterday sentenced 31-year-old Vu Van Quang to 20 years imprisonment for burning his 3-year-old son Vu Quoc Linh with petrol last April.

Quang, who was arrested on April 28, was charged with murder according to Article 93 of the Penal Code, the court said.

The court ordered him to pay the victim VND62 million (US$2,950) in compensation.

Many people who attended the trial donated money to Linh, who has suffered a bodily injury rate of 86 percent, according to the result of forensic tests.

According to the indictment issued by the People’s Procuracy of Thanh Hoa Province, after failing to talk Quang out of gambling, his wife, Nguyen Thi Ha, 27, left him to return to her mother’s house in Nong Cong district’s Te Tan commune.

She then filed a petition for divorce and despite much effort the district People’s Committee failed to reconcile them.

On April 27, Quang drove Linh to the commune to see Ha, hoping to persuade her to withdraw her petition for divorce. On the way to his mother-in-law’s house, he bought 2 liters of petrol.

Not finding Ha there and after getting into an angry quarrel with her relatives, he doused his son with gasoline and set the boy on fire.

He then ran away from the scene but was arrested later the same day.

Ha’s brother, Dong, witnessed Quang’s actions, so he immediately dipped Linh into a pond nearby and took him to hospital.

Linh was hospitalized in critical conditions, with 40 percent of his body severely burnt, said Dr. Hoang Thi Kim Thanh, deputy director of the hospital.

Hundreds of households in fear of leech attack

Hundreds of households in Hoc Mon District's Tan Xuan Commune are living in fear of a leech attack after the slippery creatures found a way into local pipelines following heavy rain.

Local residents said the leeches had escaped from a nearby breeding facility, because the drainage system had not been upgraded to cope with the increasing number of new houses.

A thousand metres of land are submerged in water, which is an ideal environment for leeches to flourish.

Although the situation has been reported to local authorities, there has been no response.

Communication programme boosts cancer awareness

Health experts have called on the community to take action against cancer at the launch for a communication programme for the prevention of the disease in women.

Organized by the Hanoi-based Cancer Hospital (K-hospital), the World Health Organization and the Canadian Health Bridge Organization, the programme aims to strengthen community awareness of cancer prevention, especially among groups of women with a high risk of developing breast and cervical cancers.

“Most cancers can be prevented and cured. A joining together by the whole community could minimize cancer's burden on society,” said the K Hospital Director, Bui Dieu.

The communication programme should raise community awareness and develop good habits for cancer prevention, he said. This information should encourage people to seek medical attention for cancer detection and treatment at the first sign of a problem.

The Health Ministry’s recent statistics show that Vietnam has around 150,000 new cancer cases annually. About half of the patients are women and 75,000 of the total die from the disease.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 12.6 million new cancer cases globally each year, including more than 6 million cases in women.

Further developing the capital city

The Hanoi municipal Party and administration committees as well as citizens are very active in the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 15.

The statement was made by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at a meeting with the municipal Party Committee to review the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 15 on Hanoi development orientations and tasks in the 2001-2010 period.

He said the capital’s constant socio-economic growth has greatly contributed to the cause of national development. In the background of political stability and social security Hanoi well deserves to be a cultural, scientific, educational and economic centre of the country.

Mr Trong pointed out the capital’s remaining problems such as weak urban planning, low management capacity and limited coordination with other provinces.

He urged Hanoi to pick up slack and forecast changes in the next 5-10 years. It must try its best to fulfill all major targets for industrialization and modernization 1 or 2 years ahead of time, he said.

For its part, the Politburo will continue to direct relevant agencies to quickly complete and submit the Law on Capital City to the National Assembly for approval and to establish a steering board for the Red River Delta. In addition, the Central government will assist the capital city in urban management, investment, and finance by instructing other localities to coordinate well with it in the implementation of the Politburo’s resolution on Hanoi’s plan for socio-economic development until 2020 with a vision for 2030.

Ten years after implementing the resolution, Hanoi has increased its annual average GDP by 10.85 percent, 1.5 times higher than the national average level. It has also made significant progress in urban construction, trade, industry and services, and has constantly improved the living standards of local people.

