Drug authority revokes Robinson Pharma’s operation license

The Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health September 7 fined the US-invested Robinson Pharma, Inc for providing substandard to consumers.

The administration has issued a fine of VND80 million (US$3,778) the US pharmaceutical company and revoked the company’s operation license. The US-invested company will not be allowed to operate in six months.

The pharmaceutical company was requested to re-export all substandard medicines or destroy them as per the country’s regulation.

Body of boy swept into sewer in southern Vietnam found after 3 days

After three days of searching, rescuers have found the body of a boy who was swept into a sewer on 22-12 Street in Thuan An Town, in the southern province of Binh Duong last Saturday.

The body of the boy, nine-year-old La Van Ty, from southern An Giang province, was found at midnight on in a manhole about 1 km away from the hole he was swept into on September 6, when heavy rain flooded the area.

Hundreds of firefighters and rescuers were mobilized for the search.

Ty’s mother, Nguyen Thi Hang, 32, confirmed that the body is her son’s.

The boy’s body was taken to a local morgue for necessary procedures before being transferred to his family.

Hang said she had not yet enrolled Ty in school since the boy spoke an idioglossia, or secret, personal language.

She therefore would leave her son under the care of his aunt every day before she went to work.

On Saturday afternoon, she went out to search for her son after she got home from work and couldn’t find the boy.

While searching for her son, Hang asked a local boy about Ty’s whereabouts, and the boy said he had seen Ty get swept into a sewer by floodwater while they played with each other nearby.

According to local residents, many manholes on the street were moved by the floodwaters, leaving the sewer uncovered, posing a threat to people and vehicles.

Meanwhile, the commune People’s Committee said that the street is part of a water drainage project that has yet to be completed, causing the inundation that led to the boy’s death

Tran Van Nam, standing deputy chairman of Binh Duong Province People’s Committee, praised the great efforts of the rescue force and offered them a reward of VND10 million (US$472).

The Thuan An Town Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has given the boy’s family VND5 million as initial support.

On the same day, another boy, seven-year-old Le Van Manh, a grade-2 student at the Tan Hiep Primary School in Tan Uyen town, also died after being swept into a sewer.

At 4:30 pm that day, Manh and several other students got off a student transport van when it broke down on Road DH409, which was badly flooded.

The boy was then swept into a nearby sewer, and the other students in the van shouted for help.

Local police and rescuers were called to the scene to search for Manh. Rescuers found the student’s body at 7 pm.

Ho Chi Minh City to build six bus rapid transit lines

Ho Chi Minh City will consider the building of six bus rapid transit (BRT) lines as an effort to help ease traffic congestion, flooding and environmental pollution.

The information was revealed by Luong Minh Phuc, head of the city’s Urban Civil Works Construction Investment Management Authority (UCCI), at a seminar on Ho Chi Minh City’s green transport projects co-hosted by the agency and the World Bank on September 9.

The first line, linking Vo Van Kiet Avenue to Mai Chi Tho Road, will have a total length of 23.5 kilometres and will be built at an estimated cost of over VND3.2 trillion (US$152 million).

It will provide public transportation by rapid busses, helping to improve the locality’s traffic capacity and shorten the travel time between the west and the east of the city, he said.

At present, a feasibility study for the first BRT line has been completed and is waiting for the WB’s verification, he added.

Once put into operation in 2018, experts said the rapid buses can transport up to 31,600 passengers per day with the figure set to increase to 86,250 by 2020.

According to Colin Brader, chief researcher of Ho Chi Minh City’s BRT project, this kind of bus will encourage citizens to use public transportation, thus reducing the number of private vehicles.

Science and technology innovation starts from policy innovation

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan has affirmed the need to innovate in science and technology, starting from policy innovation and encouragement of effective scientific and technological application models.

The VFF president made this statement during a meeting on September 6 with 21 leading professors who are head of association members under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) on promoting development and innovation of science and technologies, as well as promoting the contribution of intellectuals to the national cause of construction and defence.

Hailing comments from professors on strengthening co-ordination between VFF and VUSTA, Nhan also agreed with them that young intellectuals are important drive for the nation’s development in the current integration context. Therefore, it is necessary to create favourable conditions for young intellectuals to assert themselves via new scientific and technological projects, he added.

The leader urged solutions to encourage enterprises to be aware of the importance of science and technology application in sustainable development, along with forms of honouring typical businesses with successes in research and application of scientific and technologies, as well as scientists who have made great contributions in the field.

Nhan also asked the professors, VUSTA and its association and members to promote their role in social supervision and criticism, particularly focusing on the issues of monitoring public policies for national contributors, quality of industrial inputs, seeds, animal feed, and plant protection products, healthcare services quality, payment of insurance premiums for workers, and implementation of the Law on Science and Technology.

Mekong opens first obstetrics hospital

A 250-bed obstetrics and gynaecology hospital, the first of its kind in the Mekong Delta, was launched in Can Tho City yesterday.

The new hospital boasts 288 staff, 21 departments and a centre for prenatal and infant care to cater to the area's 12 provinces and cities.

Nguyen Huu Du, the director of the hospital, said its modern equipment and advanced technology made the hospital a pioneering facility for in-vitro fertility treatments in the Mekong Delta.

In an effort to relieve the city's overcrowded childcare facilities, the hospital will also provide medical check-ups and treatment for children.

A fire broke out yesterday morning at a house on Ly Thuong Kiet Street of Dong Hoi City, causing damage worth more than VND200 billion ($US9,090).

No one was injured. At the time, three women were inside the house and apparently the source of the fire was initiated from the ground floor of the house, which is used as a shop.

The house-owner said the fire may have been caused by an electrical malfunction.

Homemade bridges used despite risks

Hundreds of residents in the northern province of Phu Tho's Thanh Son and Tan Son districts use homemade floating bridges to cross the Buc River, despite repeated warnings that this practice was unsafe.

Nguyen Kien Cuong, who lives in Tan Son District's Van Luong Commune, said that the seven bridges were the fastest way to cross the river. If residents did not use them, they would have to travel roundabout roads full of obstacles.

However, accidents are common. Many have fallen off the bridge built to connect Minh Dai Commune and Vinh Quang residential quarter in 2005, and four people died, said head of the residential quarter Ha Dang Uu.

In 2013, a concrete bridge was built about 1km from the floating bridges, but the 150 households in Vinh Quang and Ben Dang residential quarters still used the floating bridges, as they were nearer their homes.

It costs about VND70 million (US$3,300) to make a floating bridge. Each person crossing the bridge must pay VND2,000 ($0.09) and toll-takers collect about VND100,000 ($4.7) per day.

The district had not issued any certificates for the floating bridges to open for public use, said Nguyen Van Manh, deputy chairman of the Thanh Son District People's Committee.

He said the district would check on the situation and warn local residents of the dangers of crossing the bridges.

Vietnam steps up measures on child labour

Vietnam is undertaking maximum efforts to reduce the number child labourers who are accounting for 10 percent children.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep explained in a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on September 9 that light and short-term work that does not harm the physical and mental growth and human dignity of children is excluded from the definition of child labour.

However, employing a child of 5-17 years of age to work more than seven hours a day is considered illegal and classified as child labour, Diep noted.

Raising public awareness of the issue was the key solution, he said, adding that it was necessary to impose sanctions on employers of child labourers and provide aid packages to encourage poor children to go to school instead of work.

He valued the ongoing project funded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the US Department of Labour for its efforts in helping Vietnam eradicate child labour in the garment and brick manufacturing industries.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, nearly 1.8 million children are forced to work illegally in Vietnam, with the majority living in rural areas and 67 percent working in agriculture.

RoK NGO offers eye-care for Ha Giang poor residents

Vision Care, a non-governmental organisation from the Republic of Korea (RoK), provided eye-care services for disadvantaged patients and health insurance beneficiaries in the northernmost mountainous province of Ha Giang, one of the poorest locality in the country.

During the four-day programme launched on September 9, doctors from Vision Care and the Ha Giang Eye Hospital provided check-ups and prescribed glasses and medication for more than 900 local residents, and conducted surgery on approximately 150 residents with cataracts.

The services provided were covered by health insurance policies, but Vision Care donated an additional 300,000 VND to every disadvantaged patient who had to be kept in hospital for surgery.

The programme also provided an opportunity for doctors at the newly-established Ha Giang Eye Hospital to learn from their counterparts from RoK, thus improving their skills and techniques.

Vietnam to launch 2030 Country Report in 2015

Vietnam 2030 Report, a guideline for boosting rapid sustainable development in Vietnam in the near future, is expected to be published by the Government of Vietnam and the World Bank in 2015.

The first meeting on drafting the report took place in Hanoi on September 9, which was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and WB Vice President Axel van Trotsenburg.

According to the WB, Vietnam recorded an average annual growth of 5.7 percent in the past two decades, the second highest figure in the world.

In order to keep up with other economies, like the Republic of Korea or Taiwan ( China ), Vietnam would have to maintain an average annual growth rate of 9 percent over the next 20 years, the WB said.

The bank also warned that if economic growth stagnated at 5-6 percent, Vietnam could get stuck in the middle income trap. The challenge is to improve economic competitiveness and ensure rapid and sustainable growth, allowing citizens to enjoy the benefits of growth, it said.

Earlier this year, Deputy PM Dam, who is also the Chairman of the National Committee for Sustainable Development and Competitiveness Improvement, worked with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the WB and international organisations to develop Resolution 19NQ-CP, which highlights the major factors influencing the country’s business environment, including taxes, access to power and trade.

The Vietnam 2030 report will review Vietnam ’s development during 30 years of reform and present the opportunities and challenges of the future, sketching out development scenarios for the next period.

An interactive website will also be established for members of the public and academics to provide input and feedback.-

HCM City impresses guests with first boat parade of lights

The first ever lighting show of boat parade, themed “Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City” held at Saigon Harbour on September 9 night, greatly impressed tourist officials and travel agents from regional countries who are in the city for the 10th International Travel Expo (ITE).

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism hosted the event with the aim of highlighting the city’s river tourism.

Boats were lit with different displays featuring Ho Chi Minh City’s most popular destinations such as Nha Rong Habour, Ben Thanh Market and Saigon Opera House.

A big floating state was erected on the Sai Gon River for artistic performances and modern laser lighting shows.

Addressing at the event, Nguyen Thi Hong, Vice Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said the city wants to make river tours a major feature in its tourism sector.

The show is part of activities to celebrate a decade of the International Travel Expo (ITE) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Support fund for cancer patients launched in HCM City

The Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Supportive Fund for Cancer Patients – the Bright Future was launched on September 9 at the Oncology Hospital.

World Health Organisation statistics show that every year 14.1 million new cancer cases are recorded, while more than 8.2 million people die of cancer.

In Vietnam , the figures are 150,000 and over 75,000 respectively, with half of the patients cannot afford treatment.

The HCM City Oncology Hospital takes in more than 20,000 cancer patients each year, with 70 percent coming from other provinces. Many patients are burdened by long hospitalisation periods, expensive treatment and medication, and high travel costs.

Deputy Minister of Heath Nguyen Thi Xuyen said many patients from disadvantaged backgrounds refuse treatment for fear of the costs or fail to follow medical instructions.

Xuyen expressed her hope that the Bright Future Fund in HCM City will provide much needed support for poor patients in the south.

The Supportive Fund for Cancer Patients – Bright Future Fund, founded in June 2012 in Hanoi , is a non-profit organisation and has benefitted as many as 348 patients to date.

The fund plans to open a Da Nang branch to serve the needs of disadvantaged cancer patients in the Central - Central Highlands regions in the near future.

Soc Trang intensifies resettlement of Khmer people

The local authorities of the Mekong Delta province Soc Trang are accelerating the implementation of a resettlement project for Khmer people in Vinh Chau town.

The project aims to improve the living conditions for ethnic minority households in Vinh Hai commune and provide them with a stable place of residence.

The resettlement project covers an area of 89.51ha, focussing on the construction of residential infrastructure, the re-arrangement of farmland, and the development of irrigation systems.

The project is to supply shelter, housing and arable land for local Khmer with low incomes, said Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Trung Hieu said at the September 8 meeting on the project’s implementation.

He asked Vinh Chau town’s authorities and other relevant units to complete all the necessary procedures and accelerate project implementation.

Soc Trang province is home to the largest group of Khmer in the Mekong Delta. At approximately 17 percent, the household poverty rate remains high.

Profits attract tobacco smugglers

Lured by the chance to make high profits, more people are turning to tobacco smuggling.

Nearly 8,000 smuggling cases were discovered in the first eight months of 2014, according to the Market Watch Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Authorities dealt with 4,700 cases, imposing VND14 billion (US$636,000) in fines and confiscating one million packs of smuggled tobacco, in addition to eight cars, 432 motorbikes and seven boats that were used to transport the products. Only 21 cases were prosecuted, as those transporting less than 1,500 packs of cigarettes are not subject to criminal prosecution.

However, despite these efforts by authorities, smugglers had found various ways to continue their illegal activities, Chairman of the Viet Nam Tobacco Association Vu Van Cuong said at a national conference in the central city of Da Nang last week. They often found new roads and waterways across borders and transported under 1,500 packs of cigarettes to avoid criminal prosecution if caught.

"Profits from smuggling tobacco have doubled in recent years, so more people do it," Cuong said, explaining that while one cigarette cost VND8,000 ($0.36) at the border gate, the price increased to VND15,000-16,000 ($0.7) in Ha Noi and HCM City.

Although smuggling was still focused in border cities and provinces like Quang Tri, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang and Kien Giang, it had also spread to other areas.

"Tobacco smuggling used to happen only in border cities and provinces in the Mekong Delta region, but now it is happening everywhere in the country," Cuong said.

Representatives from local market watch teams predicted that smuggling would increase in the next months as the flooding season in the Mekong Delta (September through November) submerged the region, making it easy for smugglers to take advantage of waterways.

Nguyen Trong Tin, Deputy Director of the Market Watch Department, urged local market watch teams to co-ordinate with police, customs and border guard sectors and regularly exchange information. In border cities and provinces, authorities should set up mobile inspection stations, he said, while authorities in big markets for smuggled tobacco like Ha Noi, HCM City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong should organise regular inspections of shops and enterprises. He also recommended that fines for smuggling be increased.

Dengue fever cases skyrocket in southern region

Hospitals in HCM City over the last few weeks received nearly 150 people infected with dengue fever every day, a two-fold increase compared to the figure in July, according to the city's Preventive Medicine Centre.

Hoc Mon District was the hot-spot for the outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in the city, with dozens of infected people being hospitalised every day, the centre said.

A total of 4,500 people have contracted dengue fever this year in the city.

Last week, the Dengue Fever Ward in Children Hospital No.1 received more than 200 in-patients.

Nearly 70 children have been treated at the Children Hospital No.2 over the last two weeks.

About 150 people, including 50 children, are being treated at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The hospital has treated more 2,500 patients with dengue fever this year, including 900 children.

Throughout September, the centre is carrying a one-month campaign to spray insecticide and clean up the environment to destroy mosquitoes and larvae at schools.

The southern provinces of Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc have also recorded serious outbreaks of dengue fever.

The number of patients with dengue fever had increased steadily since the beginning of last month, with more than 100 children receiving treatment every day, said Tran Thi Minh Nguyet, head of Binh Duong General Hospital's Pediatrics Ward.

More than 250 in-patients were being treated at the hospital, doubling last month's figure, Nguyet said.

The Binh Phuoc Province's Preventive Medicine Centre has recently announced 14 "hot" sites for dengue fever that have had a total of 250 cases.

Hanoians care for giving up wildlife products

Most Hanoians were willing to use alternatives to wildlife products if they were available and proven to be effective, according to a survey released on September 8 by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Sociology at a conference in the capital.

Of 1,000 randomly selected respondents ranging in age from 20 to 69, 760 said they would choose alternative products.

While most people thought of wildlife products as expensive, they still wanted to use them because they had "a strong and profound belief in their effectiveness", said president of the institute Dang Nguyen Anh. About 69 percent of respondents had eaten wildlife meat, 70 percent had used wildlife products to cure illness and 64 percent used wildlife products they received as gifts.

However, the survey highlighted that wildlife consumption was largely spontaneous. Many were given wildlife products as gifts or invited to consume wildlife products by family or friends.

Nguyen The Dong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Environment Administration, said there should be more campaigns to raise awareness about the negative impact of unsustainable and illegal wildlife consumption and encourage the use of alternative products.

"Tapping into the power of social influence and trying to change people's belief about the effectiveness of wildlife products is one of the biggest challenges for communication efforts today," Anh said.

At the conference, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also released a review of the current policy and legal framework for the management and conservation of endangered, rare and precious wildlife species.

The survey was conducted between November 2013 and April 2014 as part of the project "Wildlife consumption in Vietnam: reforming policies and practices to strengthen biodiversity conservation" funded by the Global Environment Facility via the World Bank.-

Vietnam moves towards sustainable cities

Vietnam is shifting towards the creation of environmentally sustainable urban areas, which play a crucial role in the nation’s economic development and contribute greatly to GDP growth.

This move comes at a time when numerous cities are struggling with environmental issues, such as air pollution, poor sewage management and a lack of green space, a seminar in Hanoi heard on September 9.

Issues such as green urban planning, and the management of waste and pollution produced by transport, industrial production, businesses and households, have yet been addressed properly or discussed by the public, experts said.

The Environment General Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment issued a set of criteria to evaluate the level of environmental sustainability in Vietnamese cities, Deputy Minister Bui Cach Tuyen said.

The indicators facilitate the assessment and recognition of urban areas that prioritise environmental protection in line with the global trend towards sustainable cities.

The central city of Da Nang and the imperial city of Hue won the “ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City” Award in 2011 and 2014, respectively, thanks to their clean air, water and urban spaces as well as the municipalities’ efforts to improve and protect the environment.

Vietnam moves towards sustainable cities

Vietnam is shifting towards the creation of environmentally sustainable urban areas, which play a crucial role in the nation’s economic development and contribute greatly to GDP growth.

This move comes at a time when numerous cities are struggling with environmental issues, such as air pollution, poor sewage management and a lack of green space, a seminar in Hanoi heard on September 9.

Issues such as green urban planning, and the management of waste and pollution produced by transport, industrial production, businesses and households, have yet been addressed properly or discussed by the public, experts said.

The Environment General Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment issued a set of criteria to evaluate the level of environmental sustainability in Vietnamese cities, Deputy Minister Bui Cach Tuyen said.

The indicators facilitate the assessment and recognition of urban areas that prioritise environmental protection in line with the global trend towards sustainable cities.

The central city of Danang and the imperial city of Hue won the “ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City” Award in 2011 and 2014, respectively, thanks to their clean air, water and urban spaces as well as the municipalities’ efforts to improve and protect the environment.

Thousands mobilised to put out Danang forest fire

Thousands of fire-fighters, soldiers, and local people have been mobilised to douse a roaring fire that swept through five hectares of eucalyptus forest in the central city of Danang on September 9.

It was reported that the fire broke out at around 12am on September 9 sending plumes of thick columns of black smoke into the air over the eucalyptus forest near Danang international airport.

Fire prevention police force has deployed more than 10 fire engines to keep the blaze under control. They were supported by a large number of soldiers and local residents fanning out to smother the blaze with water.

At around 8pm, fire-fighters were still working hard to control the disastrous flame, while more fire engines continued to be sent to the burning forest area.

Initial investigations showed that the fire was caused by hot weather that led to an explosion of phosphorus ammunition left from the past war.

Promoting mercury monitoring in Asia-Pacific region

Asia-Pacific scientists are gathering in Hanoi to seek ways to further advance development of the Asia-Pacific Mercury Monitoring Network and facilitate cooperation among key monitoring stakeholders in the region.

In his opening speech on September 10, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen said Vietnam faces a risk of mercury contamination in the air, water resources and from trans-border activities, making it difficult for relevant agencies to monitor and control mercury contamination, as well as in international cooperation.

Mercury monitoring has not received due attention in Vietnam, except for several special programmes and certain research conducted to assess and control mercury emissions in the environment.

Currently, Vietnam is setting up a network to gradually monitor and control mercury pollution in water, Tuyen said.

Vietnam has been invited to join the Asia-Pacific Mercury Monitoring Network (APMMN) to share experience and enhance the national capacity for mercury monitoring.

After joining the Minamata Convention on Mercury in October 2013, Vietnam has paid serious attention to monitoring, controlling mercury pollution and reducing mercury emissions. It expects to have more legal tools for controlling the pollution in the future.

The Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) will carry out more activities to exchange information and improve knowledge of the issue for relevant agencies in order to control mercury pollution and implement the Minamata Convention effectively, Tuyen said.

The three-day workshop is co-organised by the VEA, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US National Atmospheric Deposition Programme and the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration.

New shopping center to go up at coach station

Mien Dong Coach Station in Binh Thanh District will be replaced by a new complex of hotel and trade center and other facilities.

Under the scale-1/500 zoning plan approved by the HCMC government, after the bus station relocation, over 62,600 square meters of land at the site would be divided into two parts for construction of a parking lot and a commercial complex. The building complex of 20 to 25 levels would consist of commercial center, hotel and office space for lease.

The city government has told related agencies to conduct studies and propose a reasonable allocation for functional areas of the new coach station, making transportation convenient to meet passengers’ needs.

Planning schemes for the building complex will also need to be attractive to investors, helping raise funds for the new Mien Dong Coach Station project.

Children’s hospital operates 20 liver, kidney transplants in 10 years

Children’s Hospital No. 2 in HCMC has successfully done kidney transplants for a dozen of children and liver transplants for eight others with organs given by living donors since it operated an organ transplant for a child in 2004.  

Ha Manh Tuan, director of Children’s Hospital No. 2, said organ transplant is an urgent need to save many children with end-stage kidney or liver failures in Vietnam. Ten years ago, many children with organ failures were unable to get transplants and died eventually.

Vietnam now has over 90 million people with a birth rate of 16.47 per 1,000 people and there is one with congenital bile duct atrophy in every 15,000 newborn babies. Besides, the country has 96 more children with congenital bile duct atrophy on average each year, with half needing liver transplants.

A study of Children’s Hospital No. 2 indicated diseases relating to hepatobiliary account for 8% of children coming to the hospital for health checkups and treatments. In addition, studies at Children’s Hospital No. 1, Children’s Hospital No. 2 and Cho Ray Hospital showed there were 310 patients of under 19 years old hospitalized between 2001 and 2005 due to diagnosis of end-stage liver failures.

At Children’s Hospital No. 2, the first liver transplant operation was performed in June 14, 2004 and this case was also the first to be carried out on children in the southern region.

The 12th liver transplant was done last Thursday on a one-year-old baby having congenital bile duct atrophy.

Truong Quang Dinh, deputy director of Children’s Hospital No. 2, said there are many children needing organ transplants but it is hard to seek donors, especially those with brain death.

According to experts in organ transplant, while kidney transplants are widely performed on adults before on children, liver transplants see the reverse process.

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