Superbugs why we need action now

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine emphasised the need to take booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines while speaking at a seminar on the matter held by the government portal on July 1. Illustrative photo Under the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Health and localities, most of the population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by February. However, antibody levels among vaccinated people decline after 4-6 months. The booster shots are essential for those with compromised immune systems and old people to get a longer immunity, Lan said, adding that they should be injected on schedule and at the right dose. He also stressed the importance of vaccinating frontline health workers because they belong to high-risk groups, saying it will help reduce the infection to other people. Referring to concerns about the possibility of children infected with BA.4, BA.5, subvariants of Omicron, … [Read more...] about Booster shots needed to prevent COVID-19 infection: expert

Following the rising global momentum for implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and domestic policy direction towards carbon neutrality by 2050, the seminar gathered key policy makers from relevant ministries, leaders of business associations, key CEOs, managers and representatives from both foreign and domestic enterprises based in Vietnam. More than 100 participants engaged in a vigorous discussion on the private sector’s role in realizing the national climate change targets of Vietnam, including NDC by 2030 and the long-term carbon neutrality direction by 2050. The seminar provided a valuable opportunity for MONRE to inform development partners and business sectors the most recent policy update, direction and regulatory requirements for implementing mitigation including NDC in Vietnam. JICA’s technical cooperation project on “Support for Planning and Implementation of the Nationally Determined Contributions in Vietnam (SPI-NDC)” also shared with the … [Read more...] about JICA ramps up private sector’s engagement in climate actions in Vietnam

The session adopted the “Political declaration of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety,” with the 193-member General Assembly committed to drive the implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, including the goal to half road traffic deaths in the next eight years. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Tra, Charge d'affaires a.i. of Vietnam to the U.N., affirmed that Vietnam totally supports the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. For the realisation of its goal, she said it is necessary to strengthen road safety legislation at global, regional and national levels to address current and emerging challenges. In addition, more investment is needed in developing infrastructure and road safety capacity in low- and middle-income countries, where 90% of traffic accidents are reported. Tra also emphasized the need to build a culture of traffic safety through education and awareness of obeying traffic laws such … [Read more...] about Vietnam backs U.N.’s efforts to improve road traffic safety

Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, speaks at the event. (Photo courtesy of JICA) HCM City (VNA) – Climate change has become one of the great challenges facing humanity, affecting all aspects of economy, politics, diplomacy as well as global security, Nguyen Tuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Climate Change Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), has said. He made the statement at a seminar on “Accelerating Business Engagement in the Pathway of Vietnam’s Nationally Determined Contributions and Net Zero Emissions” held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 30 by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in cooperation with the Climate Change Department and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). It aimed to share information and experience in greenhouse gas emission reduction between public agencies and the private sector while … [Read more...] about Seminar seeks to promote private sector’s engagement in greenhouse gas reduction

A small student is choosing a textbook In its document to schools, the Department asked teachers and school managers to strictly implement the regulations on the use of textbooks and reference books in general educational institutions. Accordingly, the Department required teachers and managers not to abuse their positions to force or mobilize students and their parents to buy reference publications. In addition, educational institutions are not allowed to list and pack a set of textbooks with exercise books, reference books, outlines, and other documents besides the list of textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education and Training with the aim to introduce students and parents. Educational institutions need to arrange reasonable funding sources to buy textbooks for their school libraries. Furthermore, schools should mobilize students to donate and support old textbooks in school libraries which will lend to younger students. Previously, parents complained about social … [Read more...] about Education authority asks schools not to force parents to buy reference books

Vietnam's emblem The Office of National Assembly (ONA) on January 31 launched the third phase of a programme to strengthen the capacity of people’s elected bodies in Viet Nam . The 7.5 million USD project, sponsored by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the governments of Canada and Ireland , the Danish Trust Fund, the UK Department of International Development (DFID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), will be carried out between 2008 and 2012. This phase will be beneficial to all provincial People’s Councils nationwide as an extension from 16 localities in the first and second phases. The project will enhance the relationship between voters and their representatives and improve the consultations work for selected draft laws before they are submitted to the National Assembly for approval. Particularly, it will seek opportunities to further strengthen the representative role of elected bodies, public consultations … [Read more...] about NA starts project to improve people-elected bodies’ capacity

Viet Nam sent 51,677 workers, including 19,849 females, abroad under labor contracts in the first half of 2022, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. Japan was the largest recipient of Vietnamese workers, employing 32,053 ones, followed by Chinese Taipei 15,533 and the Republic of Korea 1,209. Viet Nam's plan to send 90,000 laborers abroad to work under contract this year, is feasible, said deputy head of the Department of Overseas Labor under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Gia Liem. Due to COVID-19 impacts, last year, Viet Nam sent 45,058 workers abroad, equivalent to 50 percent of its yearly labor export target. In Europe, nine countries including Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Cyprus Republic, Turkey, Slovakia, Belarus and Portugal, have accepted workers from Viet Nam. Many labor suppliers are recruiting up to thousands of laborers for jobs overseas. Besides traditional markets such as Japan, the RoK and … [Read more...] about Nearly 52,000 laborers sent abroad in first half

GPS collars will be fitted to 28 wild elephants in the Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, a workshop heard on June 29. The workshop was held by the World Wide Fund for Nature Vietnam and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the city of Buon Ma Thuot to consult relevant parties on the project. Experts said the collars will allow rangers from the provincial centre for elephant conservation, animal rescue and forest protection and the Yok Don National Park to track the location of the elephants and predict their movements in an attempt to prevent conflicts with humans. It is the first time GPS collars for elephants have been used in Vietnam, they said, adding that it is critical for the project to receive help from experienced foreign experts as well as technical and financial support from the World Wide Fund for Nature and Animals Asia Foundation. If the project is approved, Vietnam will need to learn from other … [Read more...] about GPS collars to be used on wild elephants in Dak Lak

Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Though Vietnam is said to have certain advantages, to maintain sustained success, the country should be a diligent student of not only the upsides, but also the lessons learnt of other countries, said Moritz Kraemer, former Global Chief Ratings Officer of Sovereign Ratings Group at S&P Global and currently the Chief Economist, Head of Research of Landesbank Baden Wuerttemberg (LBBW). Speaking to Vietnam News Agency, the expert held that the world is in turmoil, and the old model of globalisation is severely tested as erstwhile reliable supply chains are ruptured and seem to refuse to heal. Moreover, inflation appears to be getting out of hand in much of the advanced economies as commodity prices soar and labor becomes increasingly scarce. Moritz Kraemer, former Global Chief Ratings Officer of Sovereign Ratings Group at S&P Global (Photo: VNA) He predicted that international companies will progressively search … [Read more...] about Vietnam remains a place of seemingly limitless promise: experts

An investment promotion conference on the occasion of the 30th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and RoK (Photo: VNA) Seoul (VNA) – An international academic workshop in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Vietnam – the Republic of Korea (RoK) diplomatic ties took place in Busan on June 30. The event was jointly hosted by the Association of Vietnamese Studies (AVS) in the RoK and the Busan University of Foreign Studies. In his opening speech, Chairman of AVS Prof. Bae Yang-soo spotlighted the strong development of the RoK – Vietnam cooperative relations across fields over the last 30 years. He stressed the need to enhance academic exchanges between scholars and researchers, especially those working on Vietnamese studies, of the two countries in the coming time. Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung highlighted the significance of the workshop for the development of the Vietnam – RoK relations. As many as 12 reports were … [Read more...] about Workshop spotlights Vietnam – RoK diplomatic ties