Immunisation services suspended in Tuy Hoa

Tuy Hoa City's Health Center in the central province of Phu Yen has been banned from providing immunisation services after violating the vaccination regulations set by the Ministry of Health, according to Deputy Director of the provincial Health Department Dang Phuc Liem.

The ban follows the discovery that a 16-year-old boy in the city was found to have been vaccinated against measles, rubella and mumps with an expired Trivivac vaccine on May 20.

Initial investigations found that the centre had used three ampules of the vaccine which had expired on April 30.

Month-long campaign targets poor, ethnic children

An Action Month for Children was launched in Hanoi on May 27, aiming to create equal development opportunities for poor and ethnic minority children.

From June 1 to 30, communications campaigns will be launched to raise public awareness of protecting and caring for poor, ethnic children.  

Exchange meetings, cultural and sports and humanitarian activities will be held to gather public support for the needy children.

Children living in remote and mountainous areas meet numerous difficulties accessing high quality healthcare and education services, despite recent increased assistance, said Nguyen Hai Huu, Director General of the Department of Child Protection and Care under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).

This action month aims to encourage everyone nationwide to promote opportunities for all children to develop equally, he said.

Huu explained that the theme of this year’s month-long campaign was chosen because the number of poor and disadvantaged children is likely to rise during these current difficult economic times.

During the month, the National Fund for Vietnamese Children will provide free surgeries for children suffering from various medical conditions, build classrooms and entertainment areas, and present gifts to poor, ethnic minority and disadvantaged children.

In 2012, the Fund mobilised more than VND300 billion at the grassroots level to support nearly 1 million disadvantaged children.

4,000 killed on roads in five months

Over 4,000 deaths have been caused by traffic accidents in the first five months of the year, an increase of 0.68 per cent over the same period last year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The country has recorded a total of 2,400 traffic accidents this month that caused nearly 800 deaths, a rise of 2.04 per cent from the corresponding period in 2012.

Serious road accidents caused mainly by neglectful driving have been blamed for the increase in traffic fatalities.

North prepares for further heat waves

Heat waves that hit the central region on the weekend have spread to the northern provinces early this week with temperatures reaching as high as 37 degrees Celsius.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteological Forecasting, it will get as hot as 39 degrees Celsius in some places and is expected to last for two or three days. Temperatures will start to fall back down in the northern region from Wednesday.

In middle of May in the northern region, especially in Ha Noi, hot spells saw temperatures reaching a 30-year high of 40 degrees Celsius.

Australian foundation commits to blindness prevention

The Australian Fred Hollows Foundation (FHF) has pledged to realise a global action plan on blindness prevention in Vietnam.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the global action plan to prevent blindness and visual impairment at its annual meeting in Geneva, Switzerland from May 20-28.

The plan will be implemented over the next five years, aiming to reduce by 25 percent avoidable blindness and visual impairment among 228 million people in the world, including Vietnam.

The FHF has committed to working with other organisations in Vietnam, such as the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO) and provincial eye hospitals, to carry out the plan in Vietnam as soon as possible.

The FHF is willing to support Vietnam in quickly realising the plan’s goals, said Huynh Tan Phuc, FHF Vietnam Director.

He added that Vietnam will focus on treating cataracts and refraction disorders, aiming to reduce blindness by 25 percent.

The plan offers new hope for people in Vietnam as it will help many people avoid and escape from blindness, as well as create opportunities for thousands of children to go to school and decrease the burdens on millions of families and society.

Around 80% of the world’s blind people need urgent treatment. Vietnam currently has 2 million blind people and nearly 3 million children under 15 suffering from refraction disorders.

Four missing bodies recovered after flood

The bodies of four people swept away during a flash flood that hit Muong Lat District in central Thanh Hoa Province's Tam Chung Commune on Friday have been found, according to Hoang Minh Luyen, an official from the province's search and rescue steering board.

Nearly 300 people including border guards, military forces, local authorities and residents were mobilised to search for the victims right after the disaster.

The victims' bodies have been handed over to their families, who have also received VND16 million (US$770) as financial support.

Heat waves spread across northern and central regions

Heat waves that hit the middle central region on the weekend have spread to the north central and northern provinces early this week with temperatures reaching as high as 37 degrees Celsius.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteological Forecasting, it will get as hot as 39 degrees Celsius in some places. The heat wave is expected to last for two or three days. Temperatures will start to fall back down in the northern region from Wednesday.

In middle of May in the northern region, especially in Ha Noi, hot spells saw temperatures reaching a 30-year high of 40 degrees Celsius.

Vietnam receives FAO award on fighting poverty

Vietnam along with other eight countries worldwide have won the award for outstanding progress in fighting hunger and undernourishment presented by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Other eight winning countries are Brazil, Chile, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Granada, Indonesia, and Nicaragua.

The awarding ceremony is set to be held in Rome, Italy, in mid June, said FAO General Director Jose Graziano da Silva on May 27.

He revealed that 30 nations from various regions globally will also be honoured at the event in recognition of their achievements in increasing food production.

Disaster risk mitigation project under review

The Vietnam Red Cross reviewed the outcome of a project on enhancing local community’s capacity on coping with natural disaster risks in the Mekong Delta region at a conference on May 27 held in An Giang province.

The project has been implemented in six communes of An Giang, Kien Giang and Bac Lieu provinces from November 2012 to May 2013, with financial support from the German International Cooperation (GIZ) and the German Red Cross.

Under the scheme, 100 teachers and 966 elementary schoolchildren have received first-aid training and ways to respond to natural disasters.

Local officials at district and provincial levels were instructed about community-based disaster control and aftermath assessment, while communities in the six communes were provided with guidance on how to deal with emergencies.

The projects also provided 1,800 water filter tanks, 600 pairs of lifebuoy, 50 water pumps, 700 guide books and first aid equipment for target communes.

Indian warships to visit Vietnam

Four Indian battleships will visit Vietnam as part of its exchange tour of the East Sea and West Pacific.

The vessels including INS Satpuna, INS Ranvijay, INS Kirch and INS Shakti carrying more than 800 crew members are currently docking at Port Klang, Malaysia.

The five-day visit to Malaysia, starting on May 25, is led by Rear Admiral Ajit Kumar and includes several programmes with the Royal Malaysian Navy.

They will have a passage exercise and practice both conventional war time drills and cooperative military action against unconventional threats at sea.

The vessels will head to Vietnam and then make the final port call at the Philippines.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA