Hospitals face serious blood shortage during Tet; HCM City-My Tho highway to open for Tet holidays; HCM City becomes more floral; Illegal gold mining activities suspended; Fund improves personal hygiene

Hospitals face serious blood shortage during Tet

A Humanitarian Blood Donation Day was jointly launched in Hanoi on January 9 by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group.

Addressing the event, which attracted 150 employees from the PetroVietnam Insurance Joint Stock Company (PVI), PVI vice president Ton Thien Viet said donating blood is a regular humanitarian activity of the company.

Viet said PVI employees had previously taken part in three blood donation drives and this is the first of the company’s three drives scheduled for 2010.

Nguyen Van Nhu, an NIHBT official said there will be a serious shortage of blood supplies over the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival because students, the major force in blood donation, will go home for Tet. PVI’s blood donation, therefore, is very significant and demonstrates its responsibilities to the community.

Nhu said 2009 blood supplies could meet just over 30 percent of the demand and he added that this is attributed to ineffective communication programmes. 70 percent of the blood supply comes from students while businesses donated only six percent.

HCM City-My Tho highway to open for Tet holidays

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the temporary opening of the expressway connecting Ho Chi Minh City with My Tho City in Tien Giang Province, as proposed by the Transport Ministry.

The roadway, which ends at Trung Luong T-Junction, will open February 3 to help ease traffic congestion on National Highway 1A, which is to increase ahead of the upcoming Tet (lunar New Year) holiday that falls on February 14 this year.

The Transport Ministry must coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, and authorities in localities that the HCM City-Trung Luong Highway runs through, to ensure the safety of travelers while the expressway is being used, Mr. Dung said.

He also ordered the transport ministry to issue regulations regarding the management of the highway before opening it.

In addition, PM Dung asked the BIDV Expressway Development Company (BEDC), the investor of the highway, to join the Transport Ministry in managing and operating the highway temporarily.

The ministry must be ready to transfer the management and operation of the highway to the BEDC on April 1 as scheduled, he said.

The HCM City-Trung Luong Highway is 62 km long with eight lanes and a speed limit of 120km per hour. Total investment in the project is over VND9.88 trillion (US$535 million) from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

North-central province to restore historical war site

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan January 7 asked the Nghe An People’s Committee to review restoration and preservation plans for the Truong Bon relic zone in My Son Ward, Do Luong District, Nghe An Province.

The Deputy PM also asked the province to prioritize the restoration of original relics in the area that have great historical value.

The Truong Bon relic zone is considered a holy site and symbol of revolutionary fighters.

Nearly 3,000 bombs were dropped in the area between June and October 1968 during the American War (1954-1975). It was highly dangerous then to use roads throughout Truong Bon to send soldiers from the North to the South for reinforcement.

During the war, a group of 14 members of the Volunteer Youth Force was established to fill bomb craters alongside roads and guide trucks through the danger zone. In the early morning of October 31, 1968, several soldiers were killed in a bomb attack while filling craters.

HCM City becomes more floral

The area under flowers and ornamental plants in HCM City has increased by 5 per cent year-on-year to 903ha, the city’s Agricultural Extension Centre said.

Apricot plants account for the largest area at 420ha, an increase of 17ha from last season, followed by bonsai and other ornamental trees, whose areas have remained unchanged