Eradicating infectious diseases

An online conference in Hanoi on October 20 pointed out that a number of contagious, fatal disease have been spreading across communities, posing a great threat to the healthcare sector.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien was concerned that epidemics are becoming more complicated. Although infections and fatal diseases that can be prevented by vaccinations are still on the decrease, some communicable diseases such as cholera, measles, tuberculosis, dengue fever and hand-foot-mouth have recurred here and there, she said.

She quoted the World Health Organization (WHO) as saying the world has seen outbreaks of 17 newly-emerging diseases, some of which have appeared in Vietnam.

Since the beginning of this year, more than 100,000 people in Vietnam's 63 provinces and cities have contracted hand-foot-mouth disease and 40 have died. More than 51,000 patients have also been infected with dengue fever, mostly in the southern region, which has resulted in 42 deaths.

The increase in the number of infectious diseases is attributed to poor personal hygiene, inadequate sanitation and ineffective preventive measures.

The conference was held in response to the Prime Minister’s telegram on curbing the spread of human influenza A/H5N1, hand-foot-mouth disease, and dengue fever.

More than 5,500 delegates representing ministries, central agencies and healthcare departments from across the country participated in the event.

Ninh Binh unveils master plan

A master plan for urban development in Ninh Binh Province has been unveiled, revealing that major development will be undertaken in urban areas between 2030-2050.

Ninh Binh City will be expanded to cover an area of 21,124 hectares, with particular work being done in the city centre. It will be better connected with 18 satellite cities in the province, including Tam Diep, Nho Quan and Phat Diem.

Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, Bui Van Thang, said that the plan focuses particularly on Ninh Binh and Tam Diep, and national highways – including 1A, 10, 12B and DT477 – will be improved to link them to auxiliary cities.

Ninh Binh railway station will be moved from the city's central ward of Thanh Binh to its neighbour Nam Binh to improve economic development and transportation links.

The Ninh Binh Airport project in Nho Quan District's Son Lai Commune will also be reviewed, with air taxi services under consideration and plans put in place to ensure greater national defence and security.

The province's plan has also set a target of ensuring all residents have access to clean water and are able to safely and effectively dispose of waste.

Accordingly, each city will build collection points for rubbish, especially near factories and treatment centres. Waste will be classified into categories in a bid to promote recycling, with particular attention given to sewage and industrial waste.

Two provincial cemeteries are planned to be relocated to Tam Diep and Nho Quan, with between 150-300ha designated for each. It has been stipulated that each city's cemetery must be located at least 1.5km away from the nearest residential area.

Blood donation festival for cancer patients

A blood donation festival for cancer patients themed ‘Like Sunflowers’, was held in Hanoi on October 21.

The theme was inspired by young female author Hoang Dieu Thuan’s book describing her fight against blood cancer.

The organising board said the event is expected to attract 2,000 participants to donate 800 units of blood and aims to encourage people to ease some of the burdens on cancer patients and others. The patients are in.dire need of blood to help them overcome their cruel fates.

A thousand sunflowers have been woven together to create one giant composite at the festival, each of its petals symbolising best wishes offered to the patients.

Visitors can take part in a letter writing programme in support of Thuan, view a photo exhibition featuring images of blood cancer patients, and record the memorable moments of their festival experience in drawings.

A music program and camp dubbed ’18+ Youth’ will also be held as part of the event.

The festival was jointly organised by the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) and the Hanoi Association of Young Blood Donor Recruiters (HAYBDR).

Traffic still chaotic but ‘improving'

Viet Nam's traffic may still be chaotic, but it is slowly improving. A report to the sixth session of the National Assembly Committee for National Defence and Security said traffic in Ha Noi and HCM City was undergoing positive changes.

In the past nine months, there had been fewer accidents, injuries and deaths on the nation's roads.

In the first nine months of the year, a total of about 23,600 accidents killed more than 6,900 people and injured another 25,000.

However, this was less than figures for the previous year, when 32,000 accidents killed 8,400 people and injured about 35,000 people.

NA deputy chairman Huynh Ngoc Son said the figures were just the start of change. He urged for deeper evaluation on the achievements as well as the problems. He also asked people, particularly civil servants, to become more aware of traffic regulations.

Vietnam wins 2012 humanitarian award

The biogas program for the Vietnamese animal husbandry sector has won a 2012 “Humanitarian Award” from the World Energy Forum, according to Department of Livestock Husbandry.

The biogas program was launched by the Department of Livestock Husbandry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Netherlands Development Organization.

The project built 130,000 biogas digesters and created employment for more than 5,700 local workers. It aimed to improve the lives of more than 650,000 people by providing them with access to affordable clean energy.

Lotteria CEO presented with friendship insignia

Cho Young-jin, CEO of Lotteria Co., Ltd from the Republic of Korea was awarded the “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” insignia in recognition of his contributions to social and charitable activities in Vietnam.

Addressing the ceremony in Hanoi on October 20, President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong said apart from sponsoring the TV programme “Cau thu ti hon” (Little Footballer), Lotteria has engaged in combating HIV/AIDS, building houses for the poor in Ho Chi Minh city, helping natural disaster victims in Da Nang and voluntary work at SOS children’s village in Hanoi.

For his part, Cho said it is his honour to receive the VUFO’s award, saying that he will continue to implement social and cultural activities, as a contribution to fostering and developing friendship between the two countries.

Entering Vietnam in 1998, Lotteria has so far opened more than 140 branches in the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnamese officials visit USS George Washington

A delegation of Vietnamese officials visited the supercarrier USS George Washington on October 20.

The visit was made at the invitation of the US Embassy in Vietnam, which capitalised on the supercarrier’s passage through international waters near the country.

Delegates were introduced to the ship’s activities and the daily life of its crew members.

