UN provides US$2.38 million for gender equality

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) will provide US$2.38 million to support Vietnam’s national strategy on gender equality.

The commitment was made in Hanoi on October 23 at the signing of the project between UN Women and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The project will be carried out from 2012 to 2016, aiming to raise the capacity of State officials to implement and monitor the national strategy on gender equality.

MoLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa said improving the management capacity of Government officials is a key factor in ensuring the success of the strategy and its related programs.

UN Women in Vietnam has cooperated with the Government and development partners to increase women’s empowerment ensuring their equal access to services, and their involvement in decision making at all levels.

UN Women will support the MoLISA in sharing experiences and observing, evaluating, and reporting the project results, in order to carry out gender programs more effectively, said Suzette Michell, UN Women chief representative in Vietnam.

The MoLISA and UN Women have committed to working closely together to ensure the national program on gender equality (2011-2015) and the national strategy for gender equality (2011-2020) will be implemented effectively.

MAEP honours Major-General Trinh Quoc Khanh

Professor Vladimir Buiyanov, headmaster of the Moscow Academy of Economics and Policy (MAEP) conferred the honourable professor title on major-general Trinh Quoc Khanh on October 23.

Khanh is general director of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre (VRTC), member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Security and Vice President of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association (VRFA).

Professor Buiyanov said MAEP wants to recognize Khanh’s contribution to strengthening educational, scientific and technological and economic cooperation between Russia and Vietnam. Khanh is the author of more than 65 scientific projects.

Khanh said he will do his best to promote the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Before the award ceremony, Khanh delivered a lecture on international cooperation in science and education to a large number of Russian and Vietnamese students in the presence of Ambassador Pham Xuan Son, VRFA president Do Xuan Hoang and representatives from the VRTC and MAEP.

International seminar offers lesson on Viet Nam

More than 1,000 people from 34 countries will gather in Ha Noi from November 26-28 to take part in the fourth international seminar on Viet Nam Studies.

Hosted by the Viet Nam Institute of Social Science in collaboration with the National University in Ha Noi, there will be a series of talks and discussions over the course, which has been billed as an opportunity for researchers from around the world to share and exchange their knowledge on the subject of Viet Nam.

The seminar will provide a chance for Vietnamese and foreign researchers to strengthen their co-operation in this field, thus improving the knowledge of Viet Nam among the international community and boosting relations.

Among 800 reports on the topic "Viet Nam on the Road to Integration and Sustainable Development", about 200 are by foreign researchers.

The attendees will also reveal their opinions about Viet Nam's integration and development policies.

There are 15 main topics planned for discussion at the seminar, including Vietnamese History: Tradition and Modernity, Culture and Cultural Exchange in Integration and Sustainable Development, Viet Nam's Economy in the context of Integration and Sustainable Development, Migration and Urbanisation, and the International Relations of Viet Nam.

The seminar will take place at the My Dinh National Convention Hall.

Siemens helps optimise healthcare services in Vietnam

Siemens has been providing medical solutions that ensure high quality patient care and help optimise the workflow in hospitals in Vietnam.

Dr. Norbert Gaus, CEO Clinical Products, Siemens Healthcare said in an interview on October 23 that Siemens supplied Vietnam’s first PET/CT and Cyclotron to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City in early 2009 which allows physicians to detect cancers at an early stage.

At the beginning of this year, it provided Dual Source CT scanner Somatom Definition Flash, the first of its kind in Vietnam, to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi.

Siemens Healthcare also offers education and training courses in Vietnam to keep medical staff abreast of medical advances and to create favourable conditions for best practice sharing.

The healthcare sector worldwide is facing big challenges from an aging population, which goes together with increasing incidences of chronic diseases. Thus, healthcare providers are facing a growing number of patients including multi-morbidity cases.

A large share of the world’s population does not have access to health care and in many remote areas, access to quality health care is a challenge.

Besides all these challenges, Vietnam has to deal with out-of-date medical systems, a lack of medical personnel and limited healthcare budget, Dr. Gaus said.

In Vietnam, the group is collaborating with local hospitals to be up to date regarding the demand on site so that it is able to meet the needs as good as possible, he concluded.

Siemens Healthcare has more than 130 years of experience dedicated to advance human health. It does business around the world, employing some 51,000 employees and generating revenue of EUR12.5 billion in fiscal year 2011.

PM budgets $310 million for weigh stations

The Prime Minister has approved a VND6.5 trillion (US$310 million) project to build 45 vehicle weigh stations on national highways. The project aims to control overloaded vehicles and is funded primarily by the State budget.

Under Decision No1502/QD-TTg, which approves the master plan on vehicle weigh stations from now until 2020, with a vision to 2030, 11 stations will be located along National Highway 1 and four on Ho Chi Minh Highway. The rest will be placed on other important national highways.

Once completed, the stations will serve more than 2,200 vehicles per day.

The project will be implemented in three phases: 2012–15, 2016–20 and 2021–30. The investments for each phase are VND1.1 trillion ($56 million), VND2.4 trillion ($117 million) and VND2.9 trillion ($138 million) respectively.

The stations will be designed with modern equipment to help resolve traffic congestion and protect roads from overloaded vehicles.

Based on the actual traffic situation on the road, the Viet Nam Road General Department and the municipal transport department will determine where and when to build the stations.

What is certain is that there will be none in the inner city, as they could easily lead to traffic congestion.

The PM also called on ministries and relevant agencies as well as provincial authorities to carry out the project effectively.

Nguyen Van Diep, director of southern Dong Nai Province's Transport Department, said weigh stations were necessary to protect the country's roads from overloaded vehicles, which have been blamed for damaging road surfaces.

"However, more research needs to be conducted on the placement and construction of weigh stations," Diep said.

Meanwhile, Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Transport, said that he had not yet received an official decision from the Government regarding the project but confirmed that building the stations was necessary.

Women's group works to stop mystery illness

The local Women's Association in the central province of Quang Ngai's Ba To District is striving to prevent another outbreak of an unidentified skin disease which has led to organ failure and death for 23 people.

Although no new cases of the disease have been reported since June, the women's group has raised over VND15 million (US$720) in cash and collected two tonnes of rice to support victims' families, while encouraging the local population to maintain hygiene both at home and in the community.

The first outbreak of the disease was recorded in April, with the primary symptoms of the illness including thickened skin on the palms and soles (keratosis), stiffness in the limbs, and ulcers on the hands and feet that look like burns.

A total of 240 cases have been reported, and the cause continues to baffle scientists.

Five arrested for posing as traffic police

Authorities in Ha Noi have arrested five men for posing as police officers to appropriate money from passing drivers.

The suspects, aged 16-21, live in the districts of Hoan Kiem and Long Bien and were caught after they had stopped a woman driving a motorbike to ask for her licence, pretending to be from the Task Force 141, a special team of plainclothes officers set up to crack down on traffic violations and crimes.

Further investigation showed that the group had previously appropriated VND330,000 (US$15) from a man driving without a helmet on a local street in Long Bien District.

Police confiscated three motorbikes, two sets of walkie-talkies and cudgels, a flashlight and VND520,000 ($24) in cash from the men.

Police discover smuggled fertiliser

Authorities in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long have seized 60,000 tonnes of smuggled fertiliser with no proof of origin certificates, according to Do Huu Quang, head of the market inspection team at the province's Market Watch Department.

The fertiliser was found in Tra On District last Friday by authorities while it was being transferred from two small boats to a larger boat.

The boat owners said that they were hired to transport the goods from Can Tho City to Vinh Long and that they did not know the actual owner of the fertiliser.

The department's head Pham Tu Phuong said the fertiliser was set for sale in Mekong Delta provinces and HCM City.

It was the largest amount of smuggled fertiliser discovered by the department recently. Police are continuing work on tracking down the owner of the fertiliser.

VNN/VOV/VNS