Quang Binh people on a make-shift raft

 

The Ministry of Health has warned about several diseases which can spread in spring-winter months, especially in the central region after the flooding. 

The Steering Committee for Natural Disasters and Search and Rescue of the Ministry of Health has directed hospitals in areas that are not affected by the flood to send 20-30 employees, medicines and equipment to support people in flood-hit areas. They should also prepare necessities for medical staff and local people affected by the flood to help local hospitals resume operations.

The ministry also issued directives about preventive measures for the winter-spring diseases. Since there's still no vaccine for Covid-19 yet, humid weather in the northern region, flooding in the central region and easy travel will create favourable conditions for transmitted diseases such as rubella, dengue fever and hand-foot-and-mouth disease.

Local authorities must tighten monitoring to early detect new outbreaks. Local health departments must collaborate with the education sector to carry out preventive measures at schools.

For the central region, after flooding, there will be various rubbish left. Rains and flooding also created favourable conditions for many bacteria and virus to grow. Most common diseases often appear after flooding are acute diarrhoea, respiratory disease, eye disease, skin disease, dengue fever and the threat of a Covid-19 outbreak while the condition in the central region is still poor.

Local authorities and people are asked to deal with all excrement, rubbish and animal bodies. They must also try to eat healthily and keep warm during cold weather. They should not bathe and wash clothes with floodwater. If they are suspected of having dengue fever, they should be brought to the nearby medical facility immediately.

Dinh Nai into final round of UMB 10x4 One Carom Challenge

Talented Vietnamese billiards player Dinh Nai successfully defeated his rivals in order to progress to the final round of the UMB 10x4 One Carom Challenge, which is currently taking place in an online format. 

Nai’s advance to the final found comes following Group B matches played on October 28, with Nai finishing second with 101 points, seven points lower than Turkish player Semih Sayginer who went on to top the group with 108 points.

Elsewhere, Nai’s Vietnamese teammate Quoc Nguyen suffered elimination from the competition after only gaining 94 points. Moving into the final round, Nai is set to face off against legends of the sport, including Torbjorn Blomdahl and Choi Sung Won.

The first match of the final round will take place at 20:00 on October 29.

Deputy PM inspects response to Storm Molave

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on October 28 asked authorities of the central localities in general and Quang Nam province in particular to implement urgent tasks to minimise losses of life and property caused by Storm Molave.

In a working session with representatives from Quang Nam province on the same day on the response to the typhoon, Dung underlined the need of searching for people who are still missing due to landslides, and urgently providing food and water to affected people.

It is necessary to gather forces to promptly and effectively respond to floods that often develop complicatedly after storm, he said.
Attention must be given to repairing essential infrastructure facilities serving transport, health care, education, irrigation, and electricity supply for daily activities and production, the official added, stressing the importance to soon restore production and help regional residents stabilise their lives.

According to Chairman of Quang Nam People’s Committee Le Tri Thanh, the locality had two missing residents due to landslide in Phuoc Son district.

The storm also sank two fishing boats in Duy Xuyen district, he said.

Local authorities have called on local residents to strictly comply with regulations on storm prevention to minimise losses caused by the natural disaster, Thanh said.

The same day, Deputy PM Dung Dung visited and presented relief aid to policy families and disadvantaged households in Thang Binh district./.

Four people in Quang Binh fined for fake flood news on Facebook

Police in the central province of Quang Binh have fined four people for publishing fake news about floods on Facebook.

On October 22, the information that hundreds of Hong Thuy Commune in Le Thuy District died due to floods was posted on Tran Nguyen Truc Anh and Nguyen Hong Anh. However, this was defined to be inaccurate later. 

Owner of the account Tran Nguyen Truc Anh said that she had published the news after coming to Hong Thuy Commune for a charity programme without checking it again.

Meanwhile, owner of the account Nguyen Hong Anh admitted that she had copied the content from the page Tran Nguyen Truc Anh.

Each of them has been fined VND5 million (USD213.39) for the violation.

Earlier, two people faced the same fine for disseminating false news about deaths due to floods in An Thuy Communes in Quang Binh’s Le Thuy District.

Vietnam calls for more humanitarian aid to Syria amid COVID-19

Vietnam has called on the international community to increase support to help Syria cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and deal with food security problems.

Speaking at the UN Security Council’s online monthly discussion on the Syrian situation, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnam mission to the UN, expressed his concern about challenges facing millions of Syrian people, including conflicts that have killed civilians and adverse impacts from the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He underlined the urgent need to seek a comprehensive political solution to the crisis and increase humanitarian aid to the country.

The ambassador urged all relevant parties in Syria to create the most favourable conditions for effective humanitarian operations and call on the international community to continue their support during this critical moment. The assistance should be strengthened to increase COVID-19 response capability, fight food insecurity and provide adequate winter supplies, he stated.

According to the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, the Syrian government and the opposition have yet to agree on the agenda and the time for their next meeting since their last meeting in late August.

Pedersen hoped the talks can be resumed in November this year. Meanwhile, attacks targeting civilians have taken place almost every day, he added.

Meanwhile, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has developed complicatedly in the country. The official report showed that the country has over 5,000 infections, but he held that the real count is much higher as the testing conditions remain poor and community infections stay complicated.

The economic crisis has also worsened food security in Syria, while food prices had risen 90 percent over the past six months, together with a serious shortage of commodities, he said./.

Son La province's cultural traits dazzle Hanoians

Those wandering around Hoan Kiem Lake may feel a little overwhelmed upon seeing that the streets look so much like a fair in the northwestern province of Son La. Here they can enjoy ethnic minority dance moves, see beautiful faces in minority costumes, and buy a range of specialties and handicraft products from the province.

Entitled “Colours of Son La”, the event is the largest tourism promotion programme by the province this year and aims to strengthen links between northwestern provinces, including Son La, and Hanoi.

It is being hosted now as Vietnam has basically contained the second outbreak of COVID-19.

Home to 22 ethnic minority groups and impressive natural landscapes, Son La is among the most attractive destinations in the northwest region in particular and in Vietnam in general./.

Winners of “For a Green Vietnam” video contest announced

Hoang Minh Thuy from Ho Chi Minh City wins the first prize of the video clip contest 'For a Green Vietnam' (Source: Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee)

Hoang Minh Thuy from Ho Chi Minh City surpassed nearly 1,700 entries to win the first prize of the video clip contest “For a Green Vietnam”, the organising board announced on October 27.

Thuy’s clip was made completely in English with a call for small changes and actions every day to protect the environment, such as using the stairs, limiting the use of personal vehicles, planting more green trees, and saving power and water.

The contest was co-organised by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) Central Committee, in collaboration with the French Development Agency (AFD) and TikTok Vietnam from July 6 to August 16, registering a total of 1,671 entries from across the country.

The participating video clips attracted more than 26.5 million views on the TikTok social media platform, with the most prominent entry having drawn over 1.3 million views, more than 4.5 million reach and approximately 243,000 interactions on Facebook.

Throughout the six weeks of the contest, the organising board presented 12 weekly awards worth 1 million VND (43 USD) each. The best one amongst these was then selected for the 10 million VND first prize,

Besides the first prize, two second prizes (5 million VND each) and three third prizes (3 million VND each) were awarded.

In addition, the contest also offered four consolation prizes, along with one for the entry which received the highest number of votes, and one “Creative” award, all worth 2 million VND each.

Nguyen Binh Minh, chief of the HCYU Central Committee Office and head of the organising committee, said that the entries put forward many innovative ideas to promote efforts to protect the environment as well as cope with climate change./.

Ha Tinh flooded again after reservoir discharge

Many areas in Ha Tinh Province have been flooded again after the Ke Go Reservoir released water in preparation for Storm Molave.

Taking advantage of the receding water levels in downstream, Nam Ha Tinh Water Resources Company discharged Ke Go Reservoir. The discharge flow was 250-400 cubic metres per second. On October 28, the company will reduce the discharge flow and close the gate to prepare for the new storm.

As a result, the water levels in Cam My and Cam Due communes rose again and flooded several roads. Many households had to move their property to higher places again.

Nguyen Thi Thuy from Cam Due Commune had to move three pigs to another commune as the water rose. She already lost a pig in the flood.

Le Ngoc Hai, vice chairman of Cam Due Commune People's Committee said, "The water rose by nearly 50cm. Only the main roads haven't been submerged yet."

11 schools in Cam Xuyen District are still closed as of October 26. Cam Quang and Cam My primary schools opened again. However, as the students arrived, they were told to return home because of Ke Go reservoir discharge.

Heavy rains from October 16 to 21 resulted in the most severe flood in Ha Tinh Province in the past 60 years. The average rainfall was 400 to over 900mm. There were times when discharge flows from Ke Go Reservoir reached 1,060 cubic metres per second.

Six people died in the flood. 118 communes and wards with 42,000 households were flooded. Some places were under three to four metres of water. 132ha of rice and other crops, 2,300ha of fish farms, 40 medical stations and a hospital were damaged in the flood.

Over 11 million USD donated to central region via Vietnam Fatherland Front

The Vietnam Fatherland Fronts at all levels have received a total of over 265 billion VND (11.4 million USD) over the past two weeks in support of people affected by the recent record flooding in the central region.

On October 27, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man received 10 billion VND from Labour Hero and President of the Vietnam Veterans’ Business Association (VVBA) Le Van Kiem.

Through the VFF Central Committee, Kiem also handed over 36 saving books worth 1.8 billion VND in total to families of officers and soldiers who died performing duty during the flooding.

On this occasion, the VFF also received 800 water purifiers worth 500 million VND from the Defence Ministry and 200 million VND from the Communist Review.

Man affirmed that the VFF Central Committee will coordinate with local authorities and VFF local committees to allocate the money and objects to right addresses.

Floods and landslides in the central region claimed 130 lives as of October 25 and 18 others are still missing.

The Prime Minister decided to provide 11,500 tonnes of rice and 500 billion VND for five central localities hit hard by the disasters./.

Hoang Sa, Truong Sa exhibition underway in Binh Thuan

An exhibition featuring historical and legal evidence on Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos opened in the central province of Binh Thuan on October 27.

On display are over 100 maps and atlases published by Vietnam, China and western countries, and royal records issued by feudal dynasties from the 17th century to the early 20th century, which affirm Vietnam’s establishment, continual exercise and protection of its sovereignty over the two archipelagos.

Photos and documents featuring the two archipelagos during the French colonial and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam eras, the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh are also available.

The exhibition will last till October 30.

Similar events have been already held in 9 out of 10 districts and townships in the province, contributing to raising public awareness of Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos./. 

National ASEAN 2020 Committee convenes sixth session

The National ASEAN 2020 Committee convened its sixth session in Hanoi on October 27 under the chair of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Speaking at the event, Minh, who is also chairman of the committee, lauded ministries, agencies and its sub-committees for upholding the spirit of solidarity and responsiveness, actively proposing measures to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic while promoting cooperation initiatives within ASEAN as well as between the bloc and partners.

The session was designed to review the progress of initiatives during ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020 and discuss orientations for future tasks, especially preparations for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings slated for November.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, who is Secretary General of the National ASEAN 2020 Committee, said tasks during the Chairmanship Year have basically met the schedules and requirements.

He also offered proposals to help Vietnam take the lead in realising initiatives and outcomes of the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020.

Representatives from ministries, agencies and localities vowed to make careful preparations for the 37th ASEAN Summit and earn the best results for the remaining tasks this year.

Concluding the event, Minh asked the sub-committees, ministries and agencies to fulfill assigned tasks before the ASEAN Chairmanship is handed over to another country.

They were also required to work with the ASEAN 2020 Secretariat on the agenda and reception for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings and ensure their safety./.

ASEAN Ambassadors to South Africa hail Vietnam’s preparation for 37th ASEAN Summit

Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Hoang Van Loi informed his ASEAN counterparts on Vietnam’s preparations for the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings at a conference on October 27.

He informed the Ambassadors of seven ASEAN countries in South Africa about the planned working programme, working agenda and a list of documents to be submitted to ASEAN leaders on the occasion.

Loi, who is also Chair of the ASEAN Pretoria Committee (APC), stressed that Vietnam, as Chair of ASEAN in 2020, is doing its best to ensure the success of the 37th ASEAN Summit.

He announced that South Africa will sign the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) on the occasion of the 37th ASEAN Summit, with the signing to be held online in Cape Town on November 10. The same day, Cuba will also sign the TAC with the ASEAN.

All ASEAN Ambassadors in Pretoria shared the view that Vietnam has done well not only in logistical preparation for the summit, but also in actively proposing and promoting priorities and initiatives during the year it is Chair of the bloc. They said substantial results achieved during the year had contributed positively to the building of the ASEAN Community.

Singaporean Ambassador Chua Thai – Keong said Vietnam, as Chair of ASEAN in 2020, has also effectively promoted the ties between ASEAN and other regions in the world, as seen in the upcoming signing of the TAC between ASEAN and South Africa.

The ASEAN Ambassador in South Africa also discussed the working programme of the APC in the time ahead, including the organization of activities to welcome the 37th ASEAN Summit.

They examined the pandemic situation in the host country and shared pandemic prevention measures undertaken by their respective diplomatic missions./.

COVID-19: Malaysia extends partial lockdown, Myanmar lifts some restrictions

While Malaysia has decided to extend a partial lockdown in efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, Myanmar removed certain restrictions to prepare for the upcoming general elections.

Malaysian Senior Minister for Security Ismail Sabri Yaakob told a press conference on October 26 that the two-week partial lockdown on Kuala Lumpur capital and the neighbouring state of Selangor, announced earlier this month, would be extended until November 9.

Malaysia made the move after the Health Ministry had reported 1,240 new coronavirus cases on September 26, the highest daily rise on record.

As of the day, this country had recorded a total of 27,805 infections, including 236 deaths.

Its government has imposed movement restrictions, including the closure of schools and places of worship, though all other economic activities are allowed to operate normally.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has lifted restrictions on mass gatherings and the stay-at-home order to prepare for the general elections slated for November 8.

The country’s Ministry of Health and Sports announced on October 25 that gatherings of 30 people or more, which were banned from August 12 as a measure to help curb the spread of COVID-19, will be allowed at the polling stations on the election day.

The ministry also said citizens who are residing in the townships under the stay-at-home order will be allowed to go to the respective polling stations to cast votes on the election day.

So far, the stay-at-home order has been imposed in all townships in Rakhine state and Yangon region, excluding Cocokyun township, along with 13 townships in Mandalay, Bago, Ayeyarwaddy regions and Mon and Kachin states.

Myanmar had reported 44,774 COVID-19 confirmed cases with 1,095 deaths as of October 25./.

UN officials hold working session with VOV leaders

Representatives from 15 United Nations agencies in Vietnam visited and held a working session with leaders of Radio The Voice of Vietnam (VOV) in Hanoi on October 27, on the occasion of the 75th founding anniversary of the UN (October 24) and the VOV (September 7).

Speaking at the event, VOV General Director Nguyen The Ky affirmed that as a national media agency, VOV will play a leading role in helping UN agencies work more effectively in Vietnam, and popularising the implementation of the UN sustainable development goals.

Via the mass media, the VOV will contribute to raising public awareness of models, activities and global values of the UN, and enhancing interaction between the Vietnamese people, especially young people, with the UN and its member agencies, he said.

UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Kamal Malhotra spoke highly of the role of media agencies, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN wants to boost cooperation with media agencies in Vietnam, including the VOV, he stressed.

The two sides discussed the UN’s programmes and key goals in Vietnam’s cities and provinces, particularly assisting residents in the central region in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters. They also talked ways to enhance the dissemination of information about the UN’s activities in the country.

It was the first meeting between the UN agencies and a major press agency in Vietnam, marking an important milestone in promoting the role of the media in partnering with the UN, contributing to peace, stability and development in Vietnam, the region and the world, in which the VOV plays a crucial role./.

HCM City speeds up sub-projects for smart city development

Ho Chi Minh City is speeding up the progress of key sub-projects under the project to turn the city into a smart city from 2017 to 2020 with a vision to 2025.

The smart city building project aims to resolve problems such as unsustainable economic growth, flooding, traffic congestion and pollution, and improve interaction between the city’s administration, businesses and residents.

It gives priority to four key sub-projects, including a smart urban operation centre, a centre for receiving and processing urgent information, a control centre for surveillance cameras, and a database management system under the city’s existing common-use shared data warehouse.

According to the city’s Department of Information and Communication, the city will enhance disbursement of all planned capital this year to implement ongoing sub-projects on schedule.

The smart urban operation centre worth 969 billion VND (41.8 million USD) began in 2019 and will be completed in 2022.

With a total investment of 993 billion VND (42.8 million USD), the centre for receiving and processing urgent information is expected to operate by 2025.

The control centre for surveillance cameras will be implemented from 2019 to 2022, with a cost of 549 billion VND (23.7 million USD).

Around 49 billion VND (2.1 million USD) is needed to build the database management system in the 2019-2022 period.

Dozens of other sub-projects are also being implemented.

Vo Thi Trung Trinh, deputy director of the department, said there have been obstacles to sub-projects' progress, including a lack of efficient coordination between departments and agencies in determining information technology application.

Guiding documents related to conditions and order and procedures for implementing public investment projects have not been clear enough.

The city authority is continuing to receive feedback on measures to build a smart city from residents and the business community./.

Project launched to boost biodiversity preservation, management

A project on incorporating natural resource management and biodiversity preservation goals into socio-economic development planning and biosphere reserves management in Vietnam was launched in Hanoi on October 27.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen said the project will help perfect legal regulations on biosphere reserves in Vietnam, assist in sustainable forest recovery and management, promote community-based livelihood models to ease pressure on natural resources in three biosphere reserves, and raise awareness among stakeholders, to increase their participation in biosphere reserve management.

General Director of the Vietnam Environment Administration Nguyen Van Tai said Vietnam is now home to nine UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserves.

Most of them, however, are located in disadvantaged areas, meaning difficulties in fulfilling biodiversity and economic development goals remain.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility, the project will be carried out in Hanoi and biosphere reserves in Dong Nai, Quang Nam, and Nghe An provinces between 2020 and 2025./.

Government provides more rice aid for central provinces

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has decided to provide 6,500 tonnes of rice from the national reserve for four central provinces to assist people affected by the recent flooding.

Under Decision 1676/QD-TTg, Quang Binh will receive 2,500 tonnes of rice, Quang Tri 2,000 tonnes, and Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam each 1,000 tonnes.

Since October 6, downpours brought by storms Linfa and Nangka caused record flooding and serious landslides on a wide scale in the central region. As of October 25, the death toll during the disaster reached 130, with 18 still missing. Some 7 million people have been affected./.

Forum discusses access to smart city for people with disabilities

The smart city which Ho Chi Minh City is converting into should be made accessible to people with disabilities, a forum heard in HCM City on October 26.

People with disabilities complain that many public sites in the city remain inaccessible to them. For instance, pavements at many places in the downtown area have iron railings, making it difficult for people in wheelchairs and those with visual impairment to walk through.

Difficulties in travelling around make people with disabilities reluctant to leave home, and many thus find it difficult to integrate into society.

Dr Vo Thi Hoang Yen, founder of the NGO HCM City Disabilities Research and Capacity Development Centre (DRD), said authorities should keep people with disabilities in mind when creating smart cities.

People with disabilities and organisations they are affiliated to could have suggestions that could be integrated into the city’s database for the smart city development, she said.

DRD has, for instance, developed a phone application called D-Map which helps people with disabilities know the locations of disabled-friendly community venues such as parks, coffee shops and public sites.

More than 15,000 public sites around the country are now shown in the app.

D.Map was developed with funding from the UNDP and the US Agency for International Development and initial technical assistance from Hoa Sen University.

Vu Chi Kien, head of the Department of Planning and Architecture’s Architectural Research Centre, said in the smart city project, cutting-edge technologies have been used to serve people including those with disabilities.

Lack of physical access to many public venues prevents people with disabilities from using public services, he said.

“This problem is addressed. In the smart city, they can access public services without directly going to public venues. They could use online administrative procedures.”

Yen suggested that more functions aiding people with disabilities should be integrated into the applications the city is using to develop the smart city.

Dao Thu Huong, a specialist on the rights of people with disabilities at UNDP Vietnam, said her agency is working with the DRD and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to amend laws to create provisions that allow new buildings to open only if approved by people with disabilities.

According to Yen, the additional cost of building public facilities to make them accessible to people with disabilities is 0-3 percent, but that goes up to 12 percent if they have to be altered after construction.

The ratio of people with disabilities is 5-10 percent of the country’s population, equivalent to 6.5 million people./.

Vietnamese representative agencies abroad raise funds for flood-hit people

The Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN, the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, held a fundraising event on October 27 to support flood-hit people in the central region of Vietnam.

The event was actively responded by all members of the mission and the Vietnamese community in Switzerland despite difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai spoke highly of the assistance that the Vietnamese community in Switzerland has given to disaster-hit people at home in response to the call of Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

She briefed participants on the serious impacts of the recent storms and floods to the central region as well as the support of the whole political system and people nationwide to the region to overcome the disasters’ consequences.

Earlier, the Vietnamese community in Switzerland and the Au Lac Viet School – the Thai Binh Association also sent aid to affected residents in the central region.

The same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand also called for assistance to people who have been affected by the historical floods in the central region.