Hanoi’s successful administration border expansion and organization of the grand ceremony to mark the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi has left deep impression on foreign friends and visitors, contributing to raising its position in the international arena.

HCMC mired in nail traps

The hotspots of “nail traps” concentrate on a stretch of road from HCMC National University in Thu Duc District to Ben Cat Bridge in District 12.

There are also hundreds of repair shops from Suoi Tien Cultural Park in District 9 to the Binh Phuoc intersection in District 12.

Some people are hunting for more spaces to open repair shops on National Highway 13 in the southern province of Binh Duong, on a section of National Highway 1A from Tien Giang to Long An province, and on National Highway 51 in Dong Nai Province.

“Mobile” repairmen

On October 10, Hoang Van Hoa from Thanh Hoa Province went to some scrap shops near National Highway 1A to buy steel wires and thin steel bars. After getting buying enough materials, Hoa went to a coffee shop on the highway. At the coffee shop, Hoa took out a 1m-long steel wire, cut it into halves, and turned these halves into diamond-shaped nails.

Hoa has earned a living by scattering nails on National Highway 1A for a long while.

He always brings a set of tools to fix motorbikes whose tires and tubes have been pierced by the sharp nails that he has scattered earlier.

Hoa charges a new tire VND120,000, which is 6 times as much as usual.

As some repair shop owners have been arrested for scattering nails, Hoa and others now choose houses, coffee shops or even abandoned land plots as places to make nails.

They also agree upon a rule: never bring nails home or utter the word “scattering nails.” Whenever they have to refer to their work, they call it “vãi mạ” which means sowing rice seeds in Vietnamese.

Local firms honored for supporting HIV/AIDS prevention program

Enterprises in southern Vietnam have received awards for investing time and resources to promote HIV/AIDS prevention and support for people living with HIV under a US-supported program in Ho Chi Minh City.

10 out of more than 100 enterprises affiliated with the HIV Workplace Project, held by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the HCMC branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), were selected and awarded a certificate of appreciation and a trophy.

The recipients include Vigawell Vietnam Garment Co, Thang Loi International Garment Joint Stock Co, Dai Viet Garment Co, Cartina Enterprise Vietnam Co. Ltd, Trade Union of Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, Transport Co-operative No.9, Safe Living Co, The Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council, Standard Charter Bank Vietnam, and the VCCI – HCMC branch.

“The enterprises we honor here today represent an impressive range of services and industries,” said USAID Vietnam Mission Director Francis Donovan.

“By recognizing these firms, we draw attention to businesses which are making major contributions to the development of society and addressing humanitarian issues while they simultaneously contribute to a country’s economic growth and improve their bottom lines,” he added.

Activities of the recognized enterprises include committing funds and staff time to implement HIV/AIDS workplace prevention policies, creating HIV/AIDS steering committees, organizing HIV/AIDS awareness activities among employees, and providing free condoms.

They also implemented non-discriminatory policies regarding HV/AIDS, recruited people living with HIV (PLHIV), and committed funds for PLHIV in starting and expanding income-generating activities.

HIV/AIDS is a health issue with economic implications for enterprises in terms of absenteeism, high turnover, lower productivity and effects on markets, investment, services, and education in the business environment where enterprises operate.

Since September 2008, the five-year, USAID HIV Workplace funded under the U.S. President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief, has worked to prevent HIV infection among high-risk individuals and to provide employment opportunities and economic rehabilitation services for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The USAID project has expanded workplace-based HIV prevention activities at 118 enterprises. Of those, 70 percent carried out a comprehensive HIV workplace program. 

More than 67,000 people have been trained on HIV prevention and 118 enterprises have collectively contributed over $764,000 to cover the cost of implementing these programs.

Highway investor faces charges of neglect and irresponsibility

The southern Long An Province Traffic Safety Board is collecting evidence to file a lawsuit against the investor of the Ho Chi Minh City-Trung Luong expressway and another road, N2, charging it with irresponsibility and causing serious consequences.

