Advances in child health praised

Viet Nam was offered a special award for its outstanding child health achievements by the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation on Thursday.

Thanks to commitment to immunisation and other child health interventions, Viet Nam had drastically reduced its child mortality rates, putting the country well on track to reach the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG) before the 2015 deadline, said Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation press release yesterday.

Statistics provided by the United Nations Fund for Children (UNICEF) show that over the last two decades, deaths among Vietnamese children have dropped from 56 per 1,000 in 1990 to 15 in 2007.

"Immunisation is at the heart of the Vietnamese Government’s strategy for improving children’s health," said Deputy Minister of Health Trinh Quan Huan.

Huan made the announcement at the GAVI Partners’ Forum in Ha Noi, a meeting of some 400 immunisation experts, including ministers of health from over 30 countries and representatives from donor countries, civil society, industry, and development and research agencies.

The MDG4 is aimed at reducing by two-thirds the number of deaths of children under five by 2015; one of the eight goals set by the United Nations.

A national vaccination programme against measles, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus and other vaccine-preventable diseases has played a central role in achieving the reduction. Routine immunisation coverage is 93 per cent for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3), matching the rates of most industrialised countries.

Julian Lob-Levyt, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, said that Viet Nam was a good example of a worldwide trend among low-income nations who are steadily improving their immunisation rates.

Administrative yearbook published

The Viet Nam administrative yearbook for 2009 was published yesterday in Ha Noi. The 1,110-page book, compiled in Vietnamese and English, provides information on the Prime Minister’s office, Deputy Prime Minister offices and administration agencies across Viet Nam.

Life boats, buoys for central provinces

The Prime Minister signed a decision on Tuesday granting life buoys and high-speed boats to the two central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh for use in search and rescue activities during floods and storms.

Boats and 3,000 life buoys will be provided for use in Ha Tinh while about 1,000 buoys will be delivered to Nghe An.

Police seize 17 tonnes of tobacco in Ha Giang

Northern Ha Giang Province’s Market Watch Division yesterday found six trucks illegally carrying over 17 tonnes of tobacco.

All six drivers failed to show their driving licences and identification papers. They admitted to police that they were hired by a man named Hoang Van Hien, 53, from northern Thai Nguyen Province to carry the goods.

Provincial authorities have launched an investigation.

Dien Bien gets avian flu under control

The People’s Committee of northern Dien Bien Province announced yesterday that it had successfully controlled a bird flu outbreak that hit the province on October 21.

Provincial authorities have allowed quarantined poultry that is not infected to be sold in markets again.

Three days after an outbreak of the disease in the two communes of Noong Luong and Thanh Yen, about 3,000 poultry died or were culled. However, no more poultry deaths have been reported due to the disease since October 24.

Man donates land to build road

A man has donated 850sq.m of land worth VND50 million (US$2,800) to be used for a new road in Duc Tan Commune in southern Long An Province.

The man also donated VND82 million ($4,600) earlier this year to build drainage in the area.

The provincial People’s Committee has handed the man a certificate of merit for his efforts in improving road infrastructure in rural areas.

Taiwanese nabbed in fraud probe

A Taiwanese was arrested in Hai Phong on Wednesday and transfered to HCM City for further investigation of several cases of fraud involving illegal labour and marriage brokerage.

Police said that in June this year, 50-year-old Liu Chen Tsangopened an office in Dong Nai Province’s Nhon Trach District offering illegal labour and marriage brokerage services.

Liu misappropriated at least US$10,000 from Taiwanese and Vietnamese victims through his office, police said.Liu’s passport had been seized by Ha Noi police in 2004 for involvement in another fraud case.

Humanitarian blood donation launched in HCM City

A humanitarian blood donation programme was launched in HCM City on November 21 by Prudential Vietnam Life Insurance Company, the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, and the Vietnam Red Cross.  

The programme is part of a national campaign for humanitarian blood donation and began in Hanoi, traveling through 40 provinces and cities over the country.

The campaign, started on September 19 and runs to November 21 and so far has attracted more than 10,000 participants who have donated nearly 7,000 units of blood.

UN urges investment in teachers for learning society in Vietnam

The United Nations has called on Vietnam to set up strategies on the development and management of teachers to provide enough qualified and devoted instructors for remote areas to meet the national target the universalisation of junior secondary education by 2010.

The recommendation was made by the Head of the UNESCO-Hanoi Office, Katherine Muller Marin, at a ceremony to mark Vietnam Teachers’ Day in Hanoi on November 21.

Marin emphasised that the strategies are very necessary also to maintain major progress, especially in the movement “Education for All”, made by the educational sector in the recent past.

She called on the educational sector to focus on quality in its training programmes, especially in preschool, vocational training and tertiary education.

Once all these challenges are solved, the target of realizing a learning society will be in sight, said the representative from the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

The UN pledged to help the Vietnamese Government in career development for teachers in order to speed up its progress towards this goal.

Driver crushed by 25-ton steel coil
  
A delivery truck driver was crushed to death by 25 tons steel in a Ho Chi Minh City traffic accident Friday. 

The accident happened around 3:40 p.m. when a crane truck hit a motorbike on Nguyen Van Linh Street in District 7, local newswire VnExpress reported.

The truck came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street after hitting the divider. Another truck loaded with steel then collided with the crane truck.

Chains holding down two steel coils on the delivery truck broke and one of the coils then rolled forward and over the truck’s cab, crushing it and the driver inside.

The 25-ton steel coil was lifted out of the cab two hours later but the driver had already died. One of the two people on the motorbike was severely injured but no other deaths were reported.

The accident caused severe traffic gridlock on Nguyen Van Linh Street, which links the Phu My Hung residential area with the city’s downtown, VnExpress said.

Old style kiln rebuilt in Hue

A traditional kiln is being reconstructed in Thua Thien-Hue Province’s Phuoc Tich Village in order to revive a centuries-old pottery style that is distinct to the village.

The kiln is being built in Phong Dien District’s Phong Hoa Commune.

The Hue branch of the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies said restoration of the kiln is part of a project to preserve and introduce a cultural heritage of the village that was famous in the region and beyond.

The institute is investing VND300 million (US$17,000) in the project, which will also produce a set of DVDs in three languages (Vietnamese, English and French) to introduce the village, its history and culture to visitors.

“History of a pottery village by the O Lau River” held next June in Phuoc Tich Village on the occasion of the Hue Festival 2010.

US funds to repair Hanoi gate
 
Hanoi’s only remaining historical city gate, which survived hundreds of US bombing sorties during the Vietnam War, will be preserved by a US$74,500 grant from the US ambassador Fund for Cultural Preservation.

O Quan Chuong gate, built in 1749 during the Le Dynasty, still stands tall after defensive wars against the French invasions and bombing campaigns by the US army destroyed much of the old capital.

But O Quan Chuong is in desperate need of restoration. The grant aims to repair damaged sections of the gate and reinforce its foundation.

Hanoi officials will now discuss the restoration with scientists and experts to decide on optimal preservative techniques.

The preservation project aims to be completed in time to celebrate the capital’s 1,000th anniversary in October next year.

Giant calligraphy calendar bids for national record

A special calligraphy calendar measuring 0.7m x 1.70m has been registered for recognition as the biggest such calendar made in Vietnam to date.

The 2010 calendar was jointly made by Van Duc Pagoda in Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang Town and calligrapher Tran Quoc An.

The calendar, which was completed in two months, is now on display at the Van Duc Pagoda at 26 Ha Thanh Street, Phuoc Thang Ward, Nha Trang.