Despite difficulties due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese community in Thailand has organised many fund-raising events to support disaster-hit people in the central region./.

Urgent aid rushed to flood victims

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has presented an emergency aid package worth 20,000 USD, from the KOICA Club Vietnam fund, to the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) to help disadvantaged groups affected by the recent floods in the central region.

Beneficiaries will be women, disabled children, and the elderly in flood-hit areas in central Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Quang Nam provinces and north-central Ha Tinh province.

The relief includes toiletries, rescue equipment, and essentials.

KOICA is coordinating with other international organisations such as the UN Development Programme, UNICEF, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to support people in flood-hit areas and help them stabilise their lives.

KOICA has continually supported Vietnam in strengthening its capacity to respond to natural disasters via many different channels.

Fund-raising programmes have been launched nationwide to help flood victims.

Vietnam Fatherland Front chapters in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces have received over 47.2 billion VND (over 2 million USD) and 74 billion VND in cash and goods, respectively, from organisations and individuals.

The front’s Quang Nam chapter said the locality has received donations of 11.5 billion VND and a large volume of food, foodstuffs, and other goods./.

 

Thanh Hoa urged to play part in northern development quadrangle

Thanh Hoa province should roll out concerted solutions to soon become a new growth pole, together with Hanoi, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh forming a development quadrangle in the north, Politburo member and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said on October 27.

Addressing the opening of the 19th provincial Party Congress, which brought together 448 delegates from across the locality, she also urged Thanh Hoa to step up connectivity and cooperation with other localities in the north-central region and Hanoi, especially in investment and trade promotion.

Economic restructuring should be conducted in tandem with growth model reform, Ngan said, suggesting Thanh Hoa expand the scale of industries where it possesses strengths and turn itself into a major centre of energy and processing and manufacturing in the region and the country as a whole.

It should attract investments to new industrial and high-tech sectors to create new momentum for the local economy, encourage the development of supporting industries, and promote sectoral connectivity, particularly between industry and services.

She asked the locality to further improve the local business environment and provincial competitiveness in order to maximise resources for development.

The official said the provincial Party organisation needs to work harder to improve people’s material and spiritual lives, while paying more attention to Party building.

It was reported at the function that Thanh Hoa’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) grew 12.1 percent during the 2016-2020 period; a 1.5-fold increase against 2011-2015.

Its economic scale ranks eighth nationwide and first in the central region, while its budget contributions are the 11th highest in the country.

Thanh Hoa is among the leading localities nationwide in new-style rural area building, with 65.75 percent of communes earning the status.

During the 2020-2025 tenure, the provincial Party organisation will focus its leadership on agricultural development and new-style rural area building, the development of the Nghi Son economic zone and industrial parks, tourism development, improvement to cultural, educational, and healthcare quality, socio-economic development in mountainous areas, and improvement to the leadership and combat capacity of Party units.

At the same time, it aims to make breakthroughs in infrastructure construction, administrative reform, and technological research, application, and transfer. The province will also actively engage in Industry 4.0 to boost socio-economic development quickly and sustainably./.

Phu Tho advised to focus more on tourism development

Politburo member and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has suggested that the northern midland province of Phu Tho turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector by enhancing the added value and quality of services and diversifying tourism products.

With two UNESCO-recognised intangible cultural heritages - Hung Kings worshipping and Xoan singing - Phu Tho should coordinate with Hanoi and other nearby localities in promoting tourism development and boosting services and industry, the leader said at the opening of the 19th provincial Party Congress on October 27.

Discussing the province’s shortcomings, including the modest development of the service and tourism sectors, he asked it to optimise its potential and advantages to bolster economic restructuring.

He said he hopes it will work to gradually ease its demand for support from the central budget and within the next five years join localities able to balance their budget.

A report presented at the congress showed that Phu Tho met 19 out of the 20 socio-economic targets in the 2015-2020 period, with economic growth reaching 7.86 percent per year and economic scale expanding 1.7 times against 2015.

Annual per capita GDP is estimated at 52.5 million VND (2,260 USD). Export revenue has increased 30.2 percent each year and the rate of poor households has fallen 1.5 percent each year.

The province has seen 116 communes fulfilling all criteria in the new-style rural area building programme, while 59 others have basically reached the criteria, along with four districts recognised as new-style rural areas.

The province mobilised 50 trillion VND for infrastructure building in the period, up 1.38 times compared to the 2011-2015 period. Phu Tho has also conducted 199 projects in eight different sectors, including 25 in infrastructure development.

More than 238,000 workers have received training over the last five years.

From a locality standing in last place out of the 63 localities in the provincial competitiveness index (PCI), Phu Tho has risen to the 26th position and is third out of the 14 northern mountainous localities.

In the next five years, the province aims to focus on improving its investment and business environment to attract more investment, while speeding up administrative reform and enhancing human resources quality.

In the 2020-2025 period, Phu Tho targets economic growth of 7.5 percent per year and export revenue of over 3.8 billion USD. Total social investment in the five years is expected to reach over 190 trillion VND, while budget collections by 2025 are projected at 10 trillion VND./.

VEA and UNDP jointly launch biosphere reserves management project

Việt Nam Environment Administration (VEA), under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in co-ordination with UNDP launched a Biosphere Reserves (BRs) management project on Tuesday morning in Hà Nội.