The board explained that many traffic accidents have occurred due to large potholes on the two roads, but the Cuu Long Traffic Safety Infrastructure Investment, Development and Management Corp. has left them unrepaired despite repeated warnings from the Board.

After the latest check on the section that runs through the province on November 15, the board worked with the provincial police department to discuss the road’s unsafe conditions and collect evidence for legal actions against the investor.

The two agencies agreed that they would issue a notice to the investor and contractor, warning them of a possible criminal charge against them.

On October 26, the board requested the investor to repair the two roads urgently and received promises from the latter that it would improve the situation by November 10. However, they did nothing, said Phung Van On, chief of the Board’s Secretariat.

Based on Article 220 of the Penal Code, the Board has sufficient grounds to take legal action against the investor for its neglect and irresponsibility, lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, deputy chairman of the HCMC Lawyers’ Association, confirmed.

500 potholes on 10 km of road

Large potholes on the expressway have caused many accidents, said the board.

On October 27, a truck carrying 9 tons of sawdust from Long An’s Trung Luong to HCMC overturned and plunged down a field on one side of the expressway after the driver tried to avoid several potholes on the road.

Similarly, another truck capsized on the poor quality road on November 12.

About 500 potholes of various sizes were found on a 10 km section of the expressway, according to the board’s survey on November 15.

There were also numerous potholes on a 6 km section the N2, the board said in a report, adding that the road was in extremely bad condition.

On November 14, Nguyen Van Dat, of Long An’s Tan An town, carrying a man on a motorbike slid down a pothole that is 1.1 meter long, 0.5 meter wide and 0.1 meter deep on N2. Both men were seriously injured.

Earlier on October 9, Nguyen Thi Hoi, of Quang Binh Province, was hospitalized for emergency treatment after she fell victim to two potholes on N2.

In another case, Tran Ngoc Khanh, a Long An resident, had one of his eyes seriously injured while his wife passed out after they fell off their motorbike down a big “trap” in the middle of the road.

The road has deteriorated for over one year and numerous accidents have occurred, said Lieutenant Colonel Vo Quoc Thanh, head of Long An’s Thuan Hoa District.

Tax laws won't hit property valuation

The new tax on the use of non-agricultural land will not detrimentally affect the domestic real estate market, said Nguyen Dinh Thi, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Finance's Tax Policy Department.

Thi was speaking at a press briefing on two new tax laws in Hanoi on November 16.

The non-agricultural tax and the law on environmental protection will take effect at the beginning of next year.

He said the law on non-agricultural land was designed not to raise money but to more effectively inventory and manage land.

"The money to be collected from the new taxes is estimated at VND3 trillion (US$143 million), which will be the same amount as collected from the current ordinance promulgated in 1992 on the use of land and houses," he added.

He said the new law will affect about 17 million households.

In addition, the law stipulates specific regulations governing taxpayers – organisations, households and individuals who use land in rural and urban areas.

Production and non-agricultural business land includes land for construction of industrial zones, land for mineral exploitation and processing, land for making construction materials and ceramics, among other things.

The new law stipulates three rates of tax – 0.03 percent, 0.07 percent, and 0.15 percent.

He said the law will be stricter on land encroachment, for which a levy of 0.2 percent will be applied, seven times higher than the tax imposed on allowable land area.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment plans to issue a specific decree on land encroachment in the coming weeks.

The new environmental tax law covers products such as petroleum, coal, nylon bags, hydrochloro-fluorocarbons (HCFC), chemicals used to preserve wood and disinfectants and chemicals used to exterminate termites and kill grass and weeds.

The General Department of Taxation said these chemicals were potentially highly harmful to the environment.

Under the law, a tax of VND1,000 per litre will be applied to gasoline and aviation fuel, while VND300 per litre will be levied on other petroleum products.

A tax of VND20,000 will be imposed on a tonne of coal, VND4,000 per kilo of HCFC, VND40,000 per kilo of plastic bags, VND500 per kilo of grass/weed killer and VND1,000 per kilo on other chemicals.

However, the department said the tax will be collected from households, organisations and individuals that produce the items not on users.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre