Ten rescued monkeys have been released into Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh, according to the Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Creature Development under the park's management board.

The animals include five rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) and five southern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina). They were voluntarily handed over by residents and relevant agencies. 

Pham Kim Vuong from the centre's rescue section said these monkeys belong to IIB group in the list of endangered and rare species priorised for protection under the Government’s Decree 84/2021/ND-CP. Group IIB includes threatened and rare species and a permit is required for all purposes including scientific research, conservation and commercial exploitation. 

The centre has so far this year released a total of 48 individuals of endangered and rare wild animals that are listed in Vietnam and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red books.

First-instance trial opens for former military officers in pandemic-related corruption case

The military court of the capital city of Hanoi on December 27 opened the first-instance trial for seven defendants related to the COVID-19 test kit case at Viet A Company and the Vietnam Military Medical University (VMMU). Among the defendants, there are four former military officers from the VMMU.
 
Three were prosecuted for “abusing position and power while performing duties”, and the other four for “violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences”.

The indictment of the Central Military Procuracy read that amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, the Board of Directors of the VMMU sent a document to the Ministry of Science and Technology, proposing the task of developing COVID-19 test kits.

The accused managed to engage the Viet A Technologies JSC into the test kit development project worth nearly 19 billion VND (over 781,400 USD) and help it get the licence to illegally produce the test kits.

Their wrongdoings caused an economic loss of nearly 18.5 billion VND.

The first-instance trial is scheduled to last for three days.

Conference connects OVs with localities, businesses

A conference seeking ways to promote resources of overseas Vietnamese (OVs) and connect localities and businesses was held in the northern port city of Hai Phong on December 27.

The event attracted the participation of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Le Tien Chau, representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and Laos, National Assembly agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and 29 provinces and cities. It also saw leaders of enterprises and business associations and over 100 OVs from 22 countries and territories.

Speaking at the conference, Quang said that amidst complex developments of the world political and economic situations, thanks to the sound and prompt leadership of the Party and the drastic engagement of ministries, sectors and localities, and the solidarity and efforts of the entire nation, Vietnam has reaped great achievements.

The important results have also been contributed by the OV community, he stressed.

Appreciating the initiative to organise the conference by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the People’s Committee of Hai Phong city, the Deputy PM affirmed that its theme of connecting OVs with businesses and localities as well as discussion contents related to green investment, human resources development and supply chains conform with the Government’s current priorities.

He asked relevant agencies to listen to and acquire ideas and recommendations of OVs so as to promote their resources to better serve the national building and development.

Le Thi Thu Hang, Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairwoman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, said that the OV community has truly become a valuable and potential resource, and the Party and State always treasure and appreciate its contributions, and pay attention to supporting and creating favourable conditions for them to stabilise their lives and contribute to the homeland.

Upgraded Vietnamese-funded hospital inaugurated in Laos

A ceremony was held on December 27 in Xaysomboun province, Laos, to inaugurate and hand over the upgraded Xaysomboun hospital – a gift from the Government of Vietnam to Laos.

The upgrade started in February 2021 with a total investment of over 158 billion VND (6.5 million USD). The 80-bed hospital now has high-quality advanced equipment and its medical examination and treatment capacity are improved.

Speaking at the ceremony, Viengsavanh Vilayphone, Standing Vice Chairman of the Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Committee, appreciated Vietnam’s support to Laos which demonstrates the solid foundation of the great friendship, special solidarity and cooperation between the two countries. It also shows the strong commitment of the Vietnamese Government to supporting the Lao Government in socio-economic development, ensuring social security for the Lao people.

Major General Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Deputy Commander of the Military Region 4 and Head of the Project Management Board on the Vietnamese side, emphasised the investment in the project vividly demonstrates the great friendship and special solidarity between the two Parties and Governments in general and the deep affection between the armed forces of Military Region 4 and Xaysomboun province in particular.

Suksavath Vongphumleck, Deputy Governor of Xaysomboun province, expressed his sincere and deep gratitude to the Party and Government of Vietnam for supporting the province.

He affirmed that Vietnam’s support in building and upgrading the hospital greatly contributes to the local socio-economic development and helps local people access high-quality medical services conveniently.

PM sets tasks for public security force next year

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh outlined certain tasks for the public security force while attending the 79th National Public Security Conference opened in Hanoi on December 27.

The two-day event is held by the Central Public Security Party Committee and the Ministry of Public Security.

In his speech, PM Chinh said the people’s public security force has reaped better results compared to last year though there are more difficulties and challenges than opportunities and advantages in the domestic and world situations in 2023.

It has fulfilled its role in advising the Party and State about political, economic, social, security, order, and diplomatic affairs; guaranteeing peace, security, and stability for development; helping perfect the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws, and build a law-governed socialist State; and protecting national security as well as social order and safety, he noted.

The force has taken the lead in and inspired ministries, sectors, and localities’ actions in administrative reform, e-Government building, and digital transformation. It has also actively promoted external relations and international cooperation while setting a good example of implementing the Party and public security force building tasks.

In addition, it has managed to mobilise the entire political system’s engagement in protecting security and order and fighting crimes, and also coordinated with all-level Party committees to ensure social security, according to the PM.

As bigger difficulties and challenges are predicted for 2024, he asked the public security force to proactively grasp, assess, and forecast the domestic, regional, and global situations to submit proposals to the Party and State.

The force needs to press on with maintaining political stability and social order and safety; expanding external relations; creating an environment of peace, security, and stability for development; thwarting and combating all sabotage plots and activities by hostile and reactionary forces, along with “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”.

 PM Pham Minh Chinh (third from left) talks to delegates to the conference on December 27. (Photo: VNA)
It has to guarantee absolute safety for important targets and events of the country, activities of Party and State leaders, foreign delegations, and international conferences in Vietnam; proactively detect, prevent, and deal with security and order problems right from the grassroots level; and avoid passivity in security, order, and safety affairs, the Government leader went on.

PM Chinh also ordered strongly promoting administrative reform and digital transformation, developing the security industry, investing more in grassroots-level public security units and those directly engaging in combatant activities, boosting external relations, and holding security dialogues with important partners.

Besides, the force needs to coordinate with ministries, sectors, and all-level Party committees and administrations, especially the army, courts, and procuracies, to carry out the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws on protecting national security and social order and safety. It also needs to keep taking the lead in the Party building and rectification and build a clean and strong public security force, he said.

The PM stressed that the Party, State, and people believe that the force will continue to uphold its tradition of heroism, be a role model in implementing the Party and State’s guidelines and policies, exert stronger efforts to serve the Fatherland and people, and deserve its status as a crucial, trustworthy, and absolutely loyal armed force of the Party, State, and people.

5-in-1 DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine to be prioritised for children in early 2024

Children aged two months and older who have not received the first dose of the the 5-in-1 DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) will be given priority for vaccination in the first quarter of 2024.

Children over 12 months old will also receive this vaccine if they have not received the full three doses according to the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dương Thị Hồng, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hà Nội, said on December 15, the agency received 490,600 doses of 5-in-1 DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine for regular vaccination in the first months of 2024.

In the first quarter of 2024, catch-up vaccinations and booster shots for children will also be implemented to ensure vaccination safety, especially for some vaccines to prevent diseases in the winter-spring season, such as measles and rubella.

EPI will also continue to enhance monitoring of extended vaccination diseases such as measles, rubella, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and rotavirus diarrhea.

It is preparing to introduce the oral rotavirus vaccine, a new addition to expanded vaccination, in 33 provinces and cities from the second quarter of 2024, according to Dr Hồng.

Moreover, EPI will continue to review vaccination history, provide catch-up vaccinations for children entering preschool and primary school who have not been vaccinated or have not completed the required doses. This helps narrow the immunity gap in the community.

"To ensure vaccination safety, specialised agencies have requested vaccination centres to increase the number of vaccination sessions if necessary, but not to increase the number of children in one vaccination session," Hồng said.

Healthcare workers must be well-informed about vaccination safety to communicate this information to mothers, enabling them to closely monitor their children after vaccination and promptly address any unexpected situations.

She also noted that since 1994, the Expanded Programme on Immunisation in Việt Nam has achieved 100 per cent coverage in all communes and wards nationwide.

This is a bright spot in the healthcare sector's efforts to ensure health equity for the people. Vaccination has reached all children, from urban to rural areas, border regions, islands, and remote areas.

Việt Nam has eradicated polio since 2000 and neonatal tetanus since 2002.

The country has consistently maintained a measles vaccination rate of over 95 per cent nationwide, effectively controlling measles and moving towards the goal of measles elimination in the future.

In the first 10 months of 2023, the rate of infants under one year old fully vaccinated reached 66.4 per cent. The hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth stood at 70.1 per cent, while the vaccination rates for measles and rubella reached 77.1 per cent and for Japanese encephalitis, it was 68.3 per cent. 

Three arrested for human trafficking to China

Three suspects have been arrested after the Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security cooperated with the police of the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong to raid a human trafficking ring who have sold dozens of women into China. 

The suspects include the ring leader Vay Tuyet Mai, 40, residing in HCM City; Tran Quang Phat, 44, residing in HCM City, and Nguyen Thi Nho, 38, residing in Dak Nong Province.

Initial investigation showed that Mai, who is of Chinese origin and has a Chinese husband, got acquainted in late 2022 with a Vietnamese woman who got married to a Chinese man and was living in the country. That woman told Mai that many men in China were willing to pay high to have a wife from Vietnam and Mai would be paid between VND200-300 million (USD12,305) if successfully sending a woman from Vietnam to be sold to a man in China.

Mai contacted Phat, Nho, and two others, Tran Sieu Khiem, 64, residing in HCM City; and Huynh Hong Chi, 40, residing in the southernmost province of Ca Mau to look for women.

The ring members told the women that they would be introduced to get married to rich Chinese men and their families would receive gifts of between VND80-VND120 million from the Chinese husbands.

The traffickers then held a meeting between the Chinese buyers and the victims via the Internet or in person.

Once the victims arrived in China, they were held against their will or forced to become the wives of local men. If the victim did not agree then they would be required to pay compensation for the entire amount of money that the Chinese buyers had paid to the traffickers.

Some victims managed to flee and return to Vietnam or asked their relatives in Vietnam to report to the police about the ring.

At the police station, Mai admitted that since May this year, they had successfully sent dozens of Vietnamese women who were from HCM City, Ca Mau, and Dak Nong to China.

Searching their residences, police also found and seized ID cards and other personal documents of several women as the ring was completing procedures to traffic seven other victims.

Police are further investigating the case. 

Party chief urges farmers to transform agricultural development

Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng emphasised the necessity for farmers to undergo a transformation in both mindset and actions to become the focal points of the agricultural development process.

Given the trends of a decreasing and ageing agricultural workforce, with surplus labour from urban and industrial areas moving to rural regions for livelihoods in agriculture, the Vietnam Farmers' Union (VNFU) needs to innovate its operating methods.

It should provide assistance and accompany farmers for at least the next five years as the nation strives towards the goal of becoming a modern industrialised country with high average income by 2030 and a developed, high-income country by 2045.

He made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the eighth National Congress of the VNFU held in Hà Nội on Tuesday, with the participation of 995 delegates representing over 10 million farmers nationwide.

With the theme "Solidarity - Democracy - Creativity - Cooperation - Development," the three-day congress is a significant platform for Vietnamese farmers to discuss and set specific goals and tasks for the next five years.

Presenting the report of the VNFU’s seventh Central Executive Committee, Vice Chairwoman Bùi Thị Thơm stated that during the 2018- 23 term, the role of the VNFU in building the farmer class has been increasingly affirmed, contributing to raising political and educational levels, and improving the lives of farmers.

Thơm said in the 2023-28 term, the VNFU will set out three ground-breaking tasks, including: innovating methods of gathering and uniting farmers, developing the collective economy, and improving the qualifications of farmers.

In addition, the VNFU will continue to complete and strengthen its operation, timely resolve obstacles in operational mechanisms, build competent officials, and establish a database while enhancing membership management on a digital platform.

Speaking at the ceremony, many delegates expressed their hopes that in the upcoming term, the VNFU’s activities will undergo significant changes, benefiting farmers more in agricultural production.

They also proposed directions and support for farmers to invest in modern farming and livestock facilities, apply advanced technologies linked with safe production processes, and develop production aligned with domestic market needs as well as exports.

Lê Thanh Hiền from the Vĩnh Long Province’s Farmers’ Association expressed his hope that the congress would introduce breakthrough solutions in agriculture to ensure that farmers' products are processed and accepted by the market, and the living standards of farmers continue to improve.

Hiền said farmers in rural areas still find it challenging to develop the economy in their hometowns. They face difficulties due to the impact of climate change, high cost of fertiliser and maintenance materials, while the product prices are low, leading to high production costs, and low profits or even losses. Many households are reluctant to implement collaborative production models.

He stressed the necessity of building various models for economic development, leveraging the advantages of localities, and strengthening linkages in building value chains according to market trends to provide peace of mind for farmers in their production.

Speaking at the ceremony, Party chief Trọng pointed out that the work of the VNFU has not kept pace with the requirements of the country's situation and the rapid development of technology and international integration.

He proposed the construction of the VNFU to be increasingly strong, truly representing the legitimate rights and interests of farmers and acting as a bridge between farmers and the Party and the State.

The Party General Secretary demanded stronger participation in training and skill development for farmers; providing advice on professions, employment and establishing businesses, farms, and production and business facilities.

He emphasised that the union at all levels should well organise the supply of agricultural equipment and materials, and support farmers in investing in production, cultivation, animal husbandry, and the development of collective economy in agriculture.

It should focus on supporting farmers in establishing cooperatives and implementing effective models of value chain cooperation.

Party General Secretary Trọng highlighted the need for innovation, and improvement of the quality and efficiency of the VNFU's participation in social supervision and criticism, especially in areas related to agriculture, farmers and rural areas.

The VNFU at all levels should proactively participate in international integration, promoting information dissemination about the country's development policies and the foreign policy of the Party and State to international organisations, partners and friends, he added. 

PM urges greater efforts in law building, institutional improvement

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính chaired a meeting in Hà Nội on December 26 to consider seven proposals on drafting laws and ordinances, and two bills.

The proposals covered the Law on Participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, the Law on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Law on Extradition, the Law on Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue; the Law on Judicial Assistance in Civil Affairs, the Law on Urban Development Management, and the Ordinance on management and protection of Hồ Chí Minh Mausoleum. 

The two bills put for discussion were the revised Land Law and the revised Law on Credit Institutions. 

Speaking at the event, PM Chính said this year, the Government, along with ministries and agencies, has made significant efforts and made significant progress in strengthening institutions, including holding 10 specialised meetings on law building.

He, however, said much work remains to be done in the context of many arising issues while some current regulations fail to meet the emerging requirements. Therefore, the PM required that ministries, sectors and Government members continue to renew their thinking and make more efforts in law building.

Legal documents must continue to be reviewed for timely amendment, so as to enhance policy responsiveness in the new situation, he said, adding that the quality of officials and public servants engaged in legal affairs should be improved.

Attention should be paid to close cooperation between ministries and agencies, as well as public feedback and the recommendations of experts and scientists in the law building process, the PM noted. 

34 players will practise in Hà Nội for Asian Cup

Philippe Troussier has called 34 players to prepare for the Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar next month.

The head coach makes up a list of three goalkeepers, 12 defenders, 13 midfielders and six strikers. Most players are those who participated in this year’s FIFA Days. But there are still freshmen: Nguyễn Filip, Lê Ngọc Bảo and Đỗ Thanh Thịnh, who are excited to make their debut.

Filip, who officially got his Vietnamese citizenship earlier this month, was proud to be member of the team.

He shared that after nine years (of completing document procedures) he now had Vietnamese nationality. It was his pride and a big step in his career. He hoped to receive opportunities to play in the Asian Cup and he would try his best to make supporters happy.

In the national team, Filip of Hà Nội Police FC trained and played nearly 10 years in Europe before deciding to play in Việt Nam. He will have to vie for his place against long-time keeper Đặng Văn Lâm who has proved his abilities since 2015 in front of the sheet.

Bảo and Thịnh are former national U23 defenders who won 30th SEA Games gold in 2019 in the Philippines.

While Thịnh is highly appreciated for his physical strength and his accurate passes, left-footed Bảo can manage the ball well and is good at launching attacks.

Meanwhile midfielder Nguyễn Hai Long is back in the team after long time. Long was also a former player of U23 competing at the 2022 Asian Cup and won the 31st SEA Games. He will have to work hard to have a place in the midfield area against many stars such as Nguyễn Quang Hải, Nguyễn Hoàng Đức and Nguyễn Tuấn Anh.

Troussier and his team will practise in Hà Nội from December 31 and will leave for Qatar on January 5.

Việt Nam will have a friendly match against Kyrgyzstan on January 9 before Troussier makes the final 26-player list.

Việt Nam are in Group D and will play Japan, Indonesia and Iraq on January 14, 19 and 23, respectively.

Bình Phước prevents smuggling in border areas

Smuggling, particularly illicit trade in firecrackers, typically increases in Bình Phước Province towards the end of the year.

The local authorities have implemented numerous professional measures to tackle the problem, yet it remains complex and unpredictable in border regions.

The Bù Đốp Border Guard Station in Bù Đốp District is assigned to manage the 17km border section.

Major Đỗ Ngọc Tuấn, Deputy Chief of the station, said local people’s income depended on agriculture and small-scale livestock farming.

Prices of agricultural materials are high, while prices for agricultural products remain low, compounded by erratic weather, leading to reduced productivity. Numerous people are either unemployed or in unstable jobs. Consequently, a portion of the population frequently engages in the illegal purchase and sale of firecrackers and cigarettes with strangers.

“As the Tết (Lunar New Year) approaches, the situation is much more complicated. The station has promoted education to raise awareness, not to trade prohibited goods across the border," said Tuấn.

Nguyễn Hữu Quân, who lives in Bù Tâm Village in Hưng Phước Commune, said that the border guards went to residential areas to instruct people not to smuggle firecrackers.

Continuous education in recent months has helped people obey regulations well.

Thị É, another resident, said: “After being guided by the border guards, we are aware and strictly comply with it. Smuggling fireworks violates the law. We are ready to denounce illegal goods trading when we discover it."

Border guards coordinate with local authorities to regularly patrol all day to prevent illegal activities in border areas.

Deputy Head of the Drug and Crime Prevention Department under the provincial Border Guard Nguyễn Tuấn Anh said that Bình Phước Province had a nearly 259km long border and two main border gates.

It also has many roads through the border gates.

Rivers run out of water in the dry season, so it is difficult to prevent fireworks smuggling across the border.

"Some people in Bình Dương and Đồng Nai provinces, and HCM City use mobile phones and social networks to contact people in border areas to order firecrackers in large quantities to transport to inland provinces for profit," said Anh.

“They even take advantage of children to transport the firecrackers. This is their new trick, causing obstacles for the authorities in investigations,” he said.

To fight fireworks-related crimes, the Bình Phước Border Guards will continue to coordinate with local authorities to direct people to know about prohibited behaviour.

The border guards, together with police, customs and market watch forces, will also strengthen patrols across the border to detect violations and take appropriate measures. 

VNU-HCM promotes scientific research, international publication

Many higher education institutions in Việt Nam are promoting investment in scientific research as one of their key tasks, but there are still certain difficulties in implementing policies that promote research.

Huỳnh Thành Đạt, Minister of Science and Technology (MoST), has recently emphasised the important role of scientific research activities in universities.

The Prime Minister urged the MoST to coordinate with relevant agencies develop a report that analyses issues that need to be addressed to promote scientific and technological development.

The report has identified 13 issues, and MoST is collecting opinions and seeking solutions from relevant agencies.

Phạm Văn Phúc, director of the Stem Cell Institute of the University of Sciences under VNU-HCM, said the Stem Cell Research Institute is a public science and technology facility with financial autonomy, so that developing research products to bring to market to generate revenue for the institute is a vital goal.

Each year, the institute's technology transfer activities bring tens of billions of đồng in revenue, he said.

There are three important factors that influence the success of the technology transfer activities, including creating competitive and innovative advantages for research products, research products meeting customer demand, and mastering the relevant legal regulations.

For example, the Stem Cell Institute has researched and perfected the technology which develops stem cell products to treat degenerative joint diseases (osteoarthritis, spine disc herniation).

This technology was transferred by the institute to Vạn Hạnh General Hospital in District 10 four years ago.

The model of spin-off companies (university spin-off startups) has become increasingly popular in many countries around the world.

The spin-off companies allow universities to commercialise their research and intellectual property.

Phúc said Việt Nam needs to apply this model to create favourable conditions for the activities of scientific research and technology transfer at universities and educational institutions.

He also proposed that the Government needs to invest in scientific research and innovation in a sustainable manner, and create more favourable mechanisms for scientists and investors in research and technology transfer.

Nguyễn Phương Thảo of International University under VNU-HCM said the slow processing of legal documents creates many difficulties for the activities of research and development, and technology transfer.

The technology transfer process of scientists in universities also faces numerous difficulties due to regulations under the Law on cadres, civil servants and other public employees.

Thảo gives an example, stating that her research team has reached the final round of transferring plant tissue culture technology to a foreign partner.

There is a need to have a clear and detailed mechanism in which lecturers at universities can be allowed to establish university spin-off companies to solve the problems relating to technology transfer, she added.

Along with promoting scientific research, local universities are paying more attention to international publication as a crucial and regular task.

VNU-HCM always leads the country in scientific publication, especially in prestigious international journals of two big databases - Clarivate’s Web of Science and Elsevier’s Scopus.

According to Scopus, the number of VNU-HCM published articles has increased sharply and continuously in the period of 2020-22, rising 40 per cent annually.

The university had 4,900 articles published in international scientific journals between 2016 and 2020, 5,900 articles from 2020 to 2022, and nearly 2,494 articles in 2023.

Scientists of the university have cooperated with domestic and international partners to publish their research works and articles in the world’s leading journals in topics such as Science and Nature.

The published scientific projects and articles are considered a key to bolster the university’s academic reputation, and contribute to improving its position in international rankings.

VNU-HCM has been named in the top 951-1000 of the world’s universities in the QS World University Rankings 2024 recently released by the UK-based education organisation Quacquarelli Symonds.

The university is developing a project to turn itself into one of the leading higher education institutions in Asia, by implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No 24-NQ/TW, issued on October 7, 2022, that boosts socio-economic development and ensures defence and security in the southeastern region through 2030, with a vision to 2045.

Chancellor Vũ Hải Quân said the project is aimed at improving the quality of education and training, scientific research, and technology transfer, which will gradually renew higher education.

The university targets to have 140,000 bachelors, engineers, architects, and postgraduates fulfill their training programmes, 90 per cent of fresh graduates get jobs by 2030, have more than 35,000 articles published on Scopus, and put a national innovative centre into operation.

It will also focus on developing training and research programmes in the fields of semiconductors, bio-technology, information technology, and artificial intelligence, so they can be named among the 50 best in Asia. 

Premarital counseling and health check-ups key for happiness

The Việt Nam Population Strategy has set a target that 90 per cent of young couples will receive premarital counselling and health check-ups by 2030. This year the Ministry of Health has selected ‘engaging the premarital consultation and health examination’ as the theme of the National Action Month on Population and Vietnamese Population Day (December 26).

In response to the action month and Vietnamese Population Day, this month the Department of Population and Family Planning, Hùng Vương Hospital and the HCM City Youth Union provided premarital counselling and health check-ups to 154 young couples who are workers living in difficult circumstances.

These couples have an average age of 27 years old for men and 26 years old for women.

Associate Professor Hoàng Thị Diễm Tuyết, director of Hùng Vương Hospital, said that out of 154 couples, up to 150 men have reproductive health problems. About 21 per cent of women have anaemia, 4.6 per cent with uterine fibroids, 6.5 per cent with diabetes, and 6.5 per cent with hepatitis B infection. Meanwhile, 3.2 per cent of the women suffer from reduced ovarian reserve and 1.3 per cent were diagnosed with reduced ovarian cysts.

These numbers do not represent the health status of all young people in HCM City, but raise an alert over the importance of premarital counselling and health check-ups, the doctor told Vietnam News Agency.

According to many experts, premarital consultation and health examination are considered an extremely important first form of screening to improve population quality.

It is estimated that each year, Việt Nam has 22,000-30,000 children born with birth defects. Among those are common diseases like Down, Edwards syndrome, neural tube defects, congenital hypothyroidism, G6PD deficiency, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, severe haemolytic anaemia, as well as other genetic and birth defects.

Doctor Phạm Thúy Nga, head of the Assisted Reproductive and Andrological Department at Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital, said some young people lack concern over premarital consultation and health examination as they do not really understand the examination’s value.

She proposed strengthening communication for engaged couples so that they understand the benefits of premarital examination in general and screening for genetic diseases in particular.

According to Dr Nga, premarital health examination brings great benefits not only to reproductive health, but also physically and mentally for the married life of future couples. These necessary steps help prevent, detect and treat many dangerous genetic diseases early, avoiding unnecessary consequences in married life and the future children.

The test will prepare the couples with the best physical conditions before becoming parents, she said.

If they have genetic diseases or carry disease-causing genes, young people will receive advice from experts to avoid giving birth to children with genetic diseases, increasing the burden on family and society. This also means improving population quality, she said.

She said six months before marriage is the "golden time" for couples to conduct a premarital examination. In the unfortunate case of detecting abnormality, six months is enough time for the doctor to come up with a complete treatment plan for existing health problems.

Dr Nguyễn Tân Sơn, deputy director of the Centre for Training and Development, General Department of Population under the Ministry of Health, said the lack knowledge on taking care of reproductive and sexual health among many young people was the responsibility of parents, teachers and state management agencies.

These groups have been blamed for not providing appropriate information to young people.

Sơn said the reproductive and sexual health education programme being piloted at schools has not been updated following international guidelines

He added that the consultation services are not truly friendly and comprehensive. Adolescents tend to choose private medical facilities, but these facilities have not had friendly service quality monitoring.

Associate Professor Lưu Bích Ngọc, chief of office of the National Council for Education and Human Resource Development, Ministry of Education and Training, said the education sector has integrated reproductive health education into the curriculum, at the same time, offering training on gender equality for teachers at all grades.

Controlling plant varieties for sustainable development of Việt Nam's crop industry

In three years of implementing the Law on Crop Production, the agriculture sector has gained significant achievements, including the production of varieties adapted to climate change and suitable for each region, said Nguyễn Như Cường, director of Crop Production Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Particularly, many individuals and organisations have conducted self-declared circulation of plant varieties that do not belong to the main plant species under State management, Cường told the forum on Effective and Sustainable Development of Crop Production in Việt Nam, organised by Nông Nghiệp Việt Nam (Việt Nam Agriculture) newspaper in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

This was a very important change, but also a problem that many individuals, businesses and State management agencies have not had time to adapt to the transformation, Cường said.

Varieties have an important affect on crop yield and quality.

However, currently, a number of problems has arisen that affect the seed system in Việt Nam.

In the forum, participants proposed solutions for sustainable development of the crop industry.

Regarding legal and technical problems with the process of registration and recognition of improved plant varieties in Việt Nam, Đặng Ngọc Chi, representative of CropLife Việt Nam, said the current testing guidelines lack criteria and methods to evaluate and recognise improved traits such as insect, pesticide or disease resistance, leading to a lack of tools to determine differences between genetically modified varieties and base ones.

Besides, it is not possible to register base varieties and genetically modified varieties with improved traits at the same time, Chi said.

She proposed adding criteria and methods of evaluation and recognition for improved traits to the two standards of TCVN 13382-2:2021 and TCVN 13381-2:2021 for corn.

Vương Huy Minh, deputy director of the Corn Research Institute, assessed that the provisions of the Law on Crop Production recognising the circulation of varieties in general, corn varieties in particular, have simplified many procedures, thereby reducing time and procedure costs for research units.

Regarding regulations on testing scores and numbers, Minh said that regulating the number and testing scores by region is necessary.

Vietnamese standards currently have many very high criteria so very few varieties can pass those conditions, Minh said.

Regarding the regulations on reference varieties, many reference varieties from other corporations are currently being used.

"The appropriate solution is to change the reference regulations to overcome the shortcomings of the law," he said.

Fruit tree production in Việt Nam has been an important pillar in agriculture, with a significant increase in area and output.

Despite having a diverse system including about 50 types of trees, the fruit tree industry faces many major challenges.

According to Head of Industrial and Fruit Tree Section of the Crop Production Department, Nguyễn Quốc Mạnh, the main variety structure is largely local plants, but only 32 varieties have been recognised from 2008-2019.

Although there has been an increase with 120 varieties from 2020-2022, the number of recognised varieties remains very small, said Mạnh.

Along with that, poor quality seedlings, lack of quality control, and research into fruit tree breeding without breakthrough technology are all big challenges, Mạnh said.

Faced with these difficulties, Mạnh suggested that subjects in the fruit industry chain need to co-operate closely, improve management capacity and invest strongly in research and development of fruit varieties to ensure food safety, improve quality and enhance production efficiency.

Faced with the trend of online plant seed trading, Trần Xuân Định, general secretary of the Việt Nam Plant Seed Trade Association, assessed that this is inevitable but brings many consequences.

Some individuals and fraudulent groups have organised introductions and advertisements on social networks such as Facebook, Zalo and TikTok for new plant varieties, purporting big, beautiful and attractively coloured fruits and delivery to farmers' homes.

Best-selling rice varieties or good varieties favoured by farmers from big brands such as ThaiBinh Seed and Vinaseed are counterfeited and sold online or in a “pyramid” trading model.

Many farmers in remote and isolated areas where retail and distribution systems have not yet reached become victims, said Định.

Seed production and trading is a conditional business, strictly regulated in legal documents and legal guidelines.

However, online sales do not have specific regulations and sanctions, which is a loophole and difficulty in managing plant varieties and many other commercial activities, Định said.

According to Định, although there are many seed production systems, their capacity is limited and does not meet the actual requirements of commodity production and export.

The weakest point in the seed industry is vegetable and flower varieties, he said.

In addition, the legal provisions still have some inadequacies with cumbersome procedures while legal guiding documents are slow to be promulgated and some are contradictory.

Production and supply systems are uneven among different regions, and the number of businesses participating in the seed industry is quite large but of poor quality.

He proposed amending the Law on Crop Production and guiding decrees and circulars to make it more feasible and practical to avoid conflicts between laws.

Nguyễn Thị Mai Hiên, vice director of the ministry’s Legal Department, proposes recognition of plant variety testing organisations, supplementing instructions on gene sequencing methods, conditions for renewal of plant varieties, and completing the system of Vietnamese standards for major plant varieties.

HCMC traffic gateways keep congested due to delays of widening projects

Because road widening projects have been  on paper for many years , the width of the existing western and eastern gateways of Ho Chi Minh City is not adequate for the traffic resulting in frequent traffic jams.

The National Highway 1A’s section from Binh Tan District to Binh Chanh District is about 3km long but some bottlenecks are funneling large amounts of vehicles at a snail’s pace at the western gateway of Ho Chi Minh City, especially during holidays.

The nearly 10km long National Highway 1A through Binh Chanh District from An Lac to the border with Long An Province is the main gateway from the city to the Mekong Delta and is also a section connecting many major roads, so in addition to congestion due to the narrow road, this area always poses a high level of accident risk because there has not been a median strip between car and motorbike lanes.

More than 10 years ago, Ho Chi Minh City planned to expand the above road but the city delayed the project because of lack of capital. In 2012, the city's traffic industry proposed the upgrade of the 2.5km section from Tan Kien to Binh Thuan intersection to gradually remove congestion in the area after the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway was put into operation. However, this plan still remained on paper.

Three years later, the Infrastructure Development Investment Joint Stock Company (IDICO), the investor of the An Suong - An Lac BOT project, proposed adding the upgrade and expansion of the National Highway 1A section through Binh Chanh District to the contract. It is expected to expand the width of the section to 35 meters with a total investment of nearly VND1,900 billion (US$77,7 million), including site clearance. However, because the present regulations prohibit the application of the BOT (build - operate - transfer) form on the existing road, the project is at a standstill.

In the context that the national highway cannot be expanded, in 2016, the city implemented a road project connecting Vo Van Kiet Avenue through the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway in the form of BOT, with a total capital of more than VND 1,550 billion. The 2.7km long project helps drivers conveniently travel between the two roads instead of having to detour down National Highway 1A. However, when just over 10 percent of the construction project was carried out, the project had to be stopped because the investor, Yen Khanh Company, was incompetent and involved in a series of violations. Up to now, the project is in the middle of the way waiting for procedures to terminate the BOT contract.

Faced with urgent requirements, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport has just proposed to expand 10km of National Highway 1A from An Lac to Long An along with 4 other projects in the form of BOT. Accordingly, this section will be expanded to 52 meters with an estimated cost of nearly VND 12,900 billion, of which site clearance is about VND 7,700 billion. Of the amount of nearly VND 12,900 billion, 50 percent is taken from the state budget and the rest will be mobilized by investors. However, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Phan Cong Bang said that it is currently impossible to determine a specific timeline because it involves many legal procedures that need to be closely reviewed.

According to Director of the Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority of HCMC (TCIP) Luong Minh Phuc, in order to reduce traffic pressure on National Highway 1A and the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, the board is coordinating with the Investment Corporation. Vietnam Expressway Development Investment (VEC) pour investment into the Highway 50 intersection and Nguyen Van Tao intersection connecting to the Ben Luc - Long Thanh expressway with 6 lanes in synchronization with the project. The widening project of the Highway 50 is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024 and be completed in the third quarter of 2025.

The National Highway 13 is an important gateway of Ho Chi Minh City connecting with the Southeast provinces and Central Highlands, especially connecting with Binh Duong province - a locality with a fast pace of development. This route in Binh Duong is being expanded to 8 lanes meanwhile, the section through Ho Chi Minh City still has 4-6 lanes with poor urban landscape on both sides of the road, and many sections have no sidewalks. Every day thousands of vehicles still jam each other in and out of this gateway. The expansion of Highway 13 through Ho Chi Minh City encountered many difficulties due to many project adjustments. For more than two decades, the plan to expand Highway 13 is still on paper.

Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transport Phan Cong Bang said that in the coming time, the project to upgrade and expand the National Highway 13 will be one of the projects which are high on the city’s list of priorities when the city applies the National Assembly’s Resolution ( the Resolution 98) to call for investment from socialized capital. With the Resolution 98, Ho Chi Minh City will gradually remove traffic bottlenecks at the city's gateway.

Japan gives non-refundable aid for three projects in Vietnam

The Japanese government yesterday decided to give non-refundable aid for three projects in Vietnam.

Yesterday, the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City held a signing ceremony to give non-refundable aid contracts under the grassroots grant program (GGP) of the Japanese Government. As per the contract, the Japanese government will provide US$ 245,778 for three projects including traffic infrastructure projects and medical projects in the Southeast Asian country.

Out of US$ 245,778, around $83,247 will be used for the first project to build 3 rural traffic bridges in An Bien District in the Mekong Delta Province of Kien Giang and $83,416 and $79,115 will be spent for the second project to equip medical equipment for a grassroots medical center in An Bien District of Kien Giang Province and the project to equip ultrasound machines for a grassroots medical center in Dien Khanh District of the South-Central Province of Khanh Hoa respectively.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Ono Masuo, Consul General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City, said that Japan is the country providing the most aid to Vietnam, in addition to cooperation in the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects such as building highway projects. The Japanese government pays great attention to small-scale projects at the grassroots level, because these humanitarian aids bring direct benefits to local inhabitants.

He added that in the coming time, the Consulate General of Japan also hopes that localities will continue to contact the Consulate General that will provide financial aid to carry out any projects to bring direct benefits, contributing to the improvement of the quality of life for local people.

HCMC adopts solutions for population quality and health improvement

Ho Chi Minh City is presently adopting solutions to increase the birth rate, slow down the pace of population aging, improve the lives of older people.

The statement was made by Director of the Population and Family Planning Division under the HCMC Department of Health Pham Chanh Trung.

Persistently lower fertility rate and population aging are considered two major challenges in the population sector of Ho Chi Minh City in recent years, significantly affecting the city’s socio-economic development in the future, Mr. Pham Chanh Trung told a reporter from SGGP Newspaper.

According to Mr. Trung, the city is seeking solutions to improve three current matters including improving the low birth rate, addressing the aging population and taking care of senior citizens’ health.

The current population of Ho Chi Minh City is 9,367,066 while the population density is 4,470 people per square kilometer. The fertility rate has fallen to an all-time low in the city with 1.39 children per woman. The current number of elderly people is 1,033,355, accounting for 11.03 percent of the total population, with an average life expectancy of 76.3 years.

Currently, the sex ratio at birth is 107-108 boys for every 100 girls. The city's fertility rate is continuously decreasing, from 1.76 children per woman of childbearing age to only 1.39 children per woman in 2022. Worse, Ho Chi Minh City is one of 21 localities with the lowest fertility in the country.

This is a big challenge for the future socio-economic development of Ho Chi Minh City. Moreover, it is increasingly popular that many couples decide to have one child while many young people have no plans to get married or to have a child today. This phenomenon is forecast to be an obstacle to the city's socio-economic development in the future.

First of all, the trend of couples having one child is now becoming popular in Ho Chi Minh City. In fact, there are many reasons why women hesitate to have children, especially a second child.

Besides, many couples tend to get married later or only having one child because they want to save more money and health to best care for their children. According to this trend, young couples, especially women, want to focus on improving their education, and professional capacity and seize opportunities for personal development.

Ho Chi Minh City is presently making efforts to gradually improve population quality. Specifically, the population sector is focusing on solving the following issues increasing the rate of young men and women participating in health checks before marriage, promoting prenatal and newborn screening programs, and maintaining a balance in the sex ratio at birth, raising people's awareness about low fertility and late marriage age, and care for the elderly in the southern metropolis.

These are considered key issues in improving the city's population quality at the present time. Ho Chi Minh City is also implementing the goal of improving the quality of the population in the early stages of life. Specifically, by 2022, the rate of pregnant mothers receiving prenatal screening will reach 86.3 percent and the rate of newborns being screened will reach 83.4 percent.

Ho Chi Minh City’s population entered the so-called ‘aging phase’ in 2017 onward and the population aging rate is very fast. This strong aged population is deeply influenced by low birth rates and constantly improving average life expectancy. For instance, in 2022, the average life expectancy of the city's residents was quite high around 76.3 years while the national life expectancy was about 73.6 years.

To solve the problem of population aging, the city's population sector is taking urgent measures and adapting solutions so that the elderly can live healthy and useful lives. Since mid-August 2023, Thu Duc City and districts in Ho Chi Minh City have piloted free health examination activities for the elderly in the area. Elderly people will be examined and have paraclinical tests, general ultrasound, and blood tests.

This program is part of the plan for health examination and early detection of non-communicable diseases in the elderly in Ho Chi Minh City in the period of 2024-2025 and the following years issued by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City aiming to early detect and well control chronic diseases amongst senior citizens and saving treatment costs. In addition, communication activities about the elderly are also being promoted to change society's perception of elderly issues calling for the participation of the community, individuals and organizations in taking care of the elderly.

Exhibition marks 110th birthday of late General Nguyen Chi Thanh

An exhibition on General Nguyen Chi Thanh, an outstanding politician and talented military commander of Vietnam, opened at the Vietnam Military History Museum in Hanoi on December 26.

The event aims to celebrate the 110th birthday of late General Nguyen Chi Thanh (January 1, 1914 – 2024).

More than 200 documents and photos on the life and revolutionary career of General Nguyen Chi Thanh are on display at the exhibition, including a map of Southern Vietnam that was used by the General from 1964 to 1967, a letter from the Chairman of the General Political Department of the Polish Army to General Nguyen Chi Thanh , and a letter from the Chairman of the General Political Department of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) to General Nguyen Chi Thanh.

The event aims to celebrate the 110th birthday of late General Nguyen Chi Thanh (January 1, 1914 – 2024).
The exhibition also aims to pay tribute to General Nguyen Chi Thanh and honor his great contribution to the revolutionary cause of the Party, the nation, and the Vietnam People's Army.

General Nguyen Chi Thanh, whose real name was Nguyen Vinh, was born on January 1, 1914, in Quang Dien District, Thua Thien-Hue Province.

He was brevetted General of the Vietnam People's Army in 1959, the second General of the Vietnam People's Army after General Vo Nguyen Giap.

From 1965 to 1967, he was assigned to the South as the Politburo's representative in the South and political commissar of the South Liberation Army.

In 1967 before his last trip to Saigon to prepare for the 1968 Mau Than General Offensive, the General suddenly died of a stroke.

Over 50 delegations join sixth Cho Lon Open Unicorn-Lion-Dragon Championship

The sixth Cho Lon Open Unicorn-Lion-Dragon Championship is expected to take place at Van Lang Park in District 5 on January 12-14 which will bring unforgettable imprints and records.

Remarkably, the People’s Committee of District 5 will collaborate with Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) and the Unicorn-Lion-Dragon Federation of Ho Chi Minh City to organize this year’s tournament.

Accordingly, 50 delegations from 15 provinces and cities of Hanoi, Dak Lak, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Lam Dong, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, An Giang, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Tien Giang, Dong Nai and Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City- the host locality will compete in the four-day event.

The organizers hoped that the tournament would become a unique competition with the most quintessential and beautiful performances of the unicorn-lion-dragon dance sport.

HCMC preparing last steps for collecting fee of sidewalk temporary use

HCMC formally collects fee for the temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads from January 1, 2024. Many districts have finished painting a limit line on eligible sidewalks, while others have completed a review of their sidewalks.

At the end of December 2023, the sidewalk in front of the house of Ms. H. on Tran Hung Dao Street (Cau Kho Ward of District 1) was divided into two parts by a paint line, one for pedestrians and the other for commercial purposes after paying fee.

Despite regularly updating information regarding fee collection for the temporary use of sidewalks and road parts, Ms. H still wonders about what to do if street vendors purposedly encroach her registered part of the sidewalk.

Nguyen Van Nam, owner of a clothes store on Nguyen Trai Street in District 1 is waiting for the effective date of the new fee collection policy, saying that this would make his mind at peace during the store’s operation time. He stressed that once he has paid the fee, he is entitled to use the sidewalk part legally. He is also waiting for more updates on other rate calculation policies in this aspect, especially to help those not doing well in their business.

Chairman of the People’s Committee of District 1 Le Duc Thanh shared that 54 roads in his district are eligible to organize service and commercial activities, 85 have their sidewalks qualified for free parking activities. Certain locations on 16 streets are suitable for paid parking lots. The chairmen of the People’s Committees of 10 wards have been instructed to investigate and make a list of such streets to publicize to the community as well as submitting to the HCMC Transport Department.

Leader of the Urban Order Management Team in Go Vap District Nguyen Huu Huy reported that his district has also sent a list of eligible roads for the policy to the HCMC Transport Department. He commented that since a lot of immigrants in the district become street vendors in surrounding areas of local markets and hospital, it is rather challenging to monitor and control the urban order here.

According to him, the fee collection task must suit the special feature of each locality. While waiting for the municipal Transport Department to release instructions, Go Van District has been investigating all of its streets for qualified routes in each category of the policy so that it is easier to adopt the policy later.

In District 7, all wards have completed their investigation and prepared a list of 16 eligible roads in 6 wards for the temporary use of road parts or sidewalks with fee. After collecting feedback from the public for this list, District 7 will ask for opinions from the HCMC Transport Department, the HCMC Public Security Department, and the municipal Traffic Safety Board as well as related state agencies until January 2024. Then an official list will be published.

Meanwhile, the district is sharing the draft list to local residents so that they can prepare the registration process when needed. It is also preparing steps for the measurement and painting of sidewalk once the list has been approved. Head of the Urban Management Office of District 7 Nguyen Duc Tri explained the tardiness in carrying out this procedure as there are several contradictory ideas from the public, leading to even more careful investigation of the district while the propaganda task is being done.

District 12 has finished checking eligible roads for the policy and is able to identify 22 such routes whose sidewalk is more than 3m wide. After studying Decision No.32 by the HCMC People’s Committee on managing the temporary use of a part of roads and sidewalks, the district finds that certain content needs more detailed instruction, and thus asking the city’s Transport Department to provide one. However, no formal direction document has been delivered yet.

District 3 has devised a plan for the temporary use of a part of roads and sidewalks on 36 qualified routes after collecting opinions from local dwellers. Business activities on these sidewalks are smoothly arranged by the district according to city regulations. The local preparations are basically done, and the locality is waiting for instructions on fee collection and payment methods.

Visit Vietnam Year 2023 – Binh Thuan wraps up

The south-central province of Binh Thuan held the closing ceremony of the Visit Vietnam Year 2023 in Phan Thiet city on December 27 evening.

With the theme of “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence”, the programme includes over 200 events and activities in 41 provinces and cities nationwide, of which more than 30 have been organised in the host locality.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong emphasised that the events and activities have created positive effects, attracting the attention of a large number of people, and mobilising community strength in promoting tourism to recover quickly, and develop effectively and sustainably.

The success of the Visit Vietnam Year 2023 has positively impacted the recovery of the tourism industry of Vietnam in general and Binh Thuan in particular, Cuong stressed.

This year, Vietnam has served more than 12.5 million foreign visitors and 108 million domestic ones, and earned an estimated over 670 trillion VND (27.5 billion USD). Notably, Vietnam won 54 prizes at the 2023 World Travel Awards - Asia and Oceania region, which helps affirm the brand, role and position of Vietnam on the world tourism map.

Doan Anh Dung, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said that the Visit Vietnam Year is truly a great opportunity for Binh Thuan to spread to both domestic and foreign tourists the message of a friendly, gentle and hospitable land rich in historical and cultural identity with many unique traditional festivals.

In 2023, Binh Thuan has welcomed nearly 8.5 million visitors and earned over 23 trillion VND, nearly doubling that in 2022 and helping it enter the list of nine localities with the highest tourism revenue in the country.

The host of the Visit Vietnam Year 2024 will be Dien Bien province in the northwestern mountainous region.

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