The tourism sector needs to take a new approach in its tourism promotion campaigns so as to bring efficiency gains, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong said on April 10.

At a conference held by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Phong stressed that popularisation activities should target several crucial markets such as the US, Australia, and  India, and urged the VNAT to bolster cooperation with competent parties in launching its tourism campaigns and penning measures to handle challenges posed by geopolitical conflicts, economic recession, and high airfares.

VNAT Deputy Director General Ha Van Sieu said tourism promotion is the key to realise the set target of welcoming 17-18 million international and 110 million domestic visitors.

In the context of fierce competition among destinations, costly services and air tickets, Sieu said it is a must to have timely forecast and response while boosting digital tourism promotion, carrying out key campaigns, and diversifying market approach, among others.

Three to four promotion campaigns are carried out in foreign countries every year, he said, adding as for 2024, one will be held in North America, Australia, and China in Q2 and one in Europe, ASEAN and India in Q3.

With a view to making Vietnam’s tourism glow on the global map, the promotion work will focus on key offerings such as sea tourism, cultural heritage tourism and ecotourism, and those serving high-quality market like golf tourism, adventure tourism, and cruise tourism, he added./. 

Training and fostering co-operative workers needs to be more effective

Many co-operatives, currently, are not operating effectively and face difficulties in applying technology and meeting the increasing market demands, said Cao Xuân Thu Vân, president of the Việt Nam Co-operative Alliance (VCA).

“This is because co-operatives’ human resources are not guaranteed in quantity and quality,” Vân said in a workshop on improving the quality of training for members and workers of co-operatives and collective economic organisations.

“Co-operatives play a very important role in training human resources to help develop ecological agriculture, modern rural areas and farmers, thereby promoting the linkage of agriculture, rural areas and farmers,” she said.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), among the total 72,359 agricultural co-operative management staff nation-wide, up to 44 per cent have not been trained and only 16 per cent have college, university or post-graduate degrees.

Notably, 32 per cent of co-operatives directors have not been trained. This figure in the Mekong Delta is up to 57.3 per cent and in Tây Nguyên (the Central Highlands) region is 44.6 per cent.

This is an on-going concern for many co-operatives.

In fact, vocational training for rural workers associated with the establishment of co-operative groups and cooperatives is one of the important contents stipulated in the Vocational Training Project for Rural Workers.

Statistics from the General Department of Vocational Education (Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs - MoLISA) showed that in 11 years of implementing the vocational training project for rural workers, 61,217 people after getting vocational training have established production groups, co-operatives and small-scale enterprises.

On average, every year, 5,565 people after vocational training have set up co-operative production groups, co-operatives and enterprises to create jobs for themselves and other local workers.

However, only 2 per cent of people getting vocational training establish co-operatives and enterprises.

Đào Trọng Độ, director of MoLISA’s Regular Training Department, said that currently, many localities cannot mobilise active artisans to participate in training and imparting vocational skills to co-operatives’ workers.

This may be because artisans wanted to keep their craft a secret to pass on within their families, said Độ.

But it is also due to the policy being inappropriate and cumbersome, he added.

Currently, the three national target programmes of building new rural areas, reducing poverty, and developing ethnic minority areas all have projects and sub-projects on training rural labour resources, of which there are cooperatives.

In fact, many localities have not used all the support resources for training rural and co-operative workers, but co-operatives remain short of trained and qualified workers, Độ said.

This requires detailed statistical review to reach a satisfactory solution.

The VCA’s president said that ministries and sectors also have programmes to train human resources for co-operatives, but the programmes operate separately, diminishing their effectiveness.

In particular, the co-operative management position and accounting team have not been paid attention to training.

Lê Văn Việt, CEO of Xuyên Việt Co-operative in Hải Dương Province, said that attracting high-quality human resources for many cooperatives is difficult because of their small scale, and high-quality human resources say that co-operatives are not their destination.

This is the problem for cooperatives, he said.

Co-operatives need to have methodical and professional production models, capable of developing and bringing value to members, Việt said.

He shared the experience of Xuyên Việt Co-operative, which for many years co-ordinated with schools to take on capable students as interns, pay their tuition fees and then recruit them.

With commitment, knowledgeable young people are very excited to work, contribute and join the cooperative, he said.

