New safety requirements for foodstuff manufacturing

A new regulation from the Ministry of Health requires all foodstuff products to be packaged and stored in a place at least 20cm from the floor, 30cm from the wall and 50cm from the ceiling.

The requirement is among several new regulations for foodstuff manufacturers and dealers listed in a recent circular from the ministry.

Food packaging must also be durable and not be contaminated with hazardous waste or toxic substances that would be harmful to consumers' health.

For foodstuff manufacturers, the health ministry requests manufacturing areas to be located in places that are safe from flooding, pests such as insects and far away from other source of contamination.

Managers and workers at foodstuff manufacturing sites must receive certificate-granted training on food safety and must conduct health check-ups in advance.

The circular will take effects from November 1.

Fulbright –ASEAN scholarships for Vietnam students

The US Embassy in Hanoi announced the 2013 Fulbright US–ASEAN Visiting Scholar Program on September 19.

The scholarships are for Vietnamese university lecturers, foreign ministry and government officials, and professional staff from thinktanks and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to study 3-4 months in the US on issues that are relevant and useful to member nations, and that are central to the US-ASEAN relationship.

The 2013 Fulbright US-ASEAN visiting scholars will select lecturers to teach and conduct research in fields that will support ASEAN initiatives, including education, engineering, environmental sciences, food technology, geography, geology, information sciences, journalism, law, life science, management information systems, museum studies, political science, public administration, public health, religious studies, social work, sociology, statistics, and TEFL and applied linguistics.

Candidates who are Vietnamese citizens and fluent in English can contact the US embassy directly to apply. The deadline for applications is November 16, 2012.

Man prosecuted for falsifying 12 visas

Police in northern Hai Phong City have prosecuted Vu Trong Thang, 49, of Le Chan District, for appropriating property by making fake visas for 12 people to go overseas.

The suspect admitted to the police that he established two fake companies to offer visa services. His victims are poor farmers who sold their land or borrowed money with a high interest rate so they could work overseas.

Seven of the 12 victims are already in Malaysia, while the rest have paid for his services but have yet to depart. The plan was for them to stop over in Malaysia and then fly to countries like England, Australia, Japan and South Korea. The suspect received nearly VND1.7 billion (US$80,000).

Agribank funds social development projects in Ha Giang

The Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) has granted VND18 billion (US$864,000) for the construction of two essential public facilities for the ethnic minority groups in the Dong Van Karst Plateau, the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang.

Of the total amount, VND3 billion will be provided for the construction of a new Primary School building in Huu Vinh commune, Yen Minh district and VND15 billion will be used to build a hanging lake in Ma Le commune, Dong Van district.

Local pupils in Huu Vinh commune have been studying in a temporary and sub-standard school for many years. The new school will be completed within this school year to meet their expectations and demand for learning.

Ma Le border commune is about 20 kilometres from central Dong Van district and home to more than 3,700 people.

Persistent water shortages mean they have to walk nearly ten kilometres each day, to supplement their water supply.
The two projects are expected to significantly enhance the well-being of the local people and contribute to hunger elimination and poverty reduction.

Vietnam, Switzerland boost educational ties

A forum on tertiary education between Vietnam and Switzerland opened in Ho Chi Minh City on September 19, drawing representatives from 20 Vietnamese universities as well as seven universities and 15 businesses from Switzerland.

The forum, the second of its kind, is to boost co-operation between universities and educational institutions in both countries.

It also offered a chance for educational organisations to discuss the development of private education and the necessary management skills Vietnamese students who wish to work with overseas companies need to be equipped with, in the context of increasing globalisation.

The delegates also discussed topics such as science, technology, infrastructure, finance-banking, business administration and other services.

According to a survey recently conducted by the Central Institute for Economic Management, most graduates from universities, colleges and vocational schools have yet to meet the increasing requirements of Vietnamese businesses.

To address this problem, Vietnam will draw up a national training standard, increase links between schools and the business sector, promote English language training and standardise the syllabus at tertiary education level, said the Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy.

Lang Son steps up patrols against poultry smuggling

The border guard forces have increased patrols to catch smugglers bringing uncertified poultry from China to Viet Nam.

Patrols have been stepped up since July in the northern border province of Lang Son in a bid to curb outbreaks of bird flu, said chief of the Tan Thanh border post, Senior Lieutenant Colonel Pham Quoc Huy.

Six units are responsible for the patrols and work on curbing outbreaks, including the border guard, customs, police, market management forces and commune and town authorities.

Huy said that poultry smugglers prefer to transport small amounts of goods, as it's easier to avoid detection.

The districts of Van Lang, Cao Loc and Loc Binh are hot spots for smuggling, he said, with Loc Binh seeing greatest levels of smuggling thanks to its remote terrain.

"Therefore border guard forces in the district have to work around the clock," he said.

"Poultry and poultry products are often smuggled into the province by vans and motorbikes at night. It's hard for us to clamp down on this illegal trade."

Provincial authorities have also directed the agricultural sector, People's Committees of communes, towns, and especially People's Committees of border communes, to raise people's awareness of bird flu while implementing prevention measures against the disease.

According to provincial reports, forces in the province since July have caught over 30 smugglers and seized around 12,000 chickens and ducks, and over 500kg of pig organs.

Ha Noi authorities to check private clinics

The Ha Noi Department of Health and districts' health offices will carry out checks on private clinics in the city from now till the end of this year.

Clinics operating without permits, or those employing doctors without adequate work permits, will be strictly punished, said Nguyen Viet Cuong, chief inspector of the department. The capital city has more than 240 private clinics, and all of them will be checked.

Authorities will also strengthen their management of food safety and hygiene. This month the inspection will focus on cakes and confectionery, popular sellers in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival.

During the past 8 months, the department's inspectors checked 6,295 private medical clinics and food manufacture and trading enterprises.

More than 120 enterprises were suspended from their work, and more than 760 others were fined a total of VND3 billion (US$142,800).

Province boosts ethnic living standards

The Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dak Nong will invest more than VND2 trillion (US$95 million) from now until 2015 to improve the lives of its ethnic minority residents.

A Tin Tuc (News) newspaper report says that the money, mobilised from the central and local governments, investors and philanthropists, will be used to build infrastructure facilities and improve the living conditions of ethnic minority people in rural, remote and border areas.

It aims to get 10,000 poor ethnic minority households out of poverty.

At first the province will mobilise about VND500 billion (over US$23.8 million) to support ethnic minority families to carry out household-based businesses, increase production and diversify their agriculture and animal husbandry activities, the report says.

Agriculture, forestry and aquaculture extension services will be strengthened and training courses in advanced production methods will be provided to 11,000 ethnic minority households.

About 1,000 effective production models will be introduced to ethnic minority households.

By 2015, Dak Nong will provide vocational training to more than 5,000 ethnic minority youth every year and issue policies encouraging companies to employ ethnic minority workers in projects to plant forests, establish rubber plantations and pharmaceutical plants.

The province plans to spend VND300billion (nearly $14.3 million) on establishing village clinics to improve healthcare services and subsiding health insurance for all ethnic minority residents. About VND150 billion ($7.1 million) will be earmarked for building 3,000 houses for poor ethnic minority households.

Over the past five years, the province has invested more than VND700 billion ($33.3 million) in its hunger elimination and poverty alleviation programme and achieved positive results, with 7,000 poor ethnic minority households escaping poverty.

Dak Nong now has about 40,000 ethnic minority households with a population of 150,000, residing mostly in rural and remote areas. About half of them live below the poverty line.

Da Nang to build Bus Rapid Transit route

The central city plans to build a 23-km Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route with a total investment of US$37.5 million, a source from the city's Foreign Affairs Department said yesterday.

The route will link the city's downtown, shopping centres, tourism destinations and Hoi An Town in nearby Quang Nam Province. It is expected to help ease traffic in the city from 2016-20.

As scheduled, the feasibility project will be submitted to the World Bank for approval in November.

Da Nang warns of dengue outbreaks in wet season

The central city has seen 97 cases of dengue fever since early this year, the city's Preventive Medicine Centre director Ton That Thanh told Viet Nam News today.

He confirmed that patients in 40 communes and precincts of the three biggest districts (Hai Chau, Hoa Vang and Cam Le) had contracted the disease since January.

He warned that the number of patients would increase between now and November.

"Dengue fever outbreaks usually occur in September and November when the rainy season has begun in the central region. We have raised awareness of disease prevention among local people and cleaned water containers as well as drainage systems," Thanh said.

"The centre has made efforts to prevent diseases from spreading in the wet season," he said.

Thanh also added that the city saw 4,600 cases of dengue in 2010, although this figure was reduced to about 90 last year.

"We have gotten the disease under control by spraying chemicals in the city's worst-affected areas and encouraging local people to clean their neighborhoods every Saturday."

The city has started the prevention programme recommended by the Ministry of Health on curbing outbreaks of avian influenza, hand-foot-and-mouth disease and dengue fever.

The city health department has provided free soap to households to curb hand-foot-and-mouth disease, cholera and diarrhoea since July.

According to the health ministry, the country has seen 43,220 cases of dengue fever, of which 35 were fatal, 80,000 cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and four cases of avian influenza type A-H5N1.

Volunteer network set up in central region

The Vietnam Volunteer Information Resource Centre (VVIRC) and the UN-funded project on enhancing volunteer capacity for Vietnam’s development met on September 19 to set up a network of volunteer organisations in the central region.

Under VVIRC management, the network will gather various volunteer clubs and groups, social sponsoring centres, as well as governmental and non-governmental organisations to coordinate their volunteer activities and improve regional socio-economic development.

The network will help improve the skills of volunteers in Vietnam and give members the chance to share experience and offer support to each other in devising action plans to realise their capacity and mobilise resources.

Network members will also be able to take part in training courses run by the VVIRC or its partners and will be provided with updated information about upcoming opportunities, policies and seminars related to volunteer activities in Vietnam and across the world.

The VVIRC is a national organisation that was established by the Ho Chi Minh Youth Union with the aim of promoting, supporting and coordinating volunteer activities towards Vietnam’s development.

VNN/VOV/VNS/ND