This is the third visit of a Vietnamese delegation to the USS George Washington since 2010.

Forces marshalled against top diseases

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has urged all sectors, cities and provinces to give budget priority to fighting four contagious diseases – hand-foot-mouth, dengue, A-typed influenza and rabies.

Speaking at an on-line conference in Ha Noi on Saturday, Nhan said that combating contagious diseases was always a Government concern.

However, the four diseases always managed to develop and particularly affected children.

Outbreaks of rabies have been reported in some northern provinces. There have been 74 deaths caused by the dog-borne in 21 cities and provinces, including 17 cases in Son La Province and 12 in Yen Bai Province.

The Deputy PM asked all localities to set up inspection teams to prepare for further outbreaks.

Ministries, including health, agriculture, industry and trade have been called upon to join in the campaign.

Since the beginning of this year, more than 100,000 people in Viet Nam's 63 provinces and cities have contracted hand-foot-mouth disease and 40 have died.

More than 51,000 patients have also been infected with dengue fever, mostly in the south. The infection has already caused 42 deaths this year.

The increase in the number of people infected is attributed to poor personal hygiene, inadequate sanitation and ineffective preventive measures.

Delegates representing ministries, central agencies and healthcare departments from across the country participated in the online conference.

No-interest loans help poor farmers

Eight provinces with 480 households have received interest-free loans totalling VND10 billion (US$480,769) under the second phase of a programme begun in 2010 and organised by GreenFeed Viet Nam in collaboration with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper and provincial farmer associations.

The programme, "Funding farmers to help bring their children to school", helps households begin, maintain and develop their breeding or farming projects to ensure a better education for their children.

Loan beneficiaries will have to pay back the borrowed capital to organisers after a two-year period.

Seminar discusses management of wildlife samples

The CITES Management Agency and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) jointly held a seminar in Hanoi on October 19 to introduce regulations on the management of wildlife samples.

The seminar’s results will serve as the basis for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) Management Agency to put forth measures to solve difficulties in this field at the 16th meeting of CITES member countries in Thailand in 2013.

According to Do Quang Tung, Deputy Director of the CITES Vietnam Management Agency, authorized agencies have recently seized many samples of rare species such as elephant tusks and rhino horns originating from foreign countries.

The handling of these samples must comply with Vietnamese regulations, international law and inter-governmental commitments that Vietnam has joined, he said, adding that the work still faces difficulties as some regulations are not really clear.

Participants at the seminar learned about regulations on the trade of elephant husks and made several recommendations on how to better protect elephants in Vietnam.

National riot drill takes place in Dien Bien

More than 3,500 officials and staff from the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defence took part in a riot drill in Dien Bien Province on October 20.

In various simulated situations, the commandos were required to disperse illegal crowds, prevent terrorist acts, clear bombs and mines, deal with the effects of chemical substances, and rescue hostages.

The drill aimed to strengthen coordination between the relevant forces, and improve their readiness to handle worst case scenarios.

It also issued a strong warning to hostile forces that attempt to carry out subversive schemes against the administration.

Addressing the drill, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked regular forces to keep a close watch on international terrorist and reactionary organisations in exile and devise effective measures to deal with any related problems that may arise.

He also asked ministries and localities to work closely together to nip any terrorist plans and social disturbances in the bud.

Nutrition week aimed at improving health

The Ministry of Health is promoting locally produced food during the nutrition and development week, which lasts from October 16 to 23.

A communications campaign will focus on encouraging people to eat more nutritious food; teaching food safety and hygiene habits; and confronting childrens' malnutrition and obesity prevention, especially for families in remote areas and those afflicted by natural disasters.

According to the National Institute of Nutrition, 17.5 per cent of children under 5 in Viet Nam were underweight and 29.3 per cent suffered from stunted growth in 2010. Viet Nam plans to reduce this percentage to 23 per cent and cut the number of underweight children to 12.5 per cent by 2020.

Toxic food kills 28, 3,700 in hospital

Food poisoning has caused the deaths of 28 people and led to the hospitalisation of more than 3,700 others in the first nine months of the year, a significant increase over the same period last year, according to the Viet Nam Food Administration (VFA) under the Ministry of Health.

Poisoning caused by microorganisms accounted for 48.6 per cent of these cases, followed by food containing natural toxins and food containing toxic chemicals with 23.9 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.

Food poisoning reportedly occurred in 41 out of the country's 63 provinces and cities, mainly in family meals and lunches in industrial parks and processing zones in the southeast region.

Lao students, VN teachers reunited

A group of Lao students who once studied in Viet Nam met their former Vietnamese teachers in Vientiane last Saturday.

The event was one of several activities planned to celebrate the Viet Nam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2012.

At the meeting, the Lao participants recalled their time in Viet Nam. They thanked the Vietnamese teachers for helping them during their time of hardship and wished them future good health.

2.8 million Vietnamese affected by osteoporosis

Around 2.8 million people in Vietnam suffered from osteoporosis and 70 percent of them are women, according to a Health Ministry’s report.

Speaking at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 20 to launch the “Action for Bone Health” program, Tran Quy Tuong, a health official, emphasized that osteoporosis is one of most pervasive diseases in the 21st century. Three out of every five women in the world aged 50+ are affected by this disease.

Tran Thi Phuong Hoa, Deputy Chairwoman of the Hanoi Women’s Union, said that osteoporosis poses a great threat to women’s health. It’s essential for women over 35 years old to pay attention to their bone health by ensuring an adequate amount of calcium and other minerals in their diets.

A walk around Thien Quang Lake in downtown Hanoi was held on October 20, drawing the participation of more than 300 women to support the program and mark World Osteoporosis Day. It also aimed to raise public awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.

VNN/VOV/VNS