The 9th HCM City People’s Council closed its fifth session on Thursday, adopting 14 resolutions ranging from economic growth to free bus tickets for the elderly.

After three working days, the council approved a resolution promoting socio-economic development for the second half of the year in order to achieve the targeted State revenue collection and Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth of 8.4–8.7 per cent.

To reach the target, the council will request the municipal People’s Committee to mobilise private capital, especially through public-private partnerships (PPP) for infrastructure development, and speed up important construction works related to easing traffic, flooding, environmental pollution and urban renovation.

The council also stressed that the city should continue to research and renovate its growth model; increase the quality of growth, labour productivity and economic competitiveness, as well as improve the investment and business environment.

It also approved a resolution on middle and long-term public investment during the 2016-20 period with capital of nearly VNĐ172 trillion (US$7.65 billion), of which VNĐ22 trillion ($978 million) will come from the central Government.

Resolutions on attracting qualified kindergarten teachers, providing residents over 70 with free bus tickets, reproductive planning, healthcare services and more were also adopted.

“Based on the municipal People’s Council’s resolutions, the People’s Committee should strengthen its instructions and operations to achieve planned targets,” said Nguyễn Thị Quyết Tâm, chairwoman of the People’s Council.

She urged the People’s Committee to tighten supervision over its staff, many of whom have been accused of unprofessional behavior and bribery for a long time without any improvement observed.

Deputy PM urges focus on primary healthcare

Promoting healthcare services at the grassroots level and bolstering preventive medicine should be the main task for Việt Nam’s healthcare sector over the coming years, said Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam.

The Deputy Prime Minister met on Thursday with leaders of the health ministry and discussed a draft resolution on healthcare and improved health for Vietnamese citizens. Đam said that changes in mechanisms and policies must be made to boost grassroots healthcare and preventive medicine.

For example, funds from the State budget should be allocated to preventive medicine while the costs of medical examinations and treatment should be covered by the Health Insurance Fund. A higher amount of the State budget and health insurance should be given to primary healthcare, Đam suggested.

He added that the draft resolution, which would be submitted and approved by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Việt Nam’s Central Committee, must focus and prioritise investment for primary and preventive healthcare, especially in disadvantaged areas.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyễn Thanh Long said that Việt Nam had been expanding its preventive healthcare network to better control diseases, increase life-span and height.

However, primary and preventive healthcare was facing difficulties as Việt Nam was now paying more attention to medical treatment than preventive healthcare.

“In Việt Nam, hospitals are still considered the face of the healthcare sector,” Long said, implying that the Government spent more on medical examination and treatment.

“When primary and preventive healthcare are not given proper attention and investment, they fail to work effectively, resulting in more people with illnesses. The increased number of new hospitals would not meet demand, and visibly, hospitals are usually overcrowded,” he said.

In Việt Nam, about 30 per cent of the population do not get regular health checks and usually only went to the hospital when their illness had become more serious.

Other countries usually invest in preventive medicine to minimise the number of people needing care and shorten treatment time.  

Also during the meeting, Deputy PM Đam pointed out major problems in Việt Nam’s healthcare sector including the distribution and pricing of medicines, drug-resistance and overcrowded hospitals.

He asked for measures to better control the distribution and trade of drugs, especially prescribed medicines.

He also suggested that the draft resolution should evaluate the combination of western and traditional medicine, and the effectiveness of evidence-based traditional remedies so that they could be more widely used.

In 2005, the Political Bureau approved Resolution 46-NQ/TW on healthcare and improved health for people in Việt Nam with a focus on family planning and population policies. Meanwhile, the draft of the new resolution for the coming years focuses on improving primary and healthcare services as well as increasing health insurance coverage so that more people could access comprehensive healthcare.

PM okays proposals to set up VNA, VOV representative offices abroad

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed with a proposal to establish regional representative offices of the Vietnam News Agency in New York (the US) and Brussels (Belgium), the Government Office announced.

He asked the VNA to arrange staff without increasing the already approved 2017-2019 payroll, as well as balance expenses within the scale of the annual State budget estimate.

The PM also agreed to set up a representative office of Radio The Voice of Vietnam (VOV) in Australia. 

He asked the VOV to arrange expenses within the scale of the annual State budget estimate and other capital resources.

Boasting a network of 63 bureaus in all the cities and provinces nationwide and 30 overseas bureaus across the five continents, the State-run VNA has a strong contingent of reporters and editors working all over the country and in most of the key locations around the world, which is its unique advantage.

With more than 60 media products by more than 1,000 reporters and editors out of its 2,400-strong staff, the VNA is now the media office having the largest number of products and forms in the country: bulletins, photos, television programmes, dailies, weeklies, monthlies, magazines, pictorials, books, TV channel, e-newspapers and information programmes on mobile platforms.

The agency also delivers news in the largest number of languages. In addition to official Vietnamese-language news provided for domestic and foreign media outlets, stories for foreign service are written in English, Chinese, French and Spanish, not to mention print and e-newspapers in four other foreign languages, namely Lao, Korean, Japanese and Russian.

Vietnam, Laos share experience on land management

Vietnam and Laos discussed the role of people’s councils in making decisions and supervising land issues at a seminar held in the northern mountainous province of Son La on July 6. 

Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and her Lao counterpart Pany Yathotou co-chaired the event.

Speaking at the seminar, NA Chairwoman Ngan said following the two seminars on public debt management held in September last year in Laos and management decentralisation held in March in Vietnam, the two countries’ parliaments had gained valuable experiences, which helped enhance the activity of their elected officials and of State agencies. 

According to Ngan, the seminar was a chance for representatives from the NA, Government and People’s Councils to share experiences and lessons in the area of land management in each country, as well as of role and functions of local people’s councils in deciding and monitoring the implementation of laws and policies on land. 

Ngan said the seminar not only helped clarify the role and responsibility of the two countries’ legislatures on important issues, but also reflected increasingly practical and effective cooperation between their NAs and Governments. 

The Vietnamese Chairwoman asserted that the Party, the State and the NA cooperate closely with their Lao counterparts and would contribute to the consolidation of the traditional friendship and special and comprehensive relations. 

The Chairwoman of the Lao NA Pany Yathotou, for her part, said land played a very important role in the socio-economic development of each country. Both Laos and Vietnam had experienced periods of change in land management and use, she noted. 

Although the two countries have encouraging achievements in socio-economic development in the new era, including the conversation of land into capital for construction and development, they also face many challenges in planning, management and use of land, according to the Lao top legislator. 

She said that land issues in her country were similar to those that Vietnam had faced in the past. Thus, she said, the seminar was an opportunity for representatives of the two countries to exchange experience and learn from each other how to solve land management and use issues.

Vietnam-Laos historical relic site inaugurated

The Vietnam-Laos revolutionary historical relic site was inaugurated in the north-western province of Son La on July 6 in the presence of Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and her Lao counterpart Pany Yathotou.

Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly Pany Yathotou hailed the site’s inauguration as a significant event to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (September 5, 1962) and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (July 18, 1977).

Yathotou thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for their timely and effective assistance for Laos in the cause of national liberation, defence and building.

She particularly thanked the authorities and people in Son La for supporting Lao people in general and northern Lao provinces in particular over the past time, and affirmed that Laos will continue to nurture the special and faithful relations with Vietnam.

Chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said the relic site is a vivid demonstration of the combat solidarity between the two countries in general and Son La and northern Lao provinces in particular in the struggle against invaders to defend the country.

She said the relic site will be a valuable source of historical lessons to educate young generations in the tradition of patriotism and the special solidarity of the two countries.

The Vietnam-Laos revolutionary historical relic site in Lao Kho village, Phieng Khoai commune, Yen Chau district, Son La province, was the place where Lao leader Kaysone Phomvihane chose to build a base for the Lao revolution against French colonialists.

During the stay at the area, he lived in the home of a local elderly, Trang Lao Kho. The North Lao Vanguard Division was also based in the village from 1948-1950.

On April 24, 2012, the site was awarded with a certificate recognising it as a national historical site, and the two countries held a ceremony to commence the construction of the Vietnam-Laos revolutionary historical relic site on nearly 50ha. 

The original historic relics preserved at the site include the old house of Trang Lao Kho and houses of the North Lao Vanguard Division. New construction works include a monument dedicated to the Vietnam-Laos friendship and an exhibition house displaying photos, documents, and objects on the bilateral amity.

Son La provincial People’s Committee invested 54 billion VND (2.3 million USD) in the construction of the site.-

Deputy PM emphasizes importance of grassroots, preventive medicine

More resources should be channeled into grassroots and preventive medicine, which is considered as the root of the health sector, focusing on extremely disadvantaged areas, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

He made the request at a recent working session with the Health Ministry to discuss preparations for the implementation of the project on improving public health in the new situation. 

According to the Deputy PM, it is necessary to reform health care policies in the direction of focusing State budget on preventive medicine while health check-up and treatment will be covered by the health insurance fund. 

Grassroots medicine will be covered by both the health insurance fund and the State budget, the Deputy PM added.

At the meeting, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long admitted that despite achievements in establishing a widespread network of preventive medicine, controlling infectious diseases, and improving life expectancy, preventive medicine has not received the attention it deserves, as priority has until now been given to hospitals. The grassroots health care system has been ineffective in providing primary health care for the public, with around 30 percent of the population not taking periodic health checks. 

The new project on improving public health in the new situation has addressed those problems, devoting resources to preventive and grassroots health care.-

Cambodian Minister hails Vietnamese press agencies

Cambodia’s Minister of Information Khieu Kanharrith spoke highly of the effective cooperation between Vietnamese and Cambodian press agencies since 1993 at a reception in Phnom Penh on July 6.

At his meeting with correspondents from the Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, and Nhan dan (People) Newspaper, Kanharrith thanked the Vietnamese press agencies for reporting fully, honestly and objectively the situation in Cambodia, especially its politics, social affairs and economic development, including the communal election on June 4.

He recalled the prompt and effective assistance of Vietnamese experts in helping Cambodia build and develop its press and communications system in the 1980s.

The Vietnamese correspondents have fulfilled their professional missions and acted as a bridge for Cambodian press agencies to partner with local Vietnamese press outlets over the past decade, he said.

Head of the Vietnam News Agency’s representative office in Cambodia Tran Chi Hung thanked Minister Kanharrith and Cambodian counterparts for supporting the Vietnamese press agencies’ representative offices to carry out their tasks, thus helping Vietnamese readers understand better about the social-political situation in Cambodia and enhancing the bilateral traditional friendship and neighbourliness.

Bình Dương’s remarkable poverty elimination

Bình Dương is the only province in the country with no poor or near-poor households based on the national multi-dimensional measure of poverty, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Its poverty threshold is higher than the national level in terms of income ­­-- VNĐ1.2 million (US$52.6) in rural areas and VNĐ1.4 million ($61.3) in urban areas compared to VNĐ700,000 ($30.7) and VNĐ900,000 ($39.4), respectively.

Based on its standard, its poverty rate is 1.32 per cent and near-poverty rate is 0.97 per cent.

Its higher threshold is meant to help poor people get better access to basic services such as health, education, housing, water, sanitation and information.

Hà Minh Trung, deputy director of the province Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said “Adopting the multi-dimensional poverty measurement method helps the province authorities identify exactly the needs of poor households to adopt suitable solutions.”

In recent years the province has rolled out several specific programmes targeting poverty, including providing loans, healthcare, education, social security, vocational training, housing support and job introduction.

It has allocated more than VNĐ500 billion ($22 million) for poverty reduction for 2016-20.

This has enabled it to subsidise vocational training and clean agricultural production, social insurance, school fees, and electricity bills.

Đào Văn Sang, a resident of Tân Uyên Town, said “In the past my family faced many difficulties and no money for economic activities.”

He was given a loan from the job creation programme and trained in chickens farming models, and now that helps him earn a monthly income of VNĐ20-30 million ($876-1,314), he said.

Đỗ Cẩm Tú, another poor person without any land in the same town, said he now earns VNĐ4-5 million ($175-219) a month after getting a loan from the Việt Nam Bank for Social Policies and joining the Tân Vĩnh Hiệp Safe Vegetable Co-operative to grow clean fruits and vegetables.

Trung said the province has efficiently implemented policies for sustainable poverty reduction.

“Depending on the budget of each locality, the province assesses and provides loans to households that used to be poor but recently escaped poverty to help them expand their businesses.”

Besides, the province regularly provides extension training in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and transfers technology to promote people’s awareness of building an independent and self-reliant economy, he said.

Bình Dương had a population of more than 1.8 million, including 14,662 poor households, when it separated from Sông Bé Province in 1997.

After 20 years of implementing poverty reduction policies, the province has helped more than 45,500 households climb out of poverty.

According to its Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, in the first six months of this year, VNĐ99.9 billion ($4.4 million) has been allocated for poverty reduction.

By the end of 2020, the province hopes to reduce the poverty rate by 1 per cent and have no near-poor households.

HCM City to fell, relocate 258 old trees for bridge construction

A number of decades-old trees along a street in Ho Chi Minh City’s center are slated to be either cut or relocated to make way for a bridge construction, the municipal transport department said on July 5.

Ton Duc Thang, running along the Saigon River, is one of the greenest streets in Ho Chi Minh City, with rows of green trees lining its pavement, some of which are said to be more than 100 years old.

However, 258 of those trees are set to be chopped down or relocated to make space for the construction of the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge, Bui Xuan Cuong, director of the city’s transport department, said at a meeting on Wednesday.

Of the affected trees, 115 will be relocated to the Nong Lam University in Thu Duc District, and the remaining 143 will be felled, Cuong elaborated.

The Ho Chi Minh City administration has requested that only unhealthy trees or those that may not survive the relocation be cut down, according to the transport department director.

“Consequently, of the 143 trees set to be chopped down, 125 are ancient,” he added.

With previous tree-cutting projects having sparked negative reactions from the public, Cuong reassured that the tree removal will take place in several iterations aligned with the progress of the bridge construction, rather than all at once.

The first 63 trees will be cut down or relocated in August, while a second batch of 79 trees will be moved or felled in October, Cuong elaborated.

The project will resume again in March 2018 with 70 trees affected and the remaining 46 trees will be dealt with in May.

After the bridge construction is complete, the relocated trees will be moved back to Ton Duc Thang, Cuong said.

“We will then grow 258 new trees along the street for a total of 373 trees [along Ton Duc Thang],” he said, implying that the upcoming project will ultimately add more green to the area.

The cost for the tree cutting and relocation is estimated at VND7 billion (US$308,370).

Vietnamese surgeons saves rare renal infarction patient

Trung Vuong Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday announced to perform a surery to save a 51 year old man from rare renal infarction. 

The man in District 8 had experienced pain in abdomen for two days before going to have examination in Trung Vuong Hospital.

Scan results showed that his left renal artery was blocked where there were many blood clots and the man had the symptoms of renal infarction.

Worse, the above artery of his left kidney which provides third over four amount of blood supply for the kidney was totally blocked.

Surgeons decided to use heparin thrombolytic treatment for anticoagulation with intravenous heparin followed by oral warfarin .

The patients recovered afterwards and he was discharged on July 5.

Deputy Head of the hospital Dr. Le Nguyen Quyen advised people to go to nearby infirmary if they suffered pain in hips for hours to have timely treatment. Without timely treatment, they will be at risk of necrosis of the kidney which easily leads to kidney failure.

Renal infarction results from interruption of the normal blood supply to part of, or to the whole kidney. The main imaging differential diagnosis includes pyelonephritis and renal tumors.

Medical workers mistakenly report baby gender

The Ministry of Health yesterday sent a document the Maternity Hospital in the northern province of Hai Phong urging to report the mistake in baby gender before July 10. 

At the same time, the Ministry asked maternity infirmaries to liaise with relevant agencies to strictly follow Health Minister’s guideline of taking care of pregnant before and after giving birth.

As per the complaint, 26 year old pregnant in An Duong District was hospitalized the Maternity Hospital to undergo a Cesarean -section. Doctors told her that she gave birth to a baby boy weighing 3.2kg. Because the baby had breathing problem, he was transferred to intensive care unit.

One day after, when recovering, the baby was handed over to the mother who surprised as the baby turned out not to be the gender announced by medical workers before. Believing that there was a mistake, the baby’s family asked for verification.

Informed the case, the hospital management board soon convened the surgeon team to check the procedure. Through checking, the number of bangle on the baby and the mother are both 418.

Nevertheless, nurses mistakenly wrote wrong gender of the baby in the mother’s medical records.

Furthermore, ADN tests proved that she is the mother of the new born baby girl. 

Health watchdog suspends three cosmetics products

GHC Brightening Soap, GHC Repairing Cream and GHC Essence imported by IBP Vietnam Company in Hanoi are suspended from circulation as they have ingredients unlike its registered document.

The Vietnam Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health yesterday sent its document to departments of health nationwide asking to suspend the products from circulation and remove them from shelves in pharmacies.

Additionally, the health watchdog asked IBP Vietnam to send request to take back the products from its distributors in written document and report the health regulator before July 15.

Three products are used for taking care of skin, whitening skin and adding moisture to skin.

Local university teams up with British Council on English assessment

The University of Foreign Language Studies at the University of Danang and the British Council Vietnam on Wednesday clinched a strategic partnership on language assessment development and English proficiency improvement. 

The two sides will hold a series of workshops for teachers in the fourth quarter of this year on the theme of classroom-based English assessment.

Through the partnership, students in Danang City and other central provinces can gain hands-on experience in an international standard English test, gain easy access to learning material and win a ticket to study abroad. Moreover, the two parties will launch professional training courses to improve the English proficiency of lecturers at the university. 

The strategic deal highlights the UK government’s strong commitment to providing continued support for the Ministry of Education and Training to improve the teaching and learning of English in Vietnam.

The proficiency of the English language will open up more opportunities for international education, better jobs and wider connectivity. 

‘Saigon in three square meters’ photo exhibition

A photo exhibition titled “Saigon in three square meters” will take place from July 7 to 9 at Blanc Art Gallery, 57 D Tu Xuong Street, District 3, HCMC.

Creative director Maxk Nguyen has joined hands with art director Do Thai Thanh, typography Quoc Dung, illustration artist Quan Dinh Phuoc and others to create illustrations of old Saigon life within three square meters.

The three-day exhibition will feature photos of Saigon in the 1990s attached to people’s childhood such as a video rental store, a grocery store, a barber’s shop, a bike mechanic and a street hawker.

Take back improperly-used land - Fatherland Front

The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in HCMC said at a meeting of the city People’s Council on Tuesday that military land currently used for wrong purposes should be taken back.

Committee chairwoman To Thi Bich Chau said that four years ago, Tan Binh District residents expressed disapproval of a golf course development inside the Tan Son Nhat International Airport site.

The golf course issue has recently made big headlines again as heavy rain often floods parts of the country’s busiest airport and traffic congestion around the airport worsens.

Chau proposed the city government conduct a comprehensive review of use of military land in the city and withdraw land plots that are being used for other purposes than national defense.

Traffic experts said the airport, which is struggling to handle a drastic rise in aircraft movements, should be expanded towards the north where the golf course is located.