Currently, the co-operative attracts many talented people from large corporations to work. To do so, co-operatives also need to be transparent about their finances and production and business activities, he added.

Human resource training for co-operatives is extremely important, to help co-operatives overcome difficulties and develop effectively. 

Amended Law on Pharmacy 2016 expected to give better access to medication

Despite answering a number of state management requirements, the Pharmacy Law 2016 still displays certain inadequacies. Its amendments are supposed to provide patients with better access to new medication.

To address inadequacies in the Law on Pharmacy 2016, the Government has already submitted a draft Law on Amendments for the Pharmacy Law 2016 to the National Assembly, which then approved the document. At present, the Health Ministry is collecting opinions from related ministries, functional agencies, and citizens on the content of this law.

Deputy Head Le Viet Dung of the Pharmaceutical Management Authority (under the Health Ministry) informed that the adjustments this time focus on such important policies as

Timely and sufficiently providing high-quality medicines for citizens in need;

Ensuring timely and sufficient medication for security and national defense purposes as well as treatments after natural disasters and disease prevention in the new context;
Improving the performance of medicine or pharmaceutical material import-export activities according to the national socio-economic growth and international practices;
Re-organizing drug, pharmaceutical material trading and distribution systems to meet requirements of socio-economic development and international integration.
The draft amended Law on Amendments for the Pharmacy Law 2016 also stipulates certain incentives, especially in investments, for the manufacturing of new drugs, original brand drugs, herbal drugs with domestic input materials, hi-tech drugs, biotechnological drugs, specialized drugs whose technologies are transferred to Vietnam.

There will be more favorable conditions for the procedures to register for medicine circulation, medical technology transfer, pharmaceutical research as well as foreign investment attraction in producing medicinal materials, new drugs, original brand drugs, specialized drugs.

These amendments are expected to increase the chance for patients, especially the poor, to approach necessary medication.

Statistics reveal that during the 2012-2021 period, about 460 new medicines were introduced in the world, only 40 of which are available in Vietnam. This is much lower than the average proportion of the Asia-Pacific region, meaning disadvantages to patients in the country. That stems from the tardiness in issuing medicine circulation permits and complex regulations on extending these permits.

The amendments this time are going to simplify those essential procedures from three months to only 15 days, and they can be done automatically.

General Secretary Nguyen Dieu Ha of the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association (VNPCA) commented that the procedures to extend medicine circulation permits or medicinal material registrations should be eliminated since a large number of drugs have long been used and have their quality proved all over the world.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Van Truyen, former Deputy Minister of Health, stated that the global pharmaceutical industry is developing quickly, so it is necessary to introduce a number of new terms related to this field to comply with international standards.

He added that imprecise definitions of new concepts for the past few years have led to inadequacies or misunderstandings, which ultimately results in tardiness in drug registration. Also, there should be suitable policies to promote research and transfer of advanced technology for producing hi-tech drugs, biotechnological drugs, specialized drugs to answer emergency needs in Vietnam.

Lately, the Health Ministry has announced several extensions of medicine circulation permits for more than 11,700 drugs and medicinal materials until December 31, 2024. It has also issued new permits according to the Pharmacy Law for over 4,000 drugs already having their registered numbers. Another 3,000 new drugs without such a number have obtained their own circulation permits for 3-5 years.

Mechanisms, policies - push for development of high schools for the gifted model

To help the model of high schools for the gifted grow more, mechanisms and policies must be a push for the model, especially talent development strategies.

In January 2022, the Ministry of Education and Training organized a conference to summarize the Project ‘Development of High Schools for the Gifted in the period 2010-2020’. One year later, new regulations on the operation of specialized high schools were issued, aiming to improve the quality of specialized school operations.

After more than 10 years of implementing the Project ‘Development of the high schools for the gifted in the period 2010-2020’, the number of specialized schools across the country has increased from 68 schools in 2010 to 77 schools in 2020. Each province and centrally run city have 1-2 specialized schools. To date, of 77 specialized schools, 60 establishments have been recognized as national standards thanks to huge investments in upgrading facilities and teaching equipment.

Although the number of students at specialized schools only accounts for about 2.7 percent of the total number of high school students in the country, they have brought gold, silver and bronze medals from regional and international Olympics for the country.

Specifically, from 2013 to 2022 alone, Vietnamese students' achievements at international competitions increased in both quantity and quality. Particularly for mountainous provinces and difficult areas, specialized schools have significantly contributed to the improvement of the teaching and learning quality.

Currently, most provinces and cities have stipulated specific policies to attract good teachers to specialized schools; At the same time, local authorities have covered the fees of computer and foreign language training courses for management staff and teachers of specialized schools.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son commented that investment in the specialized school system in recent years has been on the right track, creating a strong change in improving the quality of education. However, all localities believe that the Ministry of Education and Training needs to soon complete the Project to continue yielding more fruitful outcomes.

Recently, at the meeting and commending students who won the 2023 Olympic and International Science and Technology prizes, Acting President Vo Thi Anh Xuan requested the education and training sector to continue to propose policies to discover and foster talents. Specialized school is oriented towards helping students become potential human resources for the country’s future development.

To achieve that goal, according to Professor Nguyen Lan Dung from the Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology under the Hanoi National University, training must synthesize the strength of many resources as a solution to connect high schools and universities, even taking advantage of the facilities and teaching staff of universities to improve the operational efficiency of specialized schools.

In addition to existing achievements, the Ministry of Education and Training reported that the specialized school system still has some limitations. Some specialized schools have not met national standards while others have heavily focused on fostering excellent students without attention to practical skills, experiments, scientific research, and developing soft skills for students and the connection between high school and university is still wide.

Faced with that reality, the Ministry of Education and Training requires localities not to view specialized training solely for the purpose of achievements and awards. Teachers must comprehensively teach students, including non-specialized subjects or else it will lead to students having knowledge bias. It is necessary to define special educational methods that are applied in schools for the gifted with the orientation toward the promotion of self-study capacity and encourage talent development.

In recent years, in addition to specialized schools, many localities have also built high-quality school systems and advanced schools to meet the diverse learning needs of students. In some places, specialized schools are developed according to a high-quality model; for example, in addition to Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted and Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted, the city also allowed enrollment of 10th-grade students at a number of other public high schools, and at the same time develops three public high schools following advanced models.

Meanwhile, the advanced school model has not made an outstanding mark in creating a source of excellent students. Therefore, an educator who is formerly the principal of a public high school in Ho Chi Minh City recommends that responsible agencies should comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of specialized training models in public schools to avoid waste in investments.

According to Associate Professor Tran Xuan Nhi, social contributions are for normal training meanwhile state budget should pour into special training to make significant contributions to the training improvement of high-quality human resources for localities.

In addition, experts and educators are currently expecting that the Ministry of Education and Training should make statistics on how many specialized school students work in the correct majors of training at the high school level, and how many of them establish careers in foreign countries. The Ministry’s statistics will serve as a basis for quantifying the future mechanisms and policies.

Brain drain prevention needs more efforts in Vietnam

Since 1974 when Vietnam for the first time joined an international Olympiad contest, hundreds of students have marked their names in the global list of talented people. They should be properly designated to contribute more to the nation.

Famous figures like Hoang Le Minh, Dam Thanh Son, Le Ba Khanh Trinh, Le Tu Quoc Thang, Ngo Bao Chau, or Le Anh Vinh have proved the high teaching quality of Vietnam compared to the world. Yet adopting a suitable method to avoid brain drain and make better use of these gifted people is a challenge to the country’s leaders.

Dinh Cao Son – first year student at Hanoi National University of Education – is one in the Top-10 Outstanding Vietnamese Young People 2023. Being the only student on the list, he has obtained impressive achievements from international contests like his gold medal in the International Chemistry Olympiad 2023.

He recalled that when in his 10th grade, he had encountered various obstacles learning Chemistry; yet, the support from his classmates and devotion of his teacher in Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted helped him overcome the difficulties. He now opts to be a chemistry teacher to pass the passion for this subject to next generations of students.

Statistics from the Education Quality Management Agency (under the Ministry of Education and Training) reveal that in the last 5 years, 174 Vietnamese students, most of whom come from high schools for the gifted, have taken part in international and regional Olympiads in the fields of Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Informatics. They have won 54 gold, 68 silver, and 40 bronze medals in total, along with 8 certificates of merits. For many years, Vietnam has stably stood in the list of Top-10 countries with excellent results.

In the nomination list for the Top-10 Outstanding Vietnamese Young People 2023, there are three students, all of whom have achieved high results in global contests. Sadly, only Dinh Cao Son decided to develop his career domestically, while the other two selected foreign universities to pursue their degrees and then started working in other nations.

Similar stories can be found with winners of famous national talent contests. They earn a scholarship to obtain their tertiary degrees in international universities and begin their careers there as well. Only a small number consider coming back to Vietnam to work.

One such devoted figure is Prof. Dr. Le Anh Vinh, who earned his doctorate degree from Harvard University (the US) and becomes the youngest professor in Vietnam when he was only 37 years old. Being a student at Natural Science High School for the Gifted (under the University of Science – Vietnam National University-Hanoi, he received a full IT scholarship from New South Wales University (Australia), followed by his pursuance of the doctorate degree in Harvard University. In October 2011, he decided to come back to Vietnam and has been a lecturer in the University of Education (Vietnam National University-Hanoi).

Other remarkable persons who have displayed their commitment to their fatherland are Dr. Hoang Le Minh – the first Vietnamese to win a gold medal in the International Mathematics Olympiad 1974, Dr. Le Ba Khanh Trinh – winner of a gold medal in the International Mathematics Olympiad 1979.

A quick survey among domestic universities shows that less than 20 percent of current professors, doctors, and management officials have received training in other countries. Since most have experienced the domestic educational environment only, the tertiary teaching methods at Vietnamese universities cannot keep up with those at develop nations. Some experts in the fields even commented that there is a serious lack of connectivity between secondary and tertiary levels in the country, leading to a weaker ability to produce highly skillful human resources to contribute to the national development.

Deputy Director Mai Tan Linh of the Education and Training Department of Da Nang City said that 10 years ago, the city launched a project to send excellent students to other countries for training. Sadly, the project results were not as expected since many selected learners would rather pay back the fees in order to stay in other nations than coming back to Vietnam to work after studying. This is because the job opportunities and salaries for these people do not match their previous learning efforts. That is not to mention the working environment is not truly favorable to them.

Da Nang City also considered school fee exemption to students at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted, yet the applicable financial mechanism does not allow that, which is quite a pity!

H.T.T.H, a former teacher from Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, shared that many alumni of her school still keep in touch with one another via chat groups on social network platforms. When there is a community project or a school activity, they are willing to provide support. Obviously, it is these enthusiastic alumni that help to spread the fame of high schools for the gifted and connect to foreign professionals. However, there should be more support policies to encourage the participation of this valuable resource in the activities of their old schools.

Prof. Dr. Le Anh Vinh – Chairman of the Vietnam National Institute of Education Sciences – said that one of the most concerns of talented people when coming back to their fatherland is the working and research environment, including infrastructure, financial conditions, an available research community. This means material benefits are not the only factor affecting their decision to work in Vietnam or not.

To maximize the intellectual resources of young scientists, it is necessary to synchronously deploy solutions for financial investment, infrastructure upgrades, human resources development, open legal mechanisms so that these scientists can develop to their fullest.

Ministry detects violations in opening new majors in universities

Inspectors from the Ministry of Education and Training detected violations in opening new majors in many schools.

The 2018 Law on Higher Education allows higher education institutions to autonomously open training majors based on the criteria of the Ministry of Education and Training’s Circular 02/2022/TT-BGDDT on January 18, 2022.

According to the Ministry’s statistics, universities opened nearly 1,200 new majors from 2019 to August 2023. Inspectors from the Ministry of Education and Training performed inspections discovering many violations in the opening of new majors at universities in March 2023.

The Ministry of Education and Training Inspectorate has just announced inspection conclusions on the implementation of regulations on autonomously opening undergraduate and postgraduate training majors at many universities. For instance, Hoa Sen University has opened 15 undergraduate majors and one master's degree major in the period from 2020 to December 2022.

However, the inspection results showed that many university-level majors do have majors suitable to the majors expected to be opened.

Similarly, Hong Bang International University planned to open nine new majors but lecturers who were responsible for organizing the implementation of seven training programs at the same time didn't have suitable qualified degrees.

The University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the National University of Ho Chi Minh City autonomously opened a major when it did not meet the conditions for autonomy which is contrary to the present regulations.

In particular, although the school was not yet eligible for autonomy according to the provisions of the Law on Higher Education by September 9, 2022, the school issued a decision to open three majors with university degrees, two master's degree majors and one doctoral degree major with the school's seal.

Not only universities in Ho Chi Minh City but other local schools also have similar violations.

Worse, in some majors, the school did not adequately survey social needs, leading to poor enrollment after opening the major. As a consequence, the school stopped enrolment of 11 majors in 2022 and two other majors in 2023.

According to the Circular 02, to open a new major, a training facility must ensure the criteria for teaching staff and facilities as well as prove the social requirements of the human resource for new majors which educational establishments plan to open. However, schools have carried out surveys and forecasts carelessly leading to some schools have had to stop enrolling students after opening new majors due to poor enrolment.

Take Hoa Sen University as an example. Out of 15 majors that were opened at Hoa Sen University from 2020 to 2022, six majors could have enough students as planned and four majors stopped enrollment in 2023. The school has conducted an incomplete survey of social needs, leading to no enrollment or very low enrollment since opening new majors.

Hong Bang International University opened nine majors between 2020 and 2022, but later, the school had to stop the enrollment of seven majors since they did not closely forecast social needs, leading to enrolment failure. The school stopped student enrolment in majors such as Chinese studies, Korean studies, Japanese studies, Physical education, Fashion design, Industrial management, and Construction engineering.

In addition, out of a total of 33 university-level majors, there are up to 10 majors that are not included in the statistical list of university-level training majors. Among the 10 majors included in the training list, lecturers who are responsible for managing the major faculty have doctorate degrees but their training majors are not clear.

For the same reason of careless survey of social needs when opening the major was not complete, in 2022 and 2023, many universities had to stop enrolling students because no students registered to study at schools.

It’s worth mentioning that when surveying the needs of society, schools listed a series of companies and businesses that need to recruit human resources in the next 4 or 5 years, but in reality, no learners are interested in studying in these fields. Inspectors of the Ministry of Education and Training have punished a number of schools for not maintaining all conditions after a short time of opening new majors.

Furthermore, some schools had to transfer students who registered in these schools to other schools because these schools had no textbooks and lecturers with doctoral degrees.

Accordingly, Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son said that when opening new majors, schools must determine whether they are suitable for current and future trends and needs of society. Another important point is that the school must have enough capacity to ensure quality. Schools must publicize all admission data including lecturers, facilities, programs, and admission methods transparently to help candidates choose schools of their choice.

Hà Nội sees improved performance in hospitality market

Occupancy rates on Hà Nội’s hotel market reached 65 per cent in the first quarter, increasing by 1 percentage point quarter-on-quarter and 7 percentage points year-on-year, according to Savills Việt Nam’s report on the Hà Nội real estate market in the first quarter, released in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

The average room rate increased by 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 11 per cent year-on-year. Movenpick Hà Nội (four-star hotel) recently resumed its operation after renovation, which supported this increase.

“Tourism metrics across the board continued to improve, in many cases eclipsing the pre-covid benchmarks. With the closure of less viable stock, the sector appears in good shape,” said Troy Griffiths, Savills Việt Nam’s Deputy Managing Director.

In the first quarter, the number of foreign visitors to Việt Nam reached 4.6 million. South Korea was the primary source market with over 1.2 million visitors, a 150 per cent increase year on year. Following it was China with nearly 890,000 visitors, six times higher than the first quarter of 2023. Other notable source markets included Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, India and the US.

Of which, the number of visitors to Hà Nội in the first quarter of 2024 reached 6.5 million, increasing by 11 per cent year on year. Foreign visitors accounted for 1.4 million, up by 40 per cent year on year, and domestic visitors numbered 5.1 million, up 5 per cent year on year. However, there is room for improvement as this figure was 87 per cent of the 2019 level.

This report also stated that in the first quarter, the stock of 11,120 rooms from 67 projects fell by 1 per cent quarter after two projects were no longer graded three-star in this quarter. However, this stock rose by 8 per cent year on year with two four-star and four five-star projects officially graded in 2023. 

This year, two new projects will enter the capital city’s market. From 2024 to 2026, 2,896 new rooms are expected across 13 projects. Nine five-star projects will supply 76 per cent of future supply, while four-star projects will supply a 24 per cent share. No three-star projects are expected in the next three years.

The majority of new projects are inner city with 1,732 rooms from eight projects, equivalent to a 60 per cent share. Of which, seven international projects will supply 1,177 rooms, with the most notable operator being Hilton, accounting for 25 per cent, and Fusion with 17 per cent. 

Ca Mau’s largest freshwater reservoir to go into use in May

The southernmost province of Ca Mau’s largest freshwater reservoir is scheduled to be put into operation next month to serve 11,000 households.

Work on the VND248 billion (USD9.92 million) reservoir located in Khanh An Commune in U Minh Ha District was started in 2022 and it covers 102 hectares and has a 3.85 million cubic metres capacity.

According to Ca Mau Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Phan Hoang Vu, roughly 82 percent of the project has been completed and the remaining work was slated to be finished in May.

The reservoir benefited from World Bank Official Development Assistance and will serve people in Tran Van Thoi and Thoi Binh districts.

Over the past month, residents in the Mekong Delta region, including Ca Mau, have struggled with water shortages due to the prolonged drought. People had to buy clean water at high prices.

The hot weather has been forecasted to last in the region for another 10 days. The rainy season will begin in the region in May.

Travel ban for businesspeople owing back taxes

Authorities in the central province of Quang Ngai have imposed travel restrictions on business owners due to their outstanding tax arrears.

The Quang Ngai Department of Taxation has informed the Immigration Department about the overseas travel ban for dozens of people who are directors or legal representatives of local enterprises that have failed to pay tax arrears.

According to the Quang Ngai Taxation Department, by the end of February 2024, as many as 47 enterprises had failed to pay tax arrears totalling over VND482 billion (USD19.47 million).

Tan Mai Mien Trung Company in Binh Son District currently owes the biggest tax debt of over VND220 billion, followed by Technip Complex in Quang Ngai City with over VND160 billion in tax arrears.

Other firms that have failed to pay taxes include Homeland Real Estate Investment and Development Company, Uni-Tech Construction Company, Phuc Thinh MTV Trade and Construction Company, and Duc Thinh Construction Company.

Quang Ngai Taxation Department has issued overseas travel bans against the directors or legal representatives of these enterprises from April 4 to ensure the outstanding tax payments are made.

Digital transformation needed to facilitate people's timely access to medical services

Digital transformation in all fields is a vital trend and a mandatory requirement for countries that want to enhance economic development, improve quality of life, and promote social progress and prosperity, said Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan.

Healthcare is one of eight priority areas for digital transformation which is expected to be a driving force for the sector’s development to better serve people, the minister told a meeting reviewing digital transformation work in 2023 and plan for 2024 held by the Ministry of Health in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

With the message "Connect - Share - Accompany", the conference demonstrated the strong commitment of the Ministry of Health to connect the central and local levels in digital transformation in medical work.

Lan said: “In digital transformation, moving from awareness to action is very important.”

“The Ministry of Health has determined that promoting digital transformation is a major programme, a key direction and response to the current situation,” she said.

“By 2030, digital transformation will create conditions for people to access medical services promptly and effectively, and serve the ministry’s management and administration work clearly and transparently to meet people's needs in a quick and suitable manner,” the minister said.

In the meeting, the minister reviewed the digital transformation results that the health sector has achieved in recent times, contributing to bringing many innovations to the health sector such as helping reduce health care and travel costs of people and businesses, and facilitating management, examination, testing and treatment through electronic medical records. However, there are still limitations and shortcomings to overcome.

The legal basis for promoting digital transformation and innovation is not appropriate, information technology infrastructure is not commensurate with the volume of data managed by the health sector, the technology platform for digital transformation in healthcare is still fragmented, and network security is also a concern, the minister said.

To enhance health digital transformation, in the near future, the ministry will develop a national digital database to create a foundation for digital government, ensuring the provision of digital data for online public services, smooth sharing of data between State agencies.

The ministry will also develop and approve dossiers proposing information system security levels and implement plans to ensure information security and network security according to the provisions of law, as well as create a digital database for the health sector to meet the requirements of connection and sharing of information and data resources.

In addition, the ministry will direct the implementation of technical solutions and plans to develop medical digital infrastructure at local level, and build specialised database systems including medical examination, treatment, preventive medicine, human resources, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals in accordance with the direction of decentralisation of management from central to local levels.

Units have to complete the national healthcare database, and apply digital technologies to effectively exploit data on the basis of taking people as the centre and electronic health records as the core to digitise people's health data.

In the conference, the participating units also introduced digital medical platforms such as remote medical examination, treatment and consultation, electronic health record, evaluation of platform implementation, tasks of ensuring information and network security, and data encryption attacks (ransomware), and medical information security training courses. 

Ministries to strengthen inspection on occupational safety and hygiene

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has proposed that agencies and local authorities strengthen work safety inspections to better protect workers' health and safety.

Statistics from the Department of Labour Safety under the MoLISA show that last year, the number of labour accidents, people with occupational diseases and serious incidents was still high and worrying.

Specifically, last year the country had nearly 7,400 occupational accidents injuring nearly 7,600 people.

Among the occupations with many fatal accidents, the construction sector accounts for 18.27 per cent of the total cases and 20.03 per cent of deaths.

The mining and mineral exploitation sector accounts for 16.14 per cent of the total accidents and 17.8 per cent of the deaths.

Damage due to occupational accidents was estimated at more than VNĐ16.3 trillion (US$652 million).

It was an increase by about VNĐ2.2 trillion ($88 million) compared to 2022.

Deputy Director of the Department of Labour Safety, Chu Thị Hạnh, said that management agencies and local authorities had made many efforts recently to ensure workplace safety and workers’ health.

The attempt also aimed at reducing the number of occupational accidents and consequences.

Although some results have been achieved, said Hạnh, occupational safety and hygiene still had some shortcomings.

The main reason is that many employers do not pay enough care or strictly implement legal regulations on labour risk management and control.

In addition, many workers have not been trained in occupational safety and hygiene and lack the necessary knowledge and skills on accident prevention.

To ensure occupational safety and hygiene and well conduct the May action month for occupational safety and hygiene this year, Director of the Department of Labour Safety Hà Tất Thắng said the MoLISA, as the steering committee for the action month, proposed that ministries direct enterprises to proactively inspect labour safety and hygiene.

They should carry out examinations on businesses in fields with high risks of occupational accidents and serious incidents.

Along with that, the MoLISA requested provincial and municipal people's committees pay more attention to checking enterprises’ compliance with safety regulations and occupational hygiene.

From February to May this year, inspectors from the Department of Labour Safety have been coordinating with local departments of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to examine 16 businesses in Hà Nội and HCM City.

According to the plan, in March and April, inspectors have been checking Việt Nam National Chemical Group and its 11 members, the Việt Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company and its nine members.

From April to the end of June this year, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Construction, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade will also organise inspections of occupational safety and hygiene at several departments.

In Hà Nội, the Director of the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Bạch Liên Hương, said the action month launching ceremony was scheduled for April 19 at the Việt Nam Soviet Friendship Palace of Culture and Labour.

On this occasion, Hà Nội will not only enhance inspections on this matter but also facilitate support for businesses in enhancing working conditions.

The capital city would give education and training to workers to raise awareness about labour accident prevention, and the education would be held as a regular work, she said. 

Bình Dương toils to prevent saltwater intrusion up rivers

Bình Dương Province is taking measures to cope with saltwater intrusion up the Sài Gòn and Đồng Nai rivers, reduced water flows from Trị An and Dầu Tiếng lakes into these rivers and prolonged hot weather.

Water levels at the sources of the two rivers are low due to prolonged heat caused by the El Nino phenomenon. Despite Bình Dương being located a long distance upriver from the sea, saltwater intrusion is increasing.

The reduced water flows from Trị An and Dầu Tiếng lakes are exacerbating the problem.

The saltwater intrusion is having a severe impact on daily lives and livelihoods in the community. 

So far the farthest saltwater has intruded up the Sài Gòn River is 76km from the coast, while it is 78km in the Đồng Nai.

Nguyễn Khánh Trường, head of the province Irrigation Sub-department, said his agency has coordinated with authorities managing the Dầu Tiếng - Phước Hòa irrigation system to adjust water releases to keep the saltwater at bay.

It has stepped up oversight of and data collection on the salinity levels in the rivers and forecast of saltwater intrusion in the downstream areas to respond proactively, he said.

It has inspected and maintained irrigation works to ensure they work well, providing enough water for daily use and agricultural production, he added.

The Bình Dương Water - Environment Corporation Joint Stock Company regularly checks water quality and laid pipes between various water pumping stations to ensure adequate supply to the community.

Dương Hoàng Sơn, deputy director of the company, said it regularly collects water samples and conducts quality checks to ensure safety.

Through proactive prevention and responses to the saltwater intrusion, the province is seeking to limit its impacts on water treatment plants along the two rivers.

HCM City to provide better care for elderly, orphans

The HCM City People's Committee has issued a plan to implement specific policies to take care of the elderly, orphans and people in difficult circumstances.

The plan aims to promptly support disadvantaged people who have not yet enjoyed social policies, according to the government’s Decree No. 20/2021/ND-CP.

The city wants to narrow the gap in living standards between special beneficiaries of this support policy and other residents.

Relevant agencies and departments will call for social financial contributions and state budgets to support people in need.

Under this plan, elderly people aged 75 years or older in poor households or near-poor households according to the city's set of multidimensional poverty measurement criteria in Cần Giờ district, according to the provisions of the Residence Law, will be given free health insurance cards.

The support level is 1.25 times the city's standard social assistance rate per person monthly.

Elderly people aged 60 years or older living alone without a husband or wife with a certificate of single living according to the provisions of the Civil Status Law are eligible for free health insurance cards.

People with serious illnesses, those whose capability to perform his/her usual job face a 31 per cent restriction due to work-related accident, injury or other accident, but are not yet entitled to social insurance benefits or monthly social benefits, will be issued a free health insurance card.

Orphaned children will also be given free health insurance cards.

The city also gives tuition support for preschool children, public high school students, and continuing education which is equal to the tuition fee set by the municipal People's Council.

The tuition support level for children studying at private or public educational establishments is equal to the tuition rate of public schools.

The monthly support level is 2.5 times the city's social assistance standard for a child under four years old, and 1.5 times the social assistance standard for a child aged four years or older.

Children whose parents are either serving a prison sentence or are serving a decision to apply administrative measures at compulsory education facilities or compulsory drug detoxification establishments are granted free health insurance cards (except for children under six years old).

Children whose father or mother is receiving social benefits according to government Decree No. 20/2021/ND-CP can get a free health insurance card (except for children under six years old).

The city also has a policy to support the issuance of health insurance cards to disadvantaged groups. 

Đom Lơng Néak Tà Festival recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage

The Đom Lơng Néak Tà Festival of the Khmer People in Trà Vinh Province is recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is an intangible cultural heritage categorised as a traditional festival, and is the 7th heritage of the province to be included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

Khmer people organise the Đom Lơng Néak Tà Festival at Néak Tà temples to worship Néak Tà, the god of protection for rain, good crops, health and peace. The festival takes place annually in April or May, during the transition between the dry and rainy seasons after Chol Chnam Thmay. Each region chooses its own festival day. 

The Neak Ta worshipping ceremony lasts for three days and nights. About 10 days before the worshipping ceremony, Acha and older people in the community in Phum Sóc will come to each house to announce the date and time of the Néak Tà worshipping ceremony and gather materials, rice and salt. 

According to research in the province, there are 242 Néak Tà temple houses in the province. The Provincial General Museum has selected four typical festival sites to coordinate with the Department of Culture and Information of Trà Cú, Cầu Kè, Châu Thành and Duyên Hải districts to conduct scientific records of intangible cultural heritage.

"The Đom Lơng Néak Tà Festival has become a cultural activity with rich folk distinctiveness and an essential need in the community and spiritual life of Khmer residents in Trà Vinh Province. The celebration helps to foster a vibrant and healthy spiritual life and fortifies the bonds among the ethnic groups in the area. All who attend the celebration go home with optimistic dreams of a bumper crop and a belief that family and friends will be content, prosperous and healthy," said Thạch Bồi, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Trà Vinh Province.

Speaking at the ceremony, comrade Lê Thanh Bình, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, requested professional sectors and localities to continue to maintain and preserve the Đom Lơng Néak Tà Festival associated with tourism development. The local authorities should strengthen information dissemination internally and to the masses about the significance of heritage values, as well as timely collect documents related to the festival for its preservation and promotion. 

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes