Vietnam produces Methadone for treating drug addiction

Deputy Head of the HIV-AIDS Prevention and Control Department Dr Pham Duc Manh has announced the Ministry of Health’s decision authorising five local firms to produce Methadone for treating heroin addiction.

Dr. Manh made the announcement at a National Action Month Against HIV-AIDS press conference on November 15. He noted methadone made in Vietnam can be sold at lower prices than imported treatments.

Manh said his Department is coordinating with relevant agencies and businesses on calling for contract bids and conducting trials in a number of localities.

He added locally produced Methadone treatments are planned to become widely available by 2015.

The National Action Month on HIV/AIDS Prevention aims to raise public awareness regarding HIV transmission prevention and is especially focused on vulnerable social groups, remote area residents, and members of ethnic minorities.

As of September 30, Vietnam is home to more than 218,400 people living with HIV. The deadly virus has claimed over 66,116 lives.

Approximately 65,700 other HIV patients currently suffer from AIDS.

Police cleanup nails on major highways

Police in Bien Hoa City, in the southern province of Dong Nai, yesterday began a campaign to remove nails littered on two highways, in a bid to ensure safety for motorists.

The police, in co-ordination with local militia and youths, used a special machine to find nails on Highway 51 and Highway 1A before peak traffic times throughout the day.

The cleanup follows a string of arrests by local police, who found men scattering nails along the two highways, to force motorists to pay high prices at their nearby repair stations.

Measles outbreak in Yen Bai Province

The northern mountainous province of Yen Bai yesterday confirmed an outbreak of measles in Mu Cang Chai District, according to the province's Preventive Health Centre director, Le Thi Hong Van.

The first case of measles was reported in Nam Co Commune's Da Den village late last month, with 23 cases confirmed across four of the commune's 14 hamlets.

The patients, most of whom are under 20 years old, are being treated in the Nghia Lo town General Hospital. Hospital staff have confirmed the patients are now recovering from the condition.

Meanwhile, the province has taken immediate action to sterilise the infected area and raise awareness of the disease through campaigns.

Authorities are optimistic the efforts will contain the spread of the disease.

Electricity retail price bracket adjusted for 2013-2015

The maximum retail price of electricity has been raised to VND1,835 per kWh excluding the value added tax (VAT), a 21% increase over the current price (VND1,508.85 per kWh).

The minimum price for electricity has been set at VND1,437 per kWh.

The power price adjustment for the period 2013-2015 was set down in a recent decision issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The decision went into effect on November 11.

Between now and 2015, electricity prices must fall within the newly approved range.

Contingencies have been made for unexpected fluctuations in electricity generation cost and other expenses that are not included in the retail power price. In such a case, the Ministry of Industry and Trade would work with the Ministry of Finance to submit an adjustment proposal to the Prime Minister for consideration and instruction.

Pilot project to build shelters for homeless senior citizens

The Ministry of Construction said on November 14 that a plan has been submitted to the government for a pilot project to build shelters for homeless senior citizens in ten provinces.

The project plan proposes three kinds of shelters for homeless elderly people; one will be state-run shelters, another will be private shelters and the third kind will be community shelters.

Initially the ministry will build accommodation for homeless elderly in ten provinces, namely, the northern provinces of Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Thanh Hoa; the central provinces of Nghe An, Quang Tri, Quang Nam; the highland provinces of Lam Dong, Kon Tum; and Tra Vinh, Dong Thap Provinces in the Mekong Delta.

Around 50 homeless senior citizens will be accommodated in the newly built shelters in each province. Each shelter will have a kitchen and refectory, medical treatment section, section for cultural activities and a funeral home.

According to the ministry, total expense for one shelter will be around VND12 billion (US$568,928), which will be taken from the State budget while the local government will provide capital for zone clearance and resettlement as well as for necessary equipment.

PM approves power tariff for 2013-2015

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the lowest retail power tariff price at VND1,437 per kWh and highest retail price at VND1,835, not including value-added tax, for the period 2013-2015.

Accordingly, based on the price range, average power price until 2015 will be adjusted not lower than minimum rate or higher than maximum rate. In addition, power tariff adjustment must be appropriate with power demand.

If it is necessary to adjust retail power price according to power generation cost, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to calculate and adjust price level and present to the Prime Minister for consideration.

Hanoi hosts festival in response to World Diabetes Day

A festival has been organized from November 14-16 in Thong Nhat Park in Hai Ba Trung District in Hanoi as part of many activities to mark World Diabetes Day on November 14.

The three day festival has drawn more than 2,000 people on the first day alone (photo: SGGP)

The event is being organized by the Ministry of Health, Vietnamese Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology, and the National Hospital of Endocrinology in partnership with Novo Nordisk Pharma.

At the event, free blood and blood-sugar tests, check-ups, diabetes nutrition for diabetics, exercise to keep fit, how to take care of diabetes and consultations with medical experts from leading hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are being offered.

Prof. Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Head of Department of Treatment and Examination under the Ministry of Health, said that the festival aims to raise public awareness of the insidious killer disease.

In addition to awareness of diabetes, people should adopt healthy lifestyles and exercise regularly to fight the disease, said Dr. Khue.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, as many as 5.13 million people in Vietnam, or 5.7 percent of the population in 2013 are suffering from diabetes, and the figure may double by 2030.

The three day festival has drawn more than 2,000 people on the first day alone.

After the festival, Novo Nordisk Pharma in coordination with Denmark Embassy in Vietnam and Vietnamese Association of Diabetes and Endocrinology will hold a seminar themed ‘Join hands to control diabetes’, to provide people with latest information of the disease and most effective preventive measures.

The seminar will be held on November 28 at Sofitel Metropole Hotel at 56 Ly Thai To Street in Hoan Kiem District in Hanoi.

Police seize plant growth stimulants

Police and market watch teams in Ha Noi yesterday seized a large amount of plant growth stimulants, allegedly imported from China.

About 80,000 tubes of liquid stimulants were found in a truck near Yen Vien Train Station in Gia Lam District. All were covered with Chinese labels, which translated to indicate they contained a chemical used for stimulating plants by an incredible one to two centimetres within a few hours.

The driver admitted to transporting the stimulants from the northern border province of Lang Son.

Further investigations are being held.

Two die, one injured in house fire

Two people died and a child was seriously injured in mysterious predawn fire today in Ha Long City, in northern Quang Ninh Province.

The couple, Do Thi Nhan, 22 and Pham Thanh Trung, 34 were alleged to have started the fire themselves with petrol after a domestic conflict. They died in the flames despite efforts by residents' to put them out.

Their two-year-old daughter is being treated in hospital.

Meanwhile, in another predawn incident, a coach burst into flames in Dak Glei District, in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.

None of the 30 passengers on the coach were injured.

Police were told the driver woke passengers when he noticed the flames at the end of the coach.

However, the coach and passengers' belongings were seriously damaged.

Tumor successfully removed from baby

Doctors from the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Da Nang Ob -Gyn and Pediatric Hospital have successfully removed a 0.5kg tumor from a 2.4kg baby girl.

The tumor was located between the baby's legs. According to the doctors, the rare tumor is only found in one in 40,000 newborns.

Gia Lai arrests prolific forgery gang

Three people have been arrested in Central Highland Gia Lai Province for forging official documents.

Police made the arrests after raiding the houses of Nguyen Thi Hong Nga, 35, from Dak Po District, and Dam Van Cuong, 59, and Tran Dinh Luc, 58, from Pleiku City. They seized over 70 fake documents including driving licences, certificates and a notebook listing around 300 clients in Gia Lai alone.

Plans underway for major judicial training overhaul

A VND469.3 billion (US$22.3 million) plan to turn Viet Nam's Judicial Academy into a major training centre for the profession was recently approved by the Prime Minister.

The seven-year plan, consisting of two phases - 2013-15 and 2016-20, aims to improve the quality of training for judge and prosecutor positions, while increasing the number of lawyers, bailiffs, notarists and other legal officials under the management of the Ministry of Justice.

Of the total funding, VND40 billion ($1.9 million) will be spent on training, over VND381 billion (over $18.1 million) will go towards implementation of the strategy of judicial reforms specified in Decree 49 and over VND48 billion (nearly $2.3 million) will be spent on the construction of facilities and research activities.

The plan aims to educate a total of 12,600 officials in the judicial branch by 2015, which would turn out an average of 4,200 legal officials each year.

Specifically, 500 judges, 300 prosecutors and 2,500 lawyers will be ready to join the labour market each year. The students also have access to general training programmes, including modules on international integration, leading to jobs as professional judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

In addition, the plan will enforce close co-operation among the Judicial Academy, Ha Noi Law University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law and other law centers in organizing career orientation activities for students.

Apart from merit-based scholarships, ethnic minority students and those from remote and disadvantaged areas will be offered tuition exemption or reductions which aims to ensure the even distribution of legal officials between different regions upon graduation from judicial institutions.

Thai Nguyen shares anti-drug experience with Thailand

A delegation from Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) on November 14 shared experience in drug prevention and combat with their counterparts in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

Participants at the working session heard a report on the province’s anti-drug situation over the past five years. Local forces have launched crackdown campaigns on drug crimes and proposed prosecuting 1,801 cases with 1,177 accused.

However, prevention efforts are facing numerous difficulties as the crime shows more complicated developments with more cunning tricks, the report added.

At the working session, the Thai guests spoke highly of Thai Nguyen’s drug prevention results and shared their useful experience and creative ways to deal with this crime.

The two sides also pointed out shortcomings in the work, thus together struggling against the crime in both Thailand and Vietnam in general and Thai Nguyen in particular.-

Ministry decree prioritizes female workplace safety

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs (Molisa) has issued a new decree specifying 38 jobs that employers are not allowed to hire women for.

The list includes various professions ranging from metal processing, seafaring (except to provide healthcare and food), carrying goods of over 50kg and work that requires them to come into contact with human corpses.

Employers are also banned from hiring women to explore dangerous mountainous areas, work as professional divers, do dredging or mining work or work regularly on oil rigs, according to the decree which will take effect from December 15.

In addition, the decree includes another list specifying 39 other jobs from which employers are not allowed to employ pregnant women or those with babies less than 12 months old to protect the wellbeing of the women and their children.

The list includes work that involves exposure to toxic chemicals, radioactive substances or work that requires heavy physical exertion such as operating large machinery, carrying goods of over 12kg or working in an uncomfortable environment – such as extreme temperatures or confined narrow spaces.

In response to concerns over the impact of the new regulation on the livelihoods of those affected, Bui Duc Nhuong, deputy director of the Labour Safety Department under the Molisa, said it was nevertheless good for women, and protected them from health-threatening jobs.

A labour policy expert working for the ministry said that although the number of women currently employed in the professions highlighted by the decree was not very high, it would be a challenge for authorities to control in disadvantaged and remote areas.

The ministry has ordered employers to review the list and make suitable arrangements for those affected to find more suitable jobs. Employers have also been instructed to submit their reports on the implementation of the decree every six months. Local labour departments have been told to step up inspections and punish employers who break the new regulations.-

Phu Tho succeeds in sustainable forest rehabilitation

Degraded and poor natural forests in the northern province of Phu Tho have been much improved following the successful implementation of three-year planting forest project.

Forest cover in the locality increased from 35.9 percent in 2000 to 50 percent in 2012, contributing to preventing disasters, protecting the environment and regulating water resources.

The project also helped encourage the participation of local communities in forest management, contributing to reducing poverty and improving the livelihood of local tree planters, according to the provincial forestry department.

The tree-planting project also created jobs for almost 23,000 households in many localities in the province, thus developing forest planting and processing zones in the province.

Through growing indigenous plants and non-timber trees in Thanh Son and Tan Son districts over the past three years, the project contributed to increasing the locality’s forestry production value to about 350 billion VND (about 16.6 million USD) per year, accounting for 12 percent of the province’s total agro-forest and aquaculture production value.

The project was carried out in Thanh Son and Tan Son districts, mostly by farmers from the Muong and Dao ethnic groups who had taken over the management of 1,000 ha of degraded natural forest.

The planting forest has a total budget of 586,000 USD, of which the Asia- Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation (APFNet) has provided around 500,000 USD.

The project has been organised by the provincial Department of Agricultural and Rural Development, with technical assistance from the Forest Science Institute of Vietnam.-

Seminar on Vietnam Information Security Day

Ignoring information security can pose numerous risks for Vietnamese agencies and businesses, heard a seminar on November 14 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA) Trinh Ngoc Minh said that 38 percent of local enterprises do not have a staffer in charge of the field, and 53 percent have yet to plan the building of a system to protect information.

More festering is the fact that up to 65 percent of businesses do not take the matter into consideration at the initial stage of designing their websites, and this is on an upward trend compared to the previous year, Minh added.

A survey by BKAV Internet Security Corporation showed that Vietnamese people lost nearly 8,000 billion VND (380.9 million USD) because of computer virus.

Other findings from the VNISA indicated that 26 percent of businesses working in the southern region did not know whether their systems had been hacked or not.

To cope with the situation, VNISA representatives asked the State to complete policies, laws and specific regulations on carrying out the work of information security among local agencies and businesses.

They also appealed for setting up a professional technicians group to deal with computer incidents, and supporting research in the field in order to create Vietnamese information security products and further enhance the protection capacity.

In addition to raising authorities’ awareness of the matter, local businesses should invest in equipment and technology, as well as accelerate the institutionalisation of information security, which is deemed as a sure-fire path to the development of a modern information society.

Thai Binh Medical University receives Independence Order

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan on November 14 presented the Independence Order, first class, to the Thai Binh Medical University at a ceremony celebrating its 45th founding anniversary.

Founded in 1968, the university provides higher education in medicine to graduates and postgraduates, as well as studies and applies advanced technologies to examinations, diagnosis and treatment.

Over the past 45 years, the university has trained 17,000 doctors and pharmacists, including 600 from Laos and Cambodia, contributing to providing human resources in the health care sector for Vietnam and its two neighbouring countries.

The university was one of the first institutions to build a hospital in its campus. The 200-bed facility helps treat more than 140,000 people each year.-

HIV/AIDS developments remain complicated

Despite Vietnam’s efforts in HIV/AIDS prevention and control, the pandemic has been changing complicatedly with high numbers of infected people.

According to the Administration of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control (VAAC), as of September 30, there are 218,427 people living with HIV in Vietnam , including 65,729 AIDS patients. The deadly virus also killed 66,116 people nationwide.

In the first nine months of this year, the country saw an average of 43 new infections every day, the administration added.

Meanwhile, the proportion of women suffering from HIV has increased through the years. The number of HIV infections through sexual transmission is surpassing those from blood transmission, it said.

Apart from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi , HIV/AIDS patients are concentrated in northwestern mountainous provinces, western localities of the central Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces, and several southwestern provinces.

Bui Hoang Duc, VAAC deputy head, said the HIV pandemic has reduced in recent years, with declining numbers of both cases and infected ratio in high-risk groups, but still at high levels.

Particularly, an increasing number of cases has been seen in partners of drug addicts recently, he said.

Discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients has also hindered their access to treatment and healthcare services, while making it difficult to early detect new cases, Duc added.

The 2013 National Action Month for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control launched on November 10 will focus on organising conferences and seminars to seek measures to reduce the risk of infection in vulnerable groups.

In addition, meetings will be held with vulnerable people to persuade them to act safely and approach healthcare services and HIV/AIDS treatment as soon as possible.

During the month, authorised agencies will also coordinate with the Border Guards in remote and mountainous areas to strengthen communications on HIV/AIDS prevention among people from ethnic minority groups.

Vietnamese State firms urged to confront cyber-attacks

Organisations and enterprises need to take proactive steps to protect their information from security risks as the number of cyber-attacks is on the rise, according to the Vietnam Information Security Association.

Increased investment and more human resources for information security is needed, said Trinh Ngoc Minh, deputy head of the association's southern branch.

Many enterprises have decreased their investment and training budget for information security due to the economic downturn, Minh said at the sixth Vietnam Information Security Day that opened in Ho Chi Minh City on November 14.

The event attracted more than 500 officials of State agencies, experts and enterprises in information security.

State-of-the-art information-security technologies, solutions and applications were discussed during the event.

A survey conducted by the association in October showed that half of polled enterprises had set aside no more than 5 percent of their total budget for data security.

Sixty-two percent of organisations had no qualified officials in information security, according to the survey which polled nearly 300 enterprises in the southern region.

More than half of the enterprises had no office or department of information security. Nearly 70 percent of respondents said they were not ready for outsourcing information security.

Nguyen Minh Duc, deputy director of Bkav's internet security division, said at a recent conference in Hanoi that spyware had been targeting Vietnamese state agency websites for the past year, but the country did not have enough cyber-security experts to cope with the attacks.

In Vietnam, 2,045 agency and business websites were hacked this year, but the number of cyber security experts was too small to cope with all of them.

At a conference organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications at the beginning of 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan asked the ministry to train cyber security staff.-

Vietnamese firms urged to plan for natural disasters

Experts at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 13 urged the business community to increase awareness about how to manage natural disaster's risks and in return support for society.

Most Vietnamese businesses have ignored the necessary preparations to avoid and reduce losses during natural disasters, they said.

Nguyen Thai Thuy Hoa, training manager of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Support Centre was speaking at a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 13 that discussed businesses adaptation to climate change.

Vietnam is one of five countries considered to be the most vulnerable to climate change, with 70 percent of the population affected by natural disasters. The country loses 1.5 percent of GDP each year because of the impact of climate change.

A survey, carried out in 2011 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Asia Foundation, found that 85 percent of businesses were affected by storms, 45 percent by floods and 12 percent by whirlwinds.

"Most businesses haven't paid attention to drawing up plans to manage the risks of natural disaster. They should also be ready to support and assist the local community as well," she added.

Around 57 percent of Vietnamese businesses have not bought insurance for natural disaster, 47 percent have no plans to protect database and equipment, and 55 percent have not thought about how to recover after a natural disaster.

Hoa suggested that business leaders take the initiative and change awareness about natural disaster's risk reduction by incorporating this in their yearly business plans and corporate social responsibility strategy.

Next week, a seminar on how to deal with natural disaster's risks will be held and early next year, two training courses for enterprises will be organised, along with consultancy support for businesses who want to make a plan.

"In future, we will expand training programmes to all of Vietnam; increase information technology allowing enterprises to get more information; and promote public-private partnerships and activities for natural disaster risk-management, along with increasing social responsibility," Hoa added.

The Ho Chi Minh City Natural Resources and Environment Department has set up the Enterprises Club Adapting to Climate Change in order to enhance the role of enterprises in this endeavour. The club will exchange knowledge, skills and solutions to help each other cope with climate change.

Korean, Vietnamese women bolster cooperation

The first Vietnam- Korea Women Forum took place in Hanoi on November 15 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and the Korean Women’s Development Institute (KWDI).

In her speech, VWU Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa highlighted the significance of the forum which contributes to promoting the mutual understanding and cooperation between women organizations as well as the friendship between the two nations.

Over the past 20 years since Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) established diplomatic ties, bilateral cooperation, especially in women-related fields has continued to grow and flourish.

To further women advance, the VWU and Korean partners have agreed to hold Vietnam-Korea women forums in rotation on an annual basis with a view to sharing women's advancement experience.

KWDI Head Sook Choe expressed her hope that the forum will turn to a new page of women cooperation towards with the aim of promoting women’s advancement and equality.

At this forum, delegates shared experience in developing female human resources and providing vocational training and employment for women.

On the occasion, the VWU and the KWDI signed a MoU on cooperation in doing research, publishing, exchanging scholars, sharing information, implementing development projects and organizing joint forums.

Roundtable on late General Vo Nguyen Giap in Paris

The military strategies that late Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap had deployed to defeat the French and American troops were analysed at a roundtable in Paris, France on November 14.

Many French experts and scholars as well as those from other countries were interested in how General Giap and his masterminded Dien Bien Phu victory impacted the national liberation movements in some countries in North Africa, including Algeria and Morocco.

According to Pierre Journoud, an expert from the Institute of Strategic Studies at the Military School (IRSEM), General Giap is an exceptional figure in the military history who became a legend when he was still alive.

The IRSEM expert also said that General Giap’s ideology inherited from the quintessence of Vietnam’s thousand-year national defence and construction course, a rich heritage which the French know a little, especially the people-based war strategy.

Former French Ambassador to Vietnam Claude Blanchemaison recalled that during his tenure in 1989-1993, General Giap urged him to encourage French investors to come to Vietnam, which showed the General’s strategic vision to see France as an important gateway for Vietnam to then integrate globally.

General Vo Nguyen Giap passed away in Hanoi on October 4 at the age of 103.

Southeast Asia’s longest submarine cable near completion

The Vietnam Electricity’s Southern Power Company (EVN SPC) will cooperate with Italian Prysmian PowerLink SRL to complete the final section of the longest submarine cable in Southeast Asia.

Installation work will start on November 17 to connect the remaining 55.8km of 110MW cable between Ha Tien town and Phu Quoc island of southern Kien Giang province to the national electricity grid.

The installation is due to finish on January 13 to provide electricity to Phu Quoc islanders before the celebration of the 2014 lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The total cost is estimated at VND2,336 billion (more than US$11 billion) sourced from the World Bank (WB) and the EVN SPC.

Phu Quoc is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Vietnam. The island welcomed 500,000 visitors last year, and is expected to receive 2-3 million in the next 10 years.

Source: VOV/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri