Greece helps province overcome flood consequences

The Government of Greece will provide 200,000 Euros in non-refundable aid for the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to overcome damages caused by floods in 2007.

To this effect, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Greek Ambassador to Vietnam Platon Alexis Hadjimichalis and the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Ngoc Thien, in Hue city on February 22.

Under the MoU, the fund will be used to build a school in Hue city which suffered big losses in last year’s floods

Kien Giang: US NGOs help people in dump site

Demark supports Vietnam’s rural development

The Danish government will provide 30.6 million USD for a programme to support Vietnam’s agricultural and rural development which kicked off on February 21.

The objective of the programme is to reduce rural poverty and improve the living conditions for people in mountainous areas, especially women and ethnic minority people.

The programme will be implemented in northern Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Lao Cai and the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Nong and Dak Lak in the 2007-2015 period.

Social insurance must support disadvantaged people: Deputy PM

Social insurance is the Party’s big policy and is the socialist state’s tool to provide social security for the people, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung.

At a conference held in Ha Noi on Feb. 22, Deputy PM Hung called on the social insurance sector to diversify insurance products to meet the people’s requirements.

The sector plans to effectively carry out the voluntary social insurance and medical insurance policies for poor people and children under six years old.

It will continue promoting administrative reform and applying information technology in its management and practicing thrift and fighting wastefulness and corruption.

In 2007, social and medical insurance turnover reached 29.8 trillion VND, a year-on-year rise of 26.4 percent. In addition to paying pensions, the sector provided social insurance for more than 2 million people, issued pension mechanism for almost 90,860 workers and paid 83.2 million medicare fees.

National Week on OSH and Fire Prevention to be launched

The 10th National Week on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) and Fire Prevention will be launched in the northern midland province of Phu Tho on March 16.

The information was released at a press briefing by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Hanoi on February 22.

Under the theme “improving working conditions and reducing industrial accidents, occupational diseases and fires”, the week aims to strengthen OSH activities and prevent and minimise labour accidents and occupational diseases, especially in dangerous areas.

The National Programme on Labour Protection by 2010 aims to reduce by 5 percent annually the number of fatal labour accidents in high-risk industries such as mining, construction and power. It also aims for an annual reduction of 10 percent in the number of occupational diseases. It will ensure that 80 percent of workers in high-risk industries are given medical check-ups and treatment and 100 percent of workers suffering from labour accidents and occupational diseases are provided with medical treatment, healthcare and functional rehabilitation.

According to reports from 64 provinces and cities, in 2007, there were 5,951 labour accidents, killing 621 people and injuring 5,716 people, including 2,553 serious injuries.

Sharing international experience on HIV/AIDS prevention

“Thailand and Uganda’s experience in the prevention of HIV/AIDS could prove to be valuable lessons for the prevention of the epidemic in Vietnam,” said Assc.Prof.PhD. Dao Duy Quat, editor-in-chief of the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper in a recent conference on sharing international experiences in HIV/AIDS prevention.

During the conference, delegates had the chance to hear reports on Thailands experience in the dissemination and education of behavioral change in HIV/AIDS prevention through the mass media.

A National Assembly group talked about Uganda’s experience in interdisciplinary coordination policies, the use of antiviral medicines and the fight against treatment discrimination towards HIV/AIDS-infected people.

Representatives from the World Population Service in Vietnam also shared experiences on a project on communications to change behavior and HIV/AIDS inform on preventive measures.

Delegates discussed and put forth specific suggestions relating to the prevention of HIV/AIDS to senior officials and the relevant agencies.

The conference was organized by the Party Central Committee Commission on Propaganda and Training and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Hanoi.

(Source: VOV, VNA, CPV)