220 billion VND, 7,000 tonnes of rice for disaster victims; Protecting hospitals key in natural disaster mitigation; 1,000 international odontologists gather in Vietnam

Photo: VNA

Thua Thien Hue city province will receive 10 billion VND and 1,000 tonnes of rice, Quang Nam , 15 billion VND and 2,000 tonnes of rice and Quang Ngai, 12 billion VND and 2,000 tonnes of rice and Quang Tri, 15 billion VND and 2,000 tonnes of rice.

The relief aid will be used to stabilise the cooking supply and living conditions of those affected, and repair local infrastructure such as schools and health-care facilities, as well as undertake emergency work on irrigation, transport and flood prevention networks.

Another three provinces–Nam Dinh, Ha Nam and Thai Binh–will receive five billion VND each to buy oil and gas, electricity and seeds. 10 billion VND and 15 billion VND will be allocated to An Giang and Long An, respectively.

Earlier, on October 2, the PM also decided to allocate 460 billion VND and 10,000 tonnes of rice to eight provinces hit by typhoon Ketsana–Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang , Quang Nam , Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Kon Tum.

Protecting hospitals key in natural disaster mitigation

Joint efforts among the community, state agencies and international organisations are needed to keep hospitals safe from natural disasters as a keystone to overall disaster mitigation plans.

This was one of messages disseminated at a meeting held in Thua Thien- Hue to mark International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction which falls on October 14.

The meeting, entitled “Keeping hospitals safe from disaster”, addressed the reality that Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate, lying close to one of the world’s five major storm-prone regions, which drive the country’s weather and hydrographical situation in complicated ways.

This year alone, 10 typhoons and two tropical low pressure systems hit the East Sea . The latest disaster, storm Ketsana, caused heavy property damage to over 14 trillion VND (nearly 804 million USD) after it slammed into provinces in central Vietnam and the Central Highlands earlier this month.

At least 163 people were killed; 17 are still missing and 616 were injured in the affected areas.

Given this fact, international and local organisations, who are attending the meeting, provided relief packages to Thua Thien- Hue province. Save the Children granted 160 tonnes of rice and 800 packages of goods worth of over 4 billion VND to Phu Loc and Phong Dien districts while the Ha Noi Media Association has provided 15 million VND to improve a medical station in Huong Phong commune in Huong Tra district.

A total of 25 scholarships were also given to the province on the occasion by Director of Royal Haskoning Vietnam Martin Coopman and the JANI, an international group on natural disaster mitigation.

1,000 international odontologists gather in Vietnam

Nearly 1,000 scientists and students specialising in O donto - Stomatology from the Mekong sub-region are gathering in Vietnam on October 14 to attend a conference on the issue.

Aesthetic odontology plus dental and oral diseases topped the agenda of the conference, the fifth of its kind held by the Mekong Sub-regional countries.

The conference, entitled “New horizons for aesthetic dental operation”, attracted scientists from China, Cambodia, Thailand, France, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam who shared their knowledge on new technologies and their experiences of new methods of treatment.

During the three-day conference, an exhibition featuring odontological equipment and advanced technologies will also be held, said Acting Principal of the University of Odonto – Stomatology Truong Manh Dung.

The exhibition is considered an excellent opportunity to promote investment and cooperation in the field and will highlight the achievements Vietnam has mad in the health sector in general and the Odonto – Stomatology sector in particular.

Overseas Vietnamese awarded certificates of merit

Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Dung in Geneva has presented the Vietnamese Foreign Minister’s Certificate of Merit to several overseas Vietnamese for their contributions to the Vietnamese community development and their homeland.

The recipients were the families of Du Pasquier and Huynh Tu, leading figures amongst the Vietnamese community in Switzerland.

On addressing the ceremony on Oct. 13, Ambassador Dung, the permanent Vietnamese representative to the United Nations, the WTO and other international organisations in Geneva, stressed that this was the Party and State’s recognition of Vietnamese expatriates who have made a big contribution to the nation’s development as well as strengthening Vietnamese and Swiss ties.

He added that he hoped that the Vietnamese community will continue to maintain close links with their homeland and keep contributing to national construction.

More US Vietnam veterans get welfare after AO exposure

The US Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to expand the categories for social welfare that grant aid to US veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam war.

According to a decision announced on Oct. 13, US veterans of the Vietnam war who were exposed to AO and have subsequently contracted diseases such as B cell leukemia, Parkinson’s and ischemic heart diseases will be considered for government welfare.

The decision raises the total number of categories of patients to enjoy benefits for exposure to AO to 15.

As a result, some 200,000 US Vietnam veterans are estimated to benefit from the welfare. According to the Department, more than 2 million US veterans were exposed to the toxic from January 1965 to April 1970.

In the past US veterans exposed to AO have sued the US chemical companies that produced and sold the toxic chemical to the US government.

Their complaints were resolved outside of court, with some plaintiffs paid several thousands USD each. After that, they won their case and received an annuity of 1.52 billion USD in total.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese AO victims have not yet received any compensation from US chemical companies as the US court dismissed their lawsuit.

According to data provided by US scientists, between 1961 and 1970, the US army sprayed some 80 million litres of toxic chemicals, containing more than 300 kg of dioxin, in South Vietnam .

Consequently, around 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the deadly toxic chemical and some 1.4 billion ha of land and forests, 12 percent of Vietnam , were covered in the toxin.

VietNamNet/VNA