Life expectancy vs health spending

The death toll from an earthquake in Afghanistan on Wednesday hit 1,000, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages. Houses were reduced to rubble and bodies swathed in blankets lay on the ground after the magnitude 6.1 earthquake, photographs on Afghan media showed. An unknown number of people remained stuck under rubble and in outlying areas, health and aid workers said, and rescue operations were complicated by difficult conditions including heavy rains, landslides and many villages being nestled in inaccessible hillside areas. "Many people are still buried under the soil. The rescue teams of the Islamic Emirate have arrived and with the help of local people are trying to take out the dead and injured," a health worker at a hospital in the hard-hit Paktika province said, asking for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media. People carry injured to … [Read more...] about Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 1,000, toll expected to rise

Football Viettel players train in HCM City ahead of their opening AFC Cup game against Young Elephants. Photo courtesy of Viettel FC HÀ NỘI — Coach Bae Ji-won is confident his Viettel side can get off to a winning start to their AFC Cup campaign, despite only being in charge for a few weeks. The former Vietnamese national champions will play Young Elephants of Laos today in a Group I fixture at the Thống Nhất Stadium in HCM City. Bae was assigned to lead the team at the continental tournament after head coach Trương Việt Hoàng asked for a rest. "I am under no pressure because I have worked with the team for long period. We understand each other on and off the field," Bae said at the press conference yesterday. "I believe that I can help my players earn good results from this competition," said Bae, who signed a contract with Viettel as a fitness coach in January. "We are well prepared and we are set to advance to the next round. A good result here will be a … [Read more...] about New Viettel coach confident ahead of AFC Cup

In 2017, Bach Mai, a leading public hospital in Hanoi and northern Vietnam, struck a deal with Ho Chi Minh City-based B.M.S Medical Equipment Co., Ltd to put into use two robots, Mako and Rosa, for assisting surgeries. The made-in-U.S. robots were used to help doctors conduct joint and craniocerebral operations. Three years later, both robots were seized as evidence to investigate a case in which their prices had been raised from around VND7.4 billion ($320,000) each to VND39 billion and VND44 billion. A court in January sentenced the hospital's former director, Nguyen Quoc Anh, to five years in jail for "abusing positions and powers while performing official duties." Speaking to VnExpress earlier this month, a top hospital official said the robots could not be used during the time the investigation remains active. Besides, medical equipment is subject to many regulations including the Investment Law and the Law on Management and Use of Public Property, making it difficult … [Read more...] about Surgical robots left idle at Hanoi, HCMC hospitals

A group of young people in Saigon are offering a different perspective on the city with their two-wheeled tours. Founded by Vo Hoang Phuc, Saigon Morning Ride has so far led about 100 tours across Saigon, the former name of Ho Chi Minh City but still popularly used now. “The more [tours] we do, the more interesting things we find in Saigon. Who said there was nothing exciting in Saigon?” Phuc said. Though Phuc believes it to be a shame that so few people are aware of all the interesting things to do in the city, he hopes to offer insights into Saigon’s hidden gems with tours of the city’s alleys, ancient tombs, rice roads, graffiti, Oc Eo Relic, and nighttime haunts. Cyclists take the ferry on the Saigon River early in the morning. Photo: Huynh Vy / Tuoi Tre Exploring Saigon by bicycle At 5:15 am every Saturday, Saigon Morning Ride’s tour guides meet at a coffee shop on Hoang Sa Street in District 3. A few minutes later, guests start to show up. Some … [Read more...] about Seeing Saigon on two wheels

MAP Life launches a new digital insurance-selling platform to better serve customers in Viet Nam. — Photo courtesy of the company Mirae Asset Prevoir Life Insurance Company Ltd. (“MAP Life”) launched a new digital insurance-selling platform (digital.map-life.com.vn) on June 22. Through the integrated technology, MAP Life introduces an efficient means to apprehend the coverage options and purchase online insurance products for customers in Viet Nam. “Technology enables us to deliver simpler, better customer experience and enables us to connect better with our customers. Our digital platform will not only transform the fulfil expectation of enhancing the customer experience – providing ease, transparency, control and accuracy – but also ensure that customers own the right coverage at the right premium with comprehensive protection benefits,” said Ko Young Wan, chairman of MAP Life. The new platform is part of MAP Life’s development strategy to strengthen its multi-channel … [Read more...] about Mirae Asset Prévoir introduces new digital insurance platform

A Con Cung store. — Photo concung.com The retail market of products for mothers and babies is booming as interest in health is increasing, especially for vulnerable groups such as families with infants and children. The trend to go to specialised supermarkets for mothers and babies has become popular in large centres such as Ha Noi and HCM City and has spread to many cities across the country. Increasingly, modern life makes the demand for shopping in the mothers and babies sector rise. It is not difficult to find baby supermarkets anywhere, such as Con Cung, Bibomart, Kids Plaza, Shop Tre Tho, Tuti care and more. Even nursing mothers do not need to go out but can order products of authorised brands in the market on reputable online sales sites such as Shopee, Tiki, and Lazada so as not to waste time travelling. The attractiveness of the new shopping trend for breastfeeding mothers, along with the large market size, up to billions of U.S. dollars, has lured many large … [Read more...] about Mothers and babies sector booming in VN