Sweden, Vietnam share experience in waste management

A seminar on Vietnam-Sweden cooperation for sustainable development was held in Vung Tau city on June 17 to seek ways for sustainable development particularly for environmental protection.

At the seminar, senior Swedish experts and professors presented experiences in effective models of waste management and treatment that Sweden and other countries are currently applying.

They introduced Sweden’s advanced technologies and products that are able to turn waste into valuable resources, and evaluated the waste situation in Vietnam to come up with solutions.

Olle Engstrom, a waste recycling coordinator and member of the Boras City People’s Council, gave a detailed presentation on the model of waste management and treatment used in Broras which has helped it become a green and clean city.

Today, the city’s population of 100,000 has no daily waste treatment costs because 100 percent of household waste here is recycled or turned into bio-gas that can be used for transportation, heat and power.

Swedish experts, leaders and Vietnamese businesses also shared experiences in  waste treatment technology in Vietnam.

Three scientists receive France’s Order of Merit

The French Embassy in Vietnam on June 17 presented France’s Order of Agricultural Merit to three Vietnamese scientists for their significant contributions to the development of agronomy in Vietnam and the world.

The awardees include Dr. Nguyen Dang Vang, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Scientific and Technological Committee and former Director of the Animal Husbandry Science Institute, Professor Nguyen Van Bo, President of the Vietnam National Agricultural Science Institute, and Dr. Vu Chi Cuong, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS).

According to the French Ambassador to Vietnam, Francois Girault, the Order of Agricultural Merit manifests recognision and a source of encouragement to individuals who make important contributions to researching, training and developing agronomy in Vietnam and in the world.

Hanoi youths expand ties with Indochinese peers

The Hanoi chapter of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union officially set up cooperative ties with its Phnom Penh counterpart during its June 9-15 working trip to neighbouring countries.

The Hanoi and Phnom Penh young people agreed to exchange visits annually along with conducting cultural exchanges, cadre training assistance, coordination in educating traditions for young people, and forging entrepreneurial linkages.

While in Phnom Penh, Hanoi youths laid flowers at the Memorial Monument to Vietnamese volunteers fallen in Cambodia and also visited the Toul Sleng prison where the Pol Pot regime tortured and killed tens of thousands of Cambodian civilians.

In Laos, Hanoi young people and their Vientiane peers discussed future cooperative activities, including the building of a website and organisation of Vietnamese language courses for the Vientiane Youth Union.

Hanoi youths pledged to continue maintaining annual visits and organising voluntary teams to Laos, and training Lao youth union officials.

The two sides affirmed that youth cooperation of the two capital cities is important to the two countries’ youth relations as well as bilateral ties.

Alcohol consumption ban in public offices

The Ministry of Transport has proposed a ban on the consumption of alcohol in public offices during working hours as well as at lunch time and other breaks.

It sees this as a measure to curb driving accidents on the road.

The ministry is working with other agencies, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, on tougher measures towards to reduce traffic accidents.

The ban will also apply to the consumption of beer and other liquor even at parties held in public offices.

This is the first step to tighten regulations on alcohol use.

The ministry plans to issue a circular later this year on blood tests to determine alcohol content. The Ministry of Science and Technology will come up with standards for breath analysers, while the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports will have regulations prohibiting advertisement of beer and alcohol on mass media.

Protestant celebrations wind up in Da Nang

The centennial celebration of Protestantism in Vietnam closed in the central city of Da Nang on June 16, with the participation of 13,000 domestic and foreign followers and dignitaries.

Themed, “Looking toward the future”, the closing ceremony sent a message of “What we will do for the future” to followers.

Over the past century in Vietnam, the Evangelical Church has participated in social charitable activities in health and education and helped victims of disasters and poor and needy people. Since 2005, the Church has spent VND25 billion on its charitable work.

With the motto of “Living the Gospel in the nation”, serving God, serving the Fatherland and people, the Church will make more contributions to the country’s modernisation process.

Over the past three days of celebration, the local authorities have created favourable conditions for activities to be held safely.

Similar celebrations will be held in Hanoi on June 20 and Ho Chi Minh City on June 24 and 25.

Ha Tinh launches campaign to help AO victims

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Chapter in central Ha Tinh province on June 16 launched an emulation campaign to act for Agent Orange/dioxin victims.

It called on individuals, organizations and businesses to join hands to help improve their spiritual and material lives.

At the launch ceremony, more than VND1 billion was raised for AO victims in the province.

In Ha Tinh there are 20,000 AO/dioxin-infected people, 800 families of AO victims living in shabby houses, and 15,000 people in need of regular health checkups.

4,000 adults wish to have vocational training, and 3,000 children need assistance to go to school.

Over 20 children infected with hand-foot-mouth disease

More than 20 children in the northern province of Hai Duong have contracted hand-foot-mouth disease since early June this year.  

Three of them remain under treatment at the provincial pediatric hospital

Others were recently discharged from hospital after one week of medical care.

AIP Foundation helps children with genital deformity

The Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP Foundation) on June 14 launched a programme on reshaping genitals for unlucky children in Vietnam.

The programme is expected to bridge the unfortunate children and health clinics and leading specialists in Vietnam and the world as well.

The programme will kick off on August 15 with Italian doctor Roberto DeCastro’s visit to Vietnam to provide check-ups and treatment for 7-9 children.

The surgeon, who is one of the world’s leading experts in genital reshaping, will give a talk at Hanoi University of Medicine.

White-eared night heron discovered at Ba Be park

White -eared night heron (Gorsachius magnificus), a bird species that was previously thought to be extinct in Vietnam, has been found in the Ba Be National Park, according to Director of the park Nong The Dien.

The bird only lives in China-Himalayas subtropical zone and Indochinese tropical-wet forests.

According to the Birdlife International, the Ba Be National Park is home to more than one percent of the bird population worldwide. It is estimated that only 500 individuals of the bird exist worldwide at present.

The park is also home to some animal species threatened with extinction on global scale such as Cu ly lon (Nycticebus bengalensis), Khi mat do (Macaca artoides), Gau ngua (Ursus thibetanus), Cay van (Hemigalus owstoni), Ca coc bung hoa (Paramesotriton deloustali Black langur with white cheeks) (Semnopithecus francoisi), Ba ba tron (Pelodiscus sinensis).

Activities mark ASEAN Day of Dengue Fever

A major meeting in response to ASEAN Day of Dengue Fever was held in the Mekong delta city of Can Tho on June 15.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Ba Thuy emphasised that dengue fever is an issue for the entire community and a heavy economic burden on society. However, he said, the disease can be prevented by raising public awareness of the issue and coordinating efforts of the whole community.

Dengue fever, a mosquito-transmitted disease, often occurred during the beginning of the rainy season and existed in Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam all year.

The disease is prevalent in almost 20 southern cities and provinces and in central and Central Highland regions of Vietnam.

Last year around 125,000 dengue fever cases were reported and 104 people died of the disease.

Many activities have been held over the past week in response to the first ASEAN Day of Dengue Fever which was initiated at the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting in 2010.

Vietnam aims to cut greenhouse gases

Vietnam is set to phase out 100 per cent of hydro-chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) substances by 2040 under a national programme launched in HCM City on June 14.

Speaking at the 2011 Meeting of SEAP Network of Ozone Officers, Nguyen Khac Hieu of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said Vietnam already completed the phase-out of CFC in early 2010 and is starting its HCFC phase-out.

Hieu, deputy director of the ministry's Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change, said the Montreal Protocol's multilateral fund has agreed to fund US$10 million for the first stage of the programme.

The programme will follow a roadmap to reduce 10 percent of HCFC use in 2013 and 32 percent in 2015. The country had 3,700 tonnes of HCFC substances by 2010.

Luong Duc Khoa from the department said the phase-out is scheduled for completion in 2040.  "But if we can mobilise a fund of around US$200 million, we can complete the phase-out by 2025," he said.

As coordinator of the global Ozone Protection Programme in Vietnam, Khoa said the country is the first in Southeast Asia to start the HCFC phase-out substances. He called for companies using HCFC substances to use new technology for the use of non-HCFC substances.

Three HCFC substances, including HCFC22, HCFC23 and HCFC141B, are used in air conditioning systems, sponge production and cold warehouses in Vietnam.

12 companies involved in the programme will receive funding and consultation to eliminate the use of HCFC. By 2015, no HCFC141B will be used in the country, according to Khoa.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will use a quota for import of HCFC141B this year and ban the import by 2013.

Children learn swimming and lifesaving skills  

The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Department of Education and Training in the highland province of Dak Lak launched a one month free swimming class program for the first time on June 15, in which 200 pupils from five pre-school and secondary schools in Buon Ma Thuot city will participate.    

The children will be trained in swimming and rescue skills to save drowning people, aimed at reducing the number of drowning cases in the province.

The province has the highest drowning rate in the country. 52 toddlers died of drowning in 2010, accounting to 70 percent child drowning accidents in the province.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue also implemented a campaign to raise residents’ awareness of river accidents. It set up rescue teams to provide round-the-clock first aid in resorts along the beaches. Students in this region will be taught swimming skills, lifesaving and survival techniques.

Hue Help Organization and the Red Cross organized swimming and rescue courses for teachers and 1,200 students in district Phu Loc. Swimming experts from the UK Swimming Organization taught swimming skills.
 
Japan school fund for Thanh Hoa, Nghe An  

The Embassy of Japan in Vietnam has provided nearly US$200,000 for renovating a school, as part of a Grass root and Human Security Project, in the northern province of Thanh Hoa and the central province of Nghe An.  

Mr. Yasuaki Tanizaki, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam handed over the amount to Le Van Tien, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Cac Son Commune in Thanh Hoa Province and Luu Duc Hanh, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Dien Tan Commune in Nghe An Province at a ceremony in the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi on June 14.

US$99,172 of the amount will be used to construct a new building (2 floors, 8 classrooms) for the Dien Tan Commune Primary School for children to learn in a vibrant and safe environment.

Dien Tan Primary School has two separate buildings, with one building having 10 classrooms where pupils study in two shifts, which was built 50 years ago. This is now in a dilapidated condition and it is for this building that the Government of Japan has decided to grant aid to renovate and buy the necessary materials. The 2nd building of the school was renovated in 2006.

Toxic instant noodle brands in market  

Health authorities in Vietnam are keeping a close watch on brands of instant noodles which have been made in Korea and suspected of containing the chemical DEHP.
 
Vietnam is in touch with other countries for further confirmation on this.

Nguyen Cong Khan, head of the Food Safety and Hygiene Department, said yesterday that the Vietnamese Ministry of Health had contacted Malaysian health authorities but the authorities there are said not to have recalled the product until it was officially tested.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, deputy head of the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene in Ho Chi Minh City said after Hong Kong declared that Korean brands of instant noodles, namely ‘Shin Ramyun’ and ‘Shin Ramen’ contained the cloudy agent DEHP, health inspectors had taken samples from supermarkets for testing and the results with be announced very soon to the public.

The Department of Food Safety and Hygiene in the southern province of Dong Nai found some contaminated products in the Metro supermarket including 152 kilograms of Taro jelly by New Choice Food Company. On the same day, the department sent a dispatch to its district sub-divisions to recall 30 items of contaminated syrup, fruit juice and sweets.

Mandatory declaration of toxic products  

The Department of Food Safety and Hygiene in Ho Chi Minh City has made it compulsory for importers and businesses of Taiwanese (Chinese) products to subject all goods for supervision and testing by relevant health authorities before June 20.

The department ordered all enterprises on June 14 to test for chemical content in Taiwan-made foodstuffs and disclose findings to health agencies, in view of the recent public scare on DEHP in several food items in the market.

Importers and companies will face heavy penalties after June 20, should health authorities discover any contaminated products in the market.

Moreover, food businesses and importers must inform health agencies about any toxic products within 24 hours. Companies were asked to recall their products from the markets and report the status of removal of the products to health inspectors as well as ways to destroy the contaminated products.

The Ministry of Health will soon set permissible limits allowed in food items of the carcinogenic chemical. WHO has set safe limits for DEHP content at 8 ppt (parts per trillion), while in the USA it is 6 ppt. Vietnam has not yet conducted any study on DEHP, hence the ministry plans to adopt World Health Organization standards, as stated by Nguyen Cong Khan, head of the Food Safety and Hygiene Department on June 13.

Augmentin drug not allowed in VN market  

The Vietnam Drug Administration (VDA) has ordered its sub-divisions to test the UK-manufactured Augmentin powder for syrup 156mg/5ml (HK-24658) after traces of DIDP were found in tests in Taiwan (China) and Hong Kong.  
 
Middlesex-registered GlaxoSmithKline is the latest corporation and the biggest so far to get embroiled in the Taiwan-originated scare involving plastic additives in food and drugs. The company has been asked to test all its products in Vietnam.

VDA chief Truong Quoc Cuong said Chineses Taiwan and Hong Kong health authorities had ordered GlaxoSmithKline to recall the antibiotic manufactured in France and the UK for paediatric patients, as a plasticiser, Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and Diisononyl phthalate (DINP) were detected in the drugs.

Vietnam has not permitted the sale of the two drugs in the country even though Augmentin powder for syrup 457mg/5ml made in the UK has been issued a registered number.
 
Vietnam bans massage oil with bear bile extract  

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), proposes to recall a massage oil ‘Misa Bear’ from the market as it contains bile extracted from bears which are currently an endangered species.

The massage oil is produced by the Quang Minh Mekophar Company. CITES has sent a dispatch to the Vietnam Drug Administration to ban the oil as the company is using bear bile in the oil, extracted from two species of bears that are the rarest members of the bear family and among the world’s most threatened animals as quoted in CITES Appendix I.

Trade, sale and slaughter of the species or using its products are subject to strict regulations by ratifying parties and trade for commercial purposes is banned. CITES has on this basis suggested to pharmaceutical authorities to recall the product from the market.

In related news, the Department of Health in Hanoi has decided to halt sale of three antibiotics that failed to meet safety requirements.

The Pharmaceutical Company No.3, Joint-stock Pharmaceutical Company Pharm and National Pharmaceutical One Member Company No.2 are the manufacturers and importers of these drugs. The three drugs are Ficaoxime (injection), produced by India’s Delhi Pharma, Cenpro tablets (Ciprofloxacin 500 mg) and Traclor (Cefaclor 250gram), made by local companies.

“Private doctor” and mLab projects to be carried out  

Tran Tuan Anh, President of Saigon Hi-Tech Business Incubator, Saigon Hi-Tech Park awarded the certificate to “Help Corporation” project on Thursday and announced the mLab project sponsored by World Bank in the same event.   

“Help Corporation” is a “private doctor” project specializing in providing individual with a certain treatment based on their biological, genetic, occupational features. With the application of IT, this project brings the users many facilities which help them easily connect with the private doctor network. These doctors can supply them with the most suitable regular or unannounced diagnosis and treatment.

MLab project supply a laboratory with applied software for mobile devices with an open space to the businessmen so that they can work with the technical equipments and plan for their enterprises.

Joining efforts to build rural areas

A seminar was held in Hanoi on June 14 to review one year of implementing a national target programme aimed at building new rural areas.  

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung highlighted efforts by relevant ministries and agencies in raising public awareness of new rural areas.

The Deputy PM stated that the programme requires investment in the rural areas to bring practical benefits to farmers and poor people. Therefore, local authorities and relevant ministries should consider it a top political task and take drastic measures to bring new rural areas to life.

Deputy PM Hung asked ministries to co-ordinate with local authorities to implement 19 criteria of the programme in accordance with the specific situation in each locality.

Mr Hung said it is important to focus on developing agricultural production, improving people’s living conditions and paying attention to training human resources.

Hanoi hosts int’l conference on drug and HIV/AIDS

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Vietnamese government co-organized a regional conference on countermeasures against drug and HIV/AIDS in Hanoi on June 14.

The event was part of a 1993 memorandum of understanding between Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and UNODC.

The conference aimed to review the situation of drug using and HIV in East Asia and Southeast Asia, boost the role of executive, medical, and criminal judicial staff in the fields, exchange experience and knowledge of challenges and opportunities in taking evidence-based approaches in drug rehabilitation and fighting HIV in the region.

Participants in the conference included guests from Malaysia’s National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA), the Asian Network of People who use Drugs (ANPUD), UNODC, and the World Health Organization.

It’s estimated that there are 16 million drug users, including 2.6 million in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Population, housing census released

Publications on the 2009 Vietnam Population and Housing Census were released in Hanoi on June 14, providing data on population, serving a basis to assess millennium development goals and support the creation of accurate and appropriate development policies and strategies.

Addressing the launch ceremony, Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Do Thuc and United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Bruce Campbell affirmed that the results of the 2009 population and housing census play an important role in making plans and devising socio-economic development policies.

They stressed the importance of data from the census in monitoring differences between urban and rural areas, geographical areas and vulnerable population groups, ethnic minorities, as well as in meeting goals and targets set in the socio-economic development plan.

The data also helps to evaluate the process of achieving millennium development goals, they said.

With the currrent birthrate, Vietnam’s population would reach 95.3 million by 2019, 102.7 million by 2029 and 108.7 million by 2049, according to the GSO’s population predictions.

In the publications, analyses on education, including the literacy rate among those aged from 15 and over and among ethnic people, and the difference in the literacy rate between men and women, show the country’s progress in meeting the millennium development goal on gender equality.

Analyses on the age and gender structure showed that Vietnam had entered a young population structure period, which started from 2007 and was forecast to end by 2041. This information would help the Government make policies on human resource development and job generation as well as measures to ensure social security and health care for the elderly.

The publications also provide analyses on gender equality, migration, addressing economic challenges and issues on culture and society, pressures on urban infrastructure and demands for social services.

France trains Vietnamese officials in urban management

Officials from 15 cities and provinces of Vietnam have concluded a two-week training course on urban management in France.

The course was held by the Lyon National Institute of Application Sciences (INSA) and partners in the Rhone-Alpes region.

Trainees were provided with knowledge on urban construction projects, planning of public space, urban lighting and traffic systems, social housing, water supply and waste treatment systems as well as the geographical information system (SIG).

INSA has cooperated with Vietnam for 15 years. The institute receives 25 Vietnamese senior high school students for training every year starting in 1998. It began a programme to train high-quality engineers for Vietnam from 1999.

The institute also helped train Vietnamese officials in urban planning and new materials.

New type of A/H5N1 appears in some localities

The Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) said a new type of A/H5N1 has been detected in the northern, central and highland provinces of Vietnam after their domestic fowls were vaccinated.  

The vaccines imported from China are now not effective with this new type of virus, but can be used to treat the old type in the southern region of Vietnam.

The Prime Minister has approved MARD’s proposal to end the first phase of vaccination against bird flu.

However, MARD has asked local authorities to actively detect new bird flu outbreaks in their areas and take effective measures to prevent it from spreading.

11-year-old boy brutalized by police

11-year-old Ngo Dinh Phat, a fifth grade student, was hospitalized in Thua Thien Hue Province yesterday after he was beaten by local police, who later apologized to him and his parents.

Phat resides in Thuy Xuan ward, Hue City.

He was hospitalized with many bruises scattered on his body, including those on the bottom, thigh, face and ears.

Dr. Tran Nhan Thao, who treated the injuries for Phat, said the wounds had been caused by hard tools.

Earlier, on the morning of June 15, Phat stole VND3.1 million (US$150) from his aunt at her home to buy a mobile phone. After being busted, he returned the money to her.

Phat’s aunt later took him to the ward police office and left him there.

In the afternoon, the police phoned Phat’s father asking him to come and take the boy home.

After getting home, seeing Phat moaning and crying in pain, his father took off his clothes and found that he had been beaten black and blue by the police.

At 8 pm, Phat had a fever and then developed a fit of convulsions. The father took her son to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The next morning, Phat’s father came to the police office to complain about the beating. The police apologized to him for the incident and then gave him VND1.5 million as payment for medical treatment.

Phat is being treated for a lot of injuries on his body at the Hue Transport Hospital

Phat’s father later agreed to drop the case.

Talking with Tuoi Tre, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Anh, deputy head of the ward police, said Sub-Lieutenant Tran Nguyen Hong Quang was assigned to question the boy that day.

Anh also said the police’s representatives had visited Phat at the hospital and apologized to the boy and his family.

Schindler Vietnam denies culpability in elevator accident

Schindler Vietnam Co. Ltd. on Wednesday sent a document to Danang City’s Department of Construction to deny culpability for the elevator accident at Ngu Hanh Son tourist site, saying an unstable power supply was behind the problem, not a safety or quality mistake of the producer.

“The accident minutes on June 5 reported a series of problems related to power shortage or voltage alteration, causing the elevator to automatically stop as designed to ensure the safety of passengers,” said Ralph Ludwig, general director of Schindler Vietnam.

To fix the problem, the company suggested organizing rescue training for staff and security guards at the tourist site and installing air conditioning inside the elevator. Schindler recommended installing a power transformer to maintain stable power supply for the elevator.

The elevator, which is situated along a cliff at the tourist site, suddenly got stuck on June 5 with 23 people panicking inside. The city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in late April installed the 50-meter-high elevator system at a cost of VND20 billion, but drew the objection of local residents due to safety concerns.