Leader vows to facilitate foreign NGO operations

Vietnam always welcomes and creates favorable conditions for foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to operate and assist in poverty reduction and sustainable development.

Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan made the affirmation while receiving David Rockefeller JR, Chairman of Rockefeller Foundation, in Hanoi on November 1.

Doan said that the three areas where Rockefeller Foundation is assisting Vietnam – health, climate change adaptation and support for AO victims –are aligned with the country’s priorities.

Supporting AO victims is a humanitarian issue of Vietnam ’s special concern, she said, adding that the country has received strong support from the international community and foreign NGOs in this area.

The Vice State President expressed her hope that Vietnam would receive more support from Rockefeller Foundation in future.

David Rockefeller JR said he was impressed by the socio-economic achievements made by Vietnam .

He spoke highly of the Vietnamese Government’s facilitation for the foundation’s operations and said the foundation would continue its cooperation and support for Vietnam .

Established in 1913, the New York-based non-profit Rockefeller Foundation aimed to create opportunities for the socio-economic and environmental development of poor communities around the world.

Since 2000, the foundation has provided over 6.6 million USD for 64 projects in Vietnam, including a project to improve climate change adaptation capacity in Da Nang and Can Tho cities and Binh Dinh province.

Lawmakers want Bill on Demonstration taken up soon
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Updated : Thu, November 3, 2011,11:11 AM (GMT+0700)
 
Deputy Vo Thi Dung speaks at the NA meeting yesterday
Photo: Tuoi TreAt the National Assembly yesterday many members called for early passage of the Bill on Demonstrations, saying demonstrations have become a burning social issue that needs to be regulated by a law.

The bill, drafted by the Ministry of Public Security at the suggestion of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, should be included in the house’s 2011-16 lawmaking agenda, many deputies said.

The government has not put it in the agenda for early discussion.

Trinh The Khiet, a deputy from Hanoi, said gathering to voice complaints about a certain issue had become a common event among people.

“Therefore, there should be a Law on Demonstrations soon to create a mechanism for people to publicly express their views on issues.”

Tran Thi Quoc Khanh, also of Hanoi, agreed, saying, “Such a law will help people organize their demonstrations and in a lawful manner.”

Several deputies pointed out that some bills that were not urgently required to be passed -- like the one on prevention and control of money laundering and terrorist funding -- were included in the agenda.

They should be considered only after more urgent bills like the ones on demonstrations, prevention and control of corruption, and referendums, were discussed, they said.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Major General Le Van Cuong, former director of the Ministry of Public Security’s Strategy and Science Institute, said the right to demonstrate was one of the most basic rights.

If people wish to express their opinions legally and peacefully, the authorities have to allow this basic right, he said.

Once laws with transparent regulations are in place, no one can make use of laws to cause harm to the society and the government, he added.

The NA’s lawmaking agenda for 2011-16 includes 104 bills and six draft ordinances.

Boy, 7, killed in Hanoi house collapse

A seven-year-old boy died after a two-storied building collapsed in Hanoi early this morning due to a gas explosion while his 14-year-old sister is still trapped in the debris.

Rescuers are frantically looking for Tran Thi Ngoc after rescuing the deceased boy, Tran Duy Anh, from the rubble at 10.40 am.

Anh was taken to hospital but succumbed to his injuries there.

Their father Tran Nhat Minh and mother Nguyen Thi Thu Ngang were earlier pulled out with injuries.

According to investigators, at 5:30am Minh tried to boil water when the cooking-gas cylinder unexpectedly exploded, causing the second floor of their house to collapse spectacularly.

Neighbors rushed to put out the resultant fire.

Hanoi taxi rips off Interpol guests, takes Iphone

Two Singaporeans who are delegates to the 80th Interpol General Assembly being held in Hanoi have fallen victim to a local scam taxi driver who overcharged them by 40 times the normal fee and even took away their cell phone.

According to the victims, who were later identified as Chen Ang Dani (male) and Than Sha Pen (female), the driver forced them to pay VND6 million (US$286) for a ride of just over 10 kilometers. The normal fee should have been only VND150,000 (US$7.1).

The guests of the Interpol meeting told police that this occurred at 8pm on October 28 when they took a taxi with license plate number BKS 30K-6476, purportedly belonging to Phu Gia Group, after having a meal at Ngon restaurant, a popular eatery for foreigners at 18 Phan Boi Chau Street, Hoan Kiem District.

They were driven from Phan Boi Chau Street to Hanoi’s National Conference Center and eventually had to cough up US$200 and SGD100 (roughly VND6 million in total).

They said that following heated argument over prices, they negligently left over an Iphone 4 that has now vanished into thin air.

Hanoi’s police have jumped in to help their peers and yesterday announced they have identified the taxi driver and are hunting for him.

The 80th Interpol General Assembly was kicked off in Hanoi from October 31 and expected to conclude on November 3.

Dozens nabbed in northern gambling swoop

Police in the northern province of Nam Dinh have busted a gambling den following notifications given by local residents, Vietnamnet reported.

Over 100 police officers were mobilized Sunday for the operation against the ring which had been subtly run in Giao Thuy District, the police said.

The force managed to neutralize a considerable number of security guards before swooping on the gambling club placed in a local pine forest.

The gamblers fiercely fought back in a bid to flee the scene but they were subdued shortly afterwards.

The police captured 42, seized VND300 million (US$14,400) in cash, 21 motorbikes, 38 cellphones, and other exhibits.

Legal proceedings have been initiated against those gamblers and more arrests are anticipated during the ongoing investigation, according to Colonel Dang Van Sinh, director of Nam Dinh police.

Fire beaks out at massage parlor

A fire broke out at a 3-storey massage parlor on Tran Dang Ninh Street in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District at 5 pm last Tuesday, causing a panic in the neighborhood.

“There was a blast from the building and then a strong fire started at the first floor,” a witness said.

From the first floor, the fire spread to the second and third, burning a sign board on the way.

Dozens of firefighters arrived to put out the blaze.

The fire occurred during rush hours and attracted passers-by, causing congestion and making it hard for the firefighters’ trucks to move around.

At 6pm, the fire was extinguished. There is yet any information about casualty or property damage.

The police are investigating the cause of this blaze.

Vietnam has 33 million passive smokers: ministry

Vietnam now has 33 million people who inhale smoke from 15.3 million cigarette smokers, the Ministry of Health has said.

The figures were released yesterday at the ceremony to kick off a media campaign jointly conducted by the ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) to fight harmful health effects of smoking.

Vietnam’s number of smokers now ranks 3rd in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and the Philippines, said Nguyen Huy Quang, deputy head of the ministry’s Legislation Department.

Every year Vietnam has about 40,000 deaths from smoking-related diseases and the number may increase to 70,000 in 2030, Quang said.

If Vietnam’s policies to ease the harmful health effects of smoking are well implemented, the premature death toll from smoking-related diseases will decrease by 5,000-9,000 per year, said WHO Representative to Vietnam, Dr. Graham Harrison.

Cigarette smoking has been found involved in 90 percent of lung cancer patients, 25 percent of those suffering from ischemia in the heart, and 75% of chronic obstructive lung cases, Harrison said.

At the ceremony, Huynh Phuong Nam, an official at the Ministry of Finance, repeated a proposal that a “responsibility fee” of VND400 (US$0.02) in maximum per pack of cigarettes should be imposed on cigarette manufacturers and smokers to help run the Fund for Prevention and Control of Harmful Health Effects of Smoking.

More motorists fall victim to “nail traps”

More and more motorists in Ho Chi Minh City are falling victim to the so-called “nail traps” or nails scattered on the streets by repair shops.

A reader, who wanted to remain anonymous, yesterday told Tuoi Tre over the phone that “Đinh tặc” (a Vietnamese term to call those who scatter nails to flatten vehicles’ tires) had scattered a lot of diamond-shaped nails on roads from the Song Than to the Linh Xuan crossing bridge in Thu Duc District.

“Dozens of motorcyclists had to repair their tires as the result,” she said.

Pham Thanh Mong, one of the victims, angrily said, “While I was driving near the Linh Xuan crossing bridge on my way to visit my relatives in Dong Nai Province, my bike’s rear wheel suddenly slipped. I then had to park my bike by the roadside and found a pointed subject stuck inside.”

A repair shop’s owner nearby charged him VND75,000 (twice as much as usual) for a new tire.

“This road is often filled with nails every 5 am,” said a street vendor on the road. “A lot of motorcyclists fall victim to such traps every day.”

Phan Van Hung of Go Vap District, another victim of nail traps, said when he was going through the Song Than crossing bridge, his bike staggered to both sides as one tire was pierced by a nail.

He said when he took his bike to a repair shop nearby, the owner refused to mend the puncture and asked him to change the flat tire with a new one at the cut-throat price of VND100,000.

Tuoi Tre reporters also saw a woman named Tuoi whose tire suffered a puncture due to a nail trap walking under the sun and sweating profusely in search of a repair shop.

Tuoi said she had almost fallen off the bike after it hit a nail.

“I often drive my bike on this road and I hit nails many times,” she said.

According to Le Minh, secretary of Thu Duc District’s Youth Union, nail traps are often seen in areas such as the Suoi Tien cultural park in district 9 and the Song Than industrial zone in Thu Duc District.

“Whether it’s day or night, nails are often scattered after volunteers use devices to remove them to prevent accidents,” Duc said.

Meanwhile Thuy Hanh, secretary of District 2’s Youth Union, said nails were often scattered twice to three times a week from the crowded Binh Thai intersection to the Rach Chiec bridge.

Official takes exam for boss to win favor

An official who last month took an exam for his superior, Nguyen Trong Dong, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said he did so to win the latter’s favor.

According to Le Hong Phong Officials’ Training School which organized the exam, Phan Thanh Quang, deputy head of the environment department’s Map Measurements Division was caught sitting for Dong’s exam on October 19.

Nguyen Van Sau, the school’s principal, told Tuoi Tre yesterday that the exam was part of a 3-month course.

Phan Dinh Dung, the exam’s proctor, said he found Quang out when Quang tried to look for the name “Dong” on the list of examinees to sign before submitting his paper.

Dung said after he asked Quang some questions about the course, Quang refused to hand in his paper and ran away from the room. Dung then reported the incident.

The principal said as the school hadn’t provided its trainees with ID cards, it was difficult to prevent outsiders from taking exams for trainees.

“We held a meeting on October 24 to review the incident. Dong had asked to be absent because he would be busy on the exam day,” Sau said. “He thus didn’t cheat.”

In his report, Quang said he “voluntarily took the exam for Dong since Dong was on a business trip that day.” Quang also explained he wanted “to ingratiate himself with Dong.”

Sau said the school would report to the Hanoi Party Committee’s Commission for Inspection and make a final decision about the case accordingly.

Asked about the allegation that Dong didn’t attend classes and had somebody sign for him in the attendance sheets, Sau said the school had requested a report from Dong as well as consulted the course’s head teacher.

But Sau refused to reveal further details, explaining he would have to report to the commission first.

Tran Trong Duc, head of the commission, told Tuoi Tre yesterday he had yet to receive any report from the school.

Talking with Tuoi Tre over the phone, Vu Van Hau, head of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said as Dong was taking a training course, he was under the management of the school.

For his part, Luong Xuan Hien, deputy head of the Department’s Secretariat, said he was yet to receive any official notice from the school but would punish any wrongdoing fairly.

Meanwhile, Dong told Tuoi Tre that somebody was simply trying to damage his reputation.

Drunken Australian stirs up HCMC street

A drunken foreigner caused an uproar at the Ton Duc Thang-Nguyen Huu Canh crossroads in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 at midnight last Wednesday.

At the scene, locals stood and watched while dozens of policemen tried to control traffic and stop the man from jumping head-on into a truck.

The man took off his clothes and kept swearing "f...k you."

According to the traffic police, they were patrolling the area at 10pm on November 1 when they spotted a car running without turning on the lights.

They ordered the car to stop for inspection.

Inside the car, a foreigner smelling of alcohol prevented the driver from getting out and started to swear to the police.

When the ward police were called to the scene, the man got off the car and pushed the police away.

He then got into the middle of the street and tried to stop trucks, causing congestion on the street.

After two hours trying to constrain him, the police and witnesses succeeded at last. He was later taken to the ward police station.

The man is identified as Victor, a Russian-Australian who has worked in wood decoration for several years in the city.

According to a restaurant owner in District 1 where Victor had been drinking that night, Victor often makes a mess and shouts at people when he gets drunk.

Electrocution claims 6 lives, injures 2

6 workers were electrocuted to death and 2 others were injured while setting up a power-line network for a sugar company in Nong Cong District in the central province of Thanh Hoa on Tuesday.

The accident was confirmed by Le Trong Hung, deputy chairman of the district’s People’s Committee.

The workers were found dead with burnt parts at a sugar farm located in My Quang Commune.

Pham Van Lien, a local resident, said, a few days ago, a group of 8 workers asked him to board at his home in order to set up the network for Nong Cong Sugar Ltd. Company nearby.

Local authorities said at the time of the accident, the 6 workers were installing the power pole while the 2 others were putting on plaster. The duo then heard a big explosion and was shocked to see the tragic death of their colleagues. They themselves were also injured.

The dead workers were Truong Van Quang, Pham Van Nghi, Truong Van Diep, Truong Van Truong, Pham Van Tung, and Nguyen Van Thinh. All of them were local residents.

Local authorities have provided VND1 million to help with the funeral to each of the families.

Japan helps build primary schools in poor communes

The government of Japan has signed a US$207,000 contract to build new primary schools in the northern provinces of Ninh Binh and Thai Nguyen.

The non-refundable aid will be used to build two schools in Ninh Binh’s Lai Thanh commune and Thai Nguyen’s Cuc Duong commune. The two schools have been used for several decades and are seriously deteriorated.

At the signing ceremony on November 1, Charge D’affair Suzuki expressed his hope that the Japanese-funded projects will contribute to improving the educational environment in these remote communes and further strengthen the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Japan.

Month-long media campaign targets tobacco

The Ministry of Health (MoH) launched an anti-tobacco media campaign in Hanoi on November 1 in an effort to curb the harmful effects of tobacco in the context that Vietnam is among the world top 15 countries with large smoking populations.

The campaign, which will last until the first week of December, will focus on urging media agencies to step up information dissemination against smoking tobacco, providing DVD/CDs on the harmful effects of tobacco, and screening anti-smoking videos in public places.

At the launch ceremony, Dr Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the MoH program to fight the harmful effects of tobacco, stressed that education and communications are essential tools to help smokers change their behaviour, reduce the amount of tobacco they smoke and then quit smoking altogether.

Other measures to be taken along with education include printing health warnings on tobacco packages, establishing smoke-free workplaces, raising tobacco taxes, and banning tobacco advertising and sponsorships.

Dr Khue said 47.4 percent of adult males, or 15.3 million, were smokers in 2010. The same year, 33 million adults were exposed to passive smoking at home and five million at work. Tobacco claims 40,000 lives in Vietnam each year, three times more than traffic accidents.

The draft law on preventing tobacco use introduced at the launch ceremony includes five chapters and 32 articles, which stipulate various measures to reduce the demand for tobacco and control its supply.

Doctors provide free health check-ups to needy Cambodians

Vietnamese doctors from HCM City are providing free health check-ups and medicine to 400 poor patients in Cambodia on November 1-2.

Half of the patients are receiving free eye surgeries. This is the 10th medical examination that doctors from Military Hospital 175 under the Vietnam People’s Army and the HCM City Eye Hospital have conducted for Cambodian people.

Also on November 1, a ceremony was held in Cambodia to mark Military Hospital 175 being twinned with Royal Cambodian Army’s Military Hospital 179 for five years.  

General Ly So Van, director of Military Hospital 179 under the Royal Cambodian Army thanked the two Vietnamese hospitals for providing free health check-ups for Cambodian soldiers and disadvantaged people, transferring technologies and training human resources.

General Ly So Van also emphasized that the support from Vietnamese doctors has further strengthened cooperation, solidarity, and friendship between the two armies and peoples.

On the occasion, General Sum Sam Nang, Director of the General Department of Logistics and Finance under the Royal Cambodian Army, conferred a Friendship Order and certificates of merit on 11 collectives and 22 individuals of the two Vietnamese hospitals.

Representatives of the Vietnam People’s Army presented 250 gifts to Cambodian invalid soldiers and poor patients.

Kazakh president honoured by Hanoi National University

Hanoi National University has granted an Honorary Doctoral degree to the Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev in recognition of his contributions to the development of Vietnam-Kazakhstan ties of cooperation and friendship.

The degree was granted during the Kazakh president’s visit to the University on November 1 as part of his official to Vietnam at the invitation of State President Truong Tan Sang.

Addressing university lecturers and students, President Nazarbayev acknowledged Vietnam’s achievements in many fields during the country’s renewal (Doi Moi) process. He said the development strategies of Vietnam and Kazakhstan shared many similarities, including a focus on political stability, security, national defence, independence, and territorial integrity while opening up their economies and integrating into the global community.

The Kazakh leader stressed that education is key to the future and expressed his hope that Vietnam and Kazakhstan will expand cooperation in this field, especially tertiary education, and boost the exchange of teachers and students.

Dr Mai Trong Nhuan, Director of Hanoi National University, affirmed Mr Nazarbayev has been an outstanding leader of Kazakhstan, helping to stabilize the country’s politics, improve its economy and raise its status in the international arena.

Nhuan said he hopes multifaceted cooperation between Hanoi National University and Kazakhstan’s academic establishments will also help consolidate the traditional ties between the two countries.

Hanoi National University grants its honorary title to world leading scientists, outstanding politicians, prominent social activists, and others who contribute significantly to the development of the university.

Previous recipients of the title include Chairman of the Ukrainian parliament Volodymyr Lytvyn, Professor Susan Schwab, Professor Tom Cannon, and Professor Ngo Bao Chau, who won the Fields Medal.

Uncertified meat poses risks
 
Despite HCM City agencies' best efforts, uncertified and unsafe meat continues to make its way into the city, raising concerns of a health threat.

Although blue-ear pig disease has broken out in many provinces, a large quantity of pork without clear proof of origin enters the city every day from other provinces.

According to the city Veterinary Department, more than 400 tonnes of meats of all kinds are consumed every day, but only 90 per cent has the relevant quarantine certificate, meaning some 40 tonnes of meat could spread diseases.

Health experts warn that streptococcus bacteria can be transmitted from pigs to humans if meat is not cooked properly.

Dr Nguyen Hoan Phu of the Nhiet Doi Hospital (Hospital for Tropical Diseases) said the hospital had admitted 11 people infected by swine streptococcus this year, many of whom were in critical condition.

They had eaten pork of unclear origins and developed fever, nausea and headache. Most of them live in HCM City.

Dr Ho Dang Trung of the Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University said the Hospital for Tropical Diseases annually received 30 to 40 patients with swine streptococcus, but this number had significantly increased last year.

Their records show that around a third of them worked at slaughterhouses and pork processing establishments.

The bacteria also spread from pigs to humans through wounds.

The Thu Duc Animal Quarantine Station at the city entrance, which checks meat transported into the city for quarantine certificates, said many tried to bring uncertified meat into the city.

It recently discovered a passenger car from the central province of Quang Ngai with more than a tonne of pigskin and fat without quarantine certificates.

Officials at animal quarantine stations said unsafe meat was camouflaged in sophisticated ways and it was not easy to be discovered.

Some traffickers even brought them on motorbikes, they said.

The station recently discovered more than 160kg of unsafe pork on a motorbike heading from neighbouring Dong Nai Province to HCM City for selling at a mobile market near the Linh Trung Industrial Park.

Besides pork, cattle meat without certificates is also transported to the city.

So far this year, the station has uncovered dozens of attempts to illegally transport and trade buffalo and cow meat along the Ha Noi Highway.

One such involved a passenger car which was carrying nearly 500kg of uncertified beef.

The driver had admitted that he had been hired by an illegal abattoir in Dong Nai Province to transport the meat to shops in HCM City.

Unsafe meat from illegal slaughterhouses in neighboring provinces is mainly sold to small and mobile markets that serve workers in industrial zones and poor people.

A kilogramme of pork certified as safe costs VND90,000-120,000 while dubious meat is sold at just VND60,000-70,000.

The latter could include meat from sick pigs, the department warned.

Uninfectious diseases increase sharply

Up to 350,000 people died from non-infectious diseases each year, a sharp increase over previous years, the HCM City Institute of Hygiene and Public Health said on Tuesday.

Cardiovascular disease, cancer, lung disease and diabetes led the list of fatalities, the institute told a conference on prevention and control in HCM City.

A total of 70,000 a year died of cardiovascular diseases, 66,000 died from cancer and 13,000 died from diabetes, the institute said.

Institute doctor Nguyen Thi Hiep said non-infectious diseases didn't have a clear cause, thus health workers and patients didn't pay enough attention to them.

Seventy per cent of non-infectious diseases could be prevented if residents had proper diets and took exercises regularly, she said.

"Exercise for 10 minutes a day could reduce the risk of breast and colon cancer considerably."

Hiep said Viet Nam did not have a long-term programme of education and control of non-infectious diseases.

Tourism industry needs united front

Vietnam’s tourism industry will never develop healthily in the long-term unless accommodation, catering, entertainment and transportation service providers join forces to offer the best possible services to tourists.

This was a common view shared by large numbers of enterprises, administrators and specialists at a seminar aimed to promote Vietnamese tourism held by Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper last week.

Ha Van Sieu, chairman of the Institute for Tourism Development Research, said: “We must discuss cooperation among related agencies. In fact, the roadmap for cooperation is blurry at the moment because every agency still puts its own interests before the big picture.”

For instance, room rates surge strongly in the holiday season and peak tourism season. In particular, two-star hotels in the seaside city of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province increase room rates by either 50% or 100% compared with normal days.

The tourism sector still doesn’t link with other related sectors such as customs and transportation, and transport links to tourist attractions nationwide is weak, Sieu added.

Local travel agencies cannot sit together to map out a common price list which will benefit them all and upgrade the quality of services. Unfair competition acts can be seen among tour operators, said Nguyen Thanh Tung, director of Thien Thao Nguyen Co.

Phung Thi Ly Ha, vice manager of Hanoi Train Station, proposed setting up specific working programs between travel firms and a train system management to create a close working relationship between the two forces.

Cooperation between tour operators and carriers will benefit both sides as well as offer quality services tailored to customers’ needs, claimed Hoang Thanh Quy, vice manager of the customer service department of Vietnam Airlines.

In particular, Quy said Vietnam Airlines carried about 8,000 passengers from HCMC to Hanoi for New Year’s Eve celebrations last year, but 5,000 seats on the way back were empty. If the carrier and tour operators work together, such a waste won’t happen again.
 
Gia Lai introduces internet healthcare
 
An internet project to help the seriously ill is being piloted in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai's general hospital.

The project is being undertaken by Gia Lai Health Department and HCM City's Information and Communications Department.

Gia Lai hospital is one of the five in the southern region taking part in the pilot project. The others are in HCM City's Cu Chi District and Ben Tre, An Giang and Kien Giang provinces.

The internet service was developed after several patients died while being transported to larger hospitals.

Leading doctors from HCM City-based hospitals, including Paediatric Hospital No 1, Tu Du Obstetric Hospital and the Trauma and Orthopaedic Hospital, conduct examinations and consultations and instruct local doctors on proper treatment via a large screen connected to the internet.

A 27-year-old woman who was struggling through a stillbirth was rescued thanks to the internet treatment service under instructions from doctors at the Tu Du Obstetric Hospital.

Deputy director of Gia Lai Hospital Bach Anh Hung said the case was one of the initial successes of the project.

Patients only had to pay a fee of VND100,000 (US$4.80) to be examined via internet, he said.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, deputy director of Paediatric Hospital No 1, said that thanks to the service, local doctors could update their knowledge.

However, low quality of images on the screen can be a problem. The provincial Information and Communications Department is working on perfecting the system.

Meanwhile, the national telemedicine service is waiting for approval from the Minister of Health, said a representative from the ministry's Department of Medical Services Administration.

If approved, the service is expected to be launched across the nation at the beginning of next year.

The beautiful game alive and well in Saigon

Vietnam may not be renowned for its soccer prowess, ranked 134th out of 180 international teams in the FIFA rankings and failing to progress into the World Cup qualification stages, maybe that is to be expected in a country that has a wide diverse popularity of sports and fitness activities, where football has to compete with tennis, badminton, table tennis and many other physical pursuits.

But take a look around the many soccer fields throughout the city come rain hail or shine and the passion of the game vibrates with every kick of the ball, with every tackle and every goal scored. You can then see the grip that this game has on the Vietnamese people.

During the day or under the flood lights, during a thunderstorm and spirits cannot not be deterred, the parks are full of people, running, shouting and celebrating the beautiful game and as the parks soon flood with rain water, the players battle the elements, wading through the puddles and ignoring the driving rain in pursuit of that all important goal. And it is true grass roots football, from the most professional looking player in the latest boots and strips to the many turning up bare foot and getting stuck in. Every level is accounted for from sponsored teams turning up with their matching strips, complete with sponsors logo emblazoned on the front who are playing in a competitive league or training for their weekend game to games being played, ‘tops’ versus ‘skins’ (topless) for the fun and the bragging rights in the cafes or the workplaces until the game is repeated the following week and the cycle begins again.

Each player is trying his latest trick, pass or move trying to emulate their heroes from the English Premiership, Italian Serie A or the German Bundesliga. In front of the handful of spectators, usually friends or long-suffering girlfriends the spirit of fair play ensues, goals are scored and counted, tackles are firm but fair and freekicks and penalties follow every infringement, but at the final whistle, the teams congratulate each other with hearty back slaps and hand shakes and the games and the incidents are discussed over a cold beer or two afterwards.

If only the Vietnamese Football Association could harness the dedication and passion shown by these young men and boys, maybe The Vietnamese International team could jump a few places in the FIFA rankings and make some impact within the Asian Football Federation and who knows the next Rooney or Ji-Sung Park may well be honing is skills on a park near you in Saigon.
 
Localities urged to step up fight against social evils
 
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked cities and localities to add activities to fight AIDS, drugs and prostitution into their annual social economic development programmes.

Speaking at a meeting in Ha Noi yesterday to review implementation of action plans in 2011 and define key tasks for 2012, Deputy PM Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Committee Against AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution, said the fights were important as it drew significant attention from the Party and the State.

He urged the ministries of public health, public security, national defence, and labour, invalids and social affairs to boost measures to prevent these social vices.

"Many strategies and action plans have been established. Methods to implement them effectively will be the key responsibility of all committee members," he said.

He asked each institution to conduct solid analyses and determine realistic statistics to develop better prevention and fighting measures.

"The main problem is stability during the implementation process. Drug addiction and prostitution always have implicit threats," Phuc said.

Ministry of Public Security statistics show that as of June, there were nearly 150,000 drug addicts in the country, an increase of 6,700 over the same period last year. The number of amphetamine and amphetamine-like drug users is increasing in big cities, especially in karaoke bars and discotheques in Ha Noi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Da Nang, HCM City and Nghe An.

As of October, more than 12,800 drug-related crimes including 22,500 individuals had been reported this year.

As of September, more than 193,300 people were living with HIV, including 47,000 AIDS patients. Male HIV-carriers accounted for 69 per cent of the cases. HIV transmission through drug injections and sex accounted for 48.5 per cent and 39.9 per cent respectively. Under an anti-HIV transmission programme, 21.5 million needles and syringes and more than 20 million condoms have been distributed to high risk individuals.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, nearly 2,500 prostitutes have received rehabilitation nationwide during the last nine months.

The ministry is also running detox programmes for 40,000 drug addicts at centres and in the community.

People must be proactive in coping with floods: Deputy Minister  

Dao Xuan Hoc, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has asked authorities and residents to join hands and be proactive in coping with the serious flood situation.   

During a recent interview with Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper, Mr. Hoc was asked by a concerned reporter how the Mekong Delta would manage in coping with a similar situation as that in Thailand today.

According to Mr. Hoc, no place is safe from flooding. Even the mountainous regions faced flash floods and mud slides. Natural disasters were beyond the control of man, but we can limit the destruction by prior preparation and learning to cope with worst case scenarios.

Having learnt from the recent flood havoc, provincial authorities must have ready plans to evacuate residents in emergency situations and not wait until flooding has already occurred. On the other hand, people should learn to be more self-sufficient and prepare for such crisis situations before they occur, he added.
 
Floods combined with high tide caused massive damage in the Mekong Delta this year.

The ministry is planning to inspect the irrigation system in the delta and submit a project report to the Government very soon. The entire Mekong Delta region needs a fortified dyke and sluice system to be able to utilize the floodwaters for farming production but also prevent it from causing destruction to crops and property.
 
According to Mr. Hoc, the project will give priority to the two low lying areas of Long Xuyen Quadrangular and Dong Thap Muoi, which are usually the worst affected during the flood season. However, the project will cover all the way to the lower reaches of the Mekong River.

Preschool project in Hanoi, HCMC stresses environment conservation  

The HCMC Department of Education and Training and Tetra Pak Vietnam launched a program on Monday in Ho Chi Minh City to teach preschool children the benefits of healthy nutrients and environment conservation.  

The program is part of a school project co-organized by the HCMC Department of Education and Training and Tetra Pak Vietnam.

The project includes the free distribution of a glass of milk daily, raising awareness of the importance of drinking milk amongst parents and children and educating preschool going children the importance of environment protection and conservation, starting with teaching them how to dispose milk containers.

The program had earlier been successfully organized in Hanoi on October 28 at the Quang Trung primary school and benefited 450,000 young children.

The project also showed necessary measures to be adopted in daily life which would benefit the environment and headmasters and some teachers at the primary schools in Hanoi and HCMC were taught ways to conserve the environment.
 
Japan, Vietnam hospitals to jointly provide digital diagnosis  

Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Mita Hospital in Tokyo, Japan will now coordinate to provide digital diagnosis of patients from November 1.

The entire process of transferring electronic data will take only a few minutes. Disease samples will be sent electronically by the respective hospitals and medics from both hospitals will be able to exchange diagnostic opinions on how to treat a disease.

Within the last three days, medics from the Anatomy Division of Cho Ray Hospital and their Japanese counterparts have diagnosed 40 patients including 20 Japanese and 20 Vietnamese citizens.

Vietnamese doctors gave the same diagnosis for most of the cases as their Japanese counterparts. This proves that the Vietnamese doctors were equally skilled in providing better treatment for patients.

This same pattern of cooperation between hospitals has been successfully conducted in Japan, China and Vietnam in the Asia region.

Fatty liver disease, hepatitis a growing concern in Vietnam  

A recent report delivered by the Vietnam Liver and Gall Association states that five out of ten people over the age of 40 suffered from  fatty liver disease.

According to the World Health Organization in Vietnam, Hepatitis B infection is present in 10 to 20 percent of the general population and is the cause of more than 80 percent of liver diseases and cancer cases in the country.  

Hepatitis C is also a growing concern in Vietnam, especially so as no vaccine is yet available to fight this highly contagious virus. People who inject drugs have especially high prevalence of hepatitis C infection, with up to 98.5 percent of them infected with the virus in Vietnam.

A combination of medication such as Interferon and Ribavirin drugs works as a powerful antiviral treatment against Hepatitis C, but these drugs are far too expensive and not easily available in Vietnam.

However, Vietnam has recently produced a low-cost drug; Peginterferon Alfa 2A, which is hoped will benefit Hepatitis C patients.

Hospital drugstores to sell medicines less than market rate  

Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has said that from now on hospital drugstores will have to sell medicines at a much lower rate than that in the market.  

The high price of medicines has been a matter of great contention amongst the general public; hence the government has stepped in to lower drug prices and will also issue strict fines on those violating orders.

Ms. Tien said that the ministry is determined to decrease the price of drugs and has ordered hospital authorities to manage their own in-house pharmacies and not sub-let to outside traders.

She also said that while the ministry tightens control of medicine prices in hospitals, the market management and local government must keep an eye on pharmacies outside. The ministry has asked all the hospitals to submit lists of all the different kinds of drugs in use.

Hospitals were also ordered to render computerized prescriptions to help control drug prices. Any medic prescribing unnecessary drugs to patients will face a penalty.

In addition, the ministry wants to encourage the use of domestically made drugs and increase use of generic drugs.

Currently, the ministry is proposing to change the Pharmaceutical Law and is drawing up a draft to invite bids in hospitals. Drugs are one of the 10 necessary commodities and patients cannot do without drugs, hence an effective policy is needed.

Furthermore, drugs should be divided into their respective groups, such as drugs made in developed nations and those coming from developing countries.

The ministry however admits that the new law will take time as it will also have to work with and involve the Ministry of Finance and the Health Insurance Department.
 
Operation Smile to conduct free surgery on 80 children  

Operation Smile Vietnam announced on Monday that they would conduct free surgeries on 80 children born with congenital cleft lip and cleft palate defects in Ho Chi Minh City.    
 
The organization will carry out surgeries to repair congenital defects on 80 kids and teenagers in Ho Chi Minh City and from the southern provinces from November 7 to 11.

Anyone wanting to undergo surgery to repair cleft lip and palate defects can register at the National Hospital for Odonto-Stomatology at 201A Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, ward 11, district 5 in HCMC on November 7.

Patients suffering from a cleft lip should be over 6 months old and weigh at least 8 kilograms while those suffering from a cleft palate should be at least 18 months old and weigh minimum 12 kilograms.

For further information on the program, please call: 0904885555

Heavy fines on medics providing illicit services: Ministry  

Effective December 1 this year, doctors prescribing unnecessary drugs to patients or providing illicit medical services to health insurance card holders will be heavily penalized.

This is an important clause in the contents of the new administrative law set by the government on health insurance. Medical workers will face a maximum fine of VND40 million(US$1,912) if they prescribe unnecessary medicines or ask patients to undergo unnecessary medical tests.
 
According to a report presented by the Department of Health Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, all kinds of unnecessary medical tests of patients showed an increase in 2010. For instance, 134 million biochemical tests were conducted last year, an increase of more than 12 percent since 2009. Hospitals also conducted 1.4 million CT scans and 2 million endoscopies in 2010, an increase of 10 percent and 24 percent respectively.

However, the Ministry of Health has not yet issued any set testing procedures whereby all medical tests will be able to meet the same standards and be accepted by hospitals and medical clinics across the country.

In addition, the decree also stipulates that anyone who provides fake prescriptions to health insurance holders who do not come physically to the hospital for any tests or consultation will be issued a strict warning or could be fined anything between VND500,000 to VND24 million.

Anyone lending their health insurance card to others or using other person’s card will face a fine from VND500,000 to VND2 million, and have their card impounded for a period of 30 days.