The project “Mainstreaming Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity Conservation Objectives into Socio-Economic Development Planning and Management of Biosphere Reserve in Việt Nam”, has funding of US$6.66 million from the Global Environment Fund and will be implemented in Hà Nội and three biosphere reserves in Đồng Nai, Cù Lao Chàm-Hội An, and Nghệ An over the next five years.  

VEA Director General Nguyễn Văn Tài said building biosphere reserves aimed to strike a balance between biodiversity conservation, natural resources and socio-economic development.

Over the past 20 years, Việt Nam has had nine UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserves that have gained high biodiversity conservation value, with great potential to become sustainable development models.

Many initiatives have been adopted in Việt Nam, including a model of nature conservation and biodiversity, livelihood improvement and community ecotourism development.

UNDP reported that Việt Nam ranked 16th among the most biodiverse countries on earth and was one of the ten richest centres of biodiversity.

In an effort to maintain this rich natural endowment, and to help reverse the degradation trend of biodiversity loss over the last few decades, the country has been establishing a network of protected areas (PAs) nationwide, with 164 national parks (NPs) and nature reserves (NRs), and five marine PAs.  

However, Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Resident Representative in Việt Nam said:  “Most PAs in Việt Nam are located in areas of high poverty and it is a great challenge to achieve the often-conflicting objectives of conservation and development.”

She said biosphere reserves management in Việt Nam was facing a lack of legal framework, hence inadequately facilitates multisectoral coordination within one province, and more so interprovincial cooperation for effective management of BRs at sites located in multiple provinces.

Hanoi looks to improve access to bus services

The capital city Hà Nội is aiming to broaden the coverage of its bus network so that 80-90 per cent of residents in downtown areas can easily catch a bus by 2030.

This is part of Plan No. 201/KH-UBND, issued by the municipal People’s Committee, on developing local public transport between 2021 and 2030.

Infrastructure for public transport will be developed under the plan to ensure that by 2030, 80-90 per cent of residents in downtown areas have a bus service within 500 metres of their home against the current rate of below 80 per cent, and about 30 per cent for residents in suburban areas.

Hà Nội will work to expand its public transport network to populous places such as residential areas and industrial parks, outlying districts, and socio-economic development centres, while ensuring the network’s connectivity with transport hubs and other transport modes.

Traffic will be managed to prioritise public transport, while science and technology use will be increased in transport activities and communications will be enhanced to encourage people to use public transport.

Bus services currently meet only 16.08 per cent of travel demand in Hà Nội. The capital does, however, boast the largest bus network in the country, with 122 routes reaching all 30 district-level localities.

Forum discusses access to smart city for people with disabilities

The smart city which HCM City is converting into should be made accessible to people with disabilities, a forum heard in HCM City on October 26.

People with disabilities complain that many public sites in the city remain inaccessible to them. For instance, pavements at many places in the downtown area have iron railings, making it difficult for people in wheelchairs and those with visual impairment to walk through.

Difficulties in travelling around make people with disabilities reluctant to leave home, and many thus find it difficult to integrate into society.

Dr Võ Thị Hoàng Yến, founder of the NGO HCM City Disabilities Research and Capacity Development Centre (DRD), said authorities should keep people with disabilities in mind when creating smart cities.

People with disabilities and organisations they are affiliated to could have suggestions that could be integrated into the city’s database for the smart city development, she said.

DRD has, for instance, developed a phone application called D-Map which helps people with disabilities know the locations of disabled-friendly community venues such as parks, coffee shops and public sites.

More than 15,000 public sites around the country are now shown in the app.

D.Map was developed with funding from the UNDP and the U.S. Agency for International Development and initial technical assistance from Hoa Sen University.

Vũ Chí Kiên, head of the Department of Planning and Architecture’s Architectural Research Centre, said in the smart city project, cutting-edge technologies have been used to serve people including those with disabilities.

Lack of physical access to many public venues prevents people with disabilities from using public services, he said.

“This problem is addressed. In the smart city, they can access public services without directly going to public venues. They could use online administrative procedures.”

Yến suggested that more functions aiding people with disabilities should be integrated into the applications the city is using to develop the smart city.

Đào Thu Hương, a specialist on the rights of people with disabilities at UNDP Vietnam, said her agency is working with the DRD and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to amend laws to create provisions that allow new buildings to open only if approved by people with disabilities. 

According to Yến, the additional cost of building public facilities to make them accessible to people with disabilities is 0-3 per cent, but that goes up to 12 per cent if they have to be altered after construction.

The ratio of people with disabilities is 5-10 per cent of the country’s population, equivalent to 6.5 million people. 

ASEAN promotes competitiveness, adaptability of labourers

The 26th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting (ALMM) and the 11th ASEAN Labour Minsters’ Meeting Plus Three (ALMM+3) were held on online on October 28.

The 26th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting (ALMM) and the 11th ASEAN Labour Minsters’ Meeting Plus Three (ALMM+3) were held on online on October 28 with Indonesia as the host.

The ALMM brought together 10 ministers in charge of labour affairs from ASEAN member countries and the ASEAN Secretary General. The Vietnamese delegation to the event was headed by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung.

At the ALMM, the delegates reviewed labour-related activities rolled out over the past two years.

They acknowledged statements, that have been adopted, including the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resources Development for the Changing World of Work, the ASEAN Labour Ministers' Statement on the Future of Work: Embracing Technology for Inclusive and Sustainable Growth, the ASEAN Declaration on Promoting Green Jobs for Equity and Inclusive Growth of the ASEAN Community, the ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, the Vientiane Declaration on Transition from Informal Employment to Formal Employment towards Decent Work Promotion in ASEAN, and the ASEAN Labour Minister's Statement on improving Occupational Safety and Health for Sustainable Economic Growth.

The ministers approved a working plan for the 2021-2025 period, which is expected to serve as an important basis for the member countries to implement specific activities and projects in the time ahead.

They also ratified a number of documents to be submitted to the 37th ASEAN Summit slated for November.

At the end of the meeting, the ministers issued a joint statement, and agreed to convene the 27th meeting in the Philippines in 2022.

During the ALMM 3, ministers and delegation heads from ASEAN and the three partner countries of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) made proposals in order to promote the competitiveness and adaptability of ASEAN labourers.

They also committed to enhancing cooperation between the ten-member grouping and the three partner nations.

In his remarks, Minister Dung said the meetings are expected to significantly contribute to building capacity and preparing human resources for ASEAN so as to cope with the changing world of work in a timely and effective manner.

According to the minister, human resources development is one of the three strategic breakthroughs set in Vietnam’s 2011-2020 socio-economic development strategy.

Through the strategy, the rate of trained employees in Vietnam increased from 15.58 percent in 2011 to 24 percent and 2019, and is expected to meet the target of 25 percent this year.

Vietnam has earned high positions regionally in such indexes as human capital index, innovation and creation and human development indexes, the minister said, adding that the country is building a human resources development strategy for 2021-2030, focusing on human resources development adaptive to the fourth Industrial Revolution.

The ALMM 3 also adopted a joint statement. The next meeting will be held in the Philippines in 2022./.

People with vascular malformations often ignore symptoms

The ratio of the Vietnamese population with vascular malformations of the brain is estimated to be between five and ten per cent.

But many people who suffer from the condition do not seek treatment when they feel sudden, severe headaches, according to Associate Professor Đồng Văn Hệ, deputy director of Việt Nam – Germany Friendship Hospital.

Often they wait until the very last moment before seeking medical advice and sometimes this can be too late.

According to Hệ, vascular malformations of the brain have many forms, including cerebral aneurysm and cavernous hemangiomas.

A cerebral aneurysm is a weak or thin spot on the artery in the brain that balloons or bulges out and fills with blood. Cavernous hemangioma, also called cavernous angioma, cavernoma, or cerebral cavernoma is a type of benign vascular tumour or hemangioma, where a collection of dilated blood vessels forms a lesion.

He said people with this condition face a number of health problems such as rupture of blood vessels, leading to a stroke due to brain hemorrhage or causing pressure on the brain then resulting in convulsions.

Hệ advised people to go to the hospital for a check-up if they had symptoms of a sudden severe headache, hemiplegia or convulsions.

Adults who went into convulsions for the first time must go to the hospital immediately to take a screening in order to find out the causes and prevent the rupture of blood vessels, he said.

Hệ said, currently, a 58-year-old man, of Thái Bình Province, has been treated for a cerebral aneurysm in Việt Nam – Germany Friendship Hospital. The patient was hospitalised when he was in a coma with high blood pressure.

Results of CT scan showed that the patient had a ruptured cerebral aneurysm (malformations in the blood vessels that feed the brain) that could cause cerebral hemorrhage.

Văn Đức Hạnh, a doctor of the hospital’s Neurosurgery Department No 1 said the patient was a smoker and heavy drinker.

After receiving the patient, doctors of the hospital indicated an emergency surgery. The patient was awake and in stable conditions after the surgery, he said.

Hạnh said there were many cases like this man who had a cerebral aneurysm but did not know about it. They only realised after going to the emergency room due to a ruptured cerebral aneurysm.

Another patient N.Đ.H, 24, of Tân Yên District, the northern province of Bắc Giang has also recently been taken to the hospital after slipping into a coma. He was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and cerebral aneurysm.

The patient’s health improved after doctors conducted surgery.

Causes and prevention

Hệ said causes of vascular malformations of the brain were not clear and currently unidentified. Most people were born with it, but sometimes it could develop due to an unhealthy lifestyle.

Of which, cavernous hemangiomas were mostly congenital not inherited. They also formed during pregnancy, he said.

The hospital had received many children with cavernous hemangiomas, he said.

For cerebral aneurysm, people should control blood pressure, not smoke, reduce alcohol and control their weight to prevent it, he said.

People were also advised to regularly do exercise, especially running and walking, which were very good for their heart and reduce the risk, he said.

In a related move, the hospital will organise a free examination and consultation at 7:30 am on Saturday to help people better understand and prevent and monitor vascular malformations of the brain.

The examination and consultation will be taken place in Clinic No. 9 and Clinic No. 11, 2nd floor, Building C4 in the hospital, located at No 40 Tràng Thi Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội.

People could contact the Customer Service Centre on 19001902 to book a free consultation and examination schedule. 

Hospitals urged to take part in data sharing

The exchange of clinical information among health providers should be facilitated to improve the quality of patient care and delivery of services and reduce the cost of care, experts have said.

Data sharing among hospitals needs to be fostered with the rising use of electronic health records that allow physicians to enter a patient’s record number and view the patient’s medical history, current medications, images and reports of diagnostic procedures, according to Dr. Phan Xuân Trung from Medic Medical Centre.

"Data sharing among hospitals also makes it easier for patients to access remote health examinations and revisits to their physicians," Trung said at a roundtable meeting held  on October 22.

"The electronic health record enables clinicians to exchange and continuously update a patient’s clinical data.

"Hospitals need to use specialised software that integrates information from all departments of a hospital to facilitate the exchange of clinical information and connected healthcare," he said.

Hứa Phú Doãn, deputy director of the Medical Technical Consultation Centre, said that health authorities needed to create regulations on the exchange of clinical information as part of an assessment of a hospital’s digital transformation.

Digital transformation in the healthcare sector is the integration of digital technology into all aspects of how patients, healthcare providers and regulators interact and coordinate, according to Doãn.

Nguyễn Hữu Tùng, deputy chairman of the Medical Practitioner Society in HCM City, said that information technology adoption rates across healthcare systems remained low.

It was vital to replace paper-based information systems with the implementation of digital transformation in hospital data management, he said. 

Flood sweeps bridge in Kon Tum away, isolating 1,500 people

A bridge in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum has been washed away by a severe flood, leaving up to 1,500 local residents isolated.

According to Nguyen Van Thuy, vice chairman of Kon Ray District People’s Committee, the incident happened to the metal bridge which connects Dak Pne Commune and the centre of Kon Ray District at around 11:15 this morning, October 28. Luckily, at that time, no one was on the bridge.

The floodwaters are still on a sharp rise, so authorities have not been able to access the three villages of Dak Pne Commune where around 1,500 people are totally isolated.

Earlier, authorities warned people not to use the bridge due to the flood.

Meanwhile, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai is also facing torrential rain, resulting in the power loss for some districts.

Due to Storm Molave, Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Dak Lak have allowed local students to temporarily stay at home to ensure safety.

PM urges prompt rescue efforts after severe landslide hits central province

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on late October 28 issued a dispatch urging all necessary measures to rescue victims of a severe landslide that hit a mountainous commune in central Quang Nam province.

The dispatch was sent to the National Committee for Disaster Response and Search and Rescue, the Defence Minister, the Commander of Military Zone 5, and the People’s Committee of Quang Nam province.

It was issued right after the landslide ravaged Tra Leng commune, Nam Tra My district, on October 28 evening, burying many local residents.

The PM requested the disaster response committee, military forces and local authorities to coordinate with relevant forces, and use any measure necessary to promptly rescue the victims./.

Vietnam reports one new imported cases of COVID-19 on October 28 afternoon

One new imported cases of COVID-19 was recorded from 6am to 6pm on October 28, raising the national count to 1,173, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The patient is a 43-year-old Vietnamese man who returned from Angola on Flight VN8 on October 20 and was sent to a concentrated quarantine centre in northern Bac Ninh province upon his arrival.

At present, he is being treated at the Bac Ninh provincial general hospital.

Of the total case, 691 infected the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 domestically, with 551 reported since July 25, when the new outbreak began.

As many as 1,062 patients have recovered. Death toll remains at 35.

Among the patients still under treatment, six have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 once, two twice and eight thrice. Currently, there is no patient in critical conditions.

There are now 14,819 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit regions under quarantine, including 175 in hospitals, 13,523 in other quarantine sites, and 1,121 at home or accommodation facilities./.

Foreign leaders extend sympathies over floods

Leaders of Mongolia and Cambodia have sent their sympathies to Vietnamese Party, State and Government leaders, and people over the losses from storms and flooding in central Vietnam.

Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga extended his sympathies to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Meanwhile, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen sent his sympathies to his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, in which the Cambodian leader said he was saddened to hear that many people had been killed or are missing, while crops and property have been severely damaged by recent floods in the central region, especially in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces which were hit by floods and landslides caused by Storms Linpha and Nangka.

He expressed his deepest condolences to the Government and people of Vietnam over the severe losses, saying he believes that under the leadership of PM Phuc, Vietnam will soon overcome the consequences of the natural disasters.

PM Hun Sen also sincerely thanked PM Phuc for his sympathies to Cambodia over the recent damage caused by heavy rains and widespread flooding.

On the occasion, Mongolian Foreign Minister Nyamtserengiin Enkhtaivan, Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, and Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kang Kyung-wha also sent letters of sympathies to their Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.

Since October 6, downpours from Storms Linpha and Nangka have caused record flooding and serious landslides on a wide scale in the central region. As of October 25, the death toll had reached 130, with 18 still missing. Some 7 million people have been affected.

Storms Saudel and Molave made landfall in the region on October 25 and October 28, respectively./.

Rwanda looks to boost ties with Vietnam

The Republic of Rwanda is willing to cooperate with Vietnam towards further strengthening the bilateral friendship between the two nations, President of the Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame has said.

He made the statement during a meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to Tanzania and the Republic of Rwanda Nguyen Nam Tien, who presented his credentials to the President on October 27.

The Rwandan leader extended his warmest greetings to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, while highly valuing the increasing development relationship between the two countries over the recent years.

He thanked Vietnam for supporting former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Rwanda Louise Mushikiwabo in her role as the Secretary General of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

For his part, Ambassador Tien emphasised that 2020 marks the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He congratulated the government and people of Rwanda on remarkable achievements in promoting socio-economic development and maintaining peace and security in the region and around the world.

During his working trip, the Vietnamese diplomat had a meeting on October 28 with Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Republic of Rwanda Michel Minega Sebera, during which the two sides discussed orientations for expanding trade and investment cooperation.

Previously, on October 26, while meeting with representatives from the department of Asia and Pacific affairs under the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of Rwanda, Ambassador Tien and Rwandan officials proposed measures to promote the traditional friendship between the two countries as well as between their foreign ministries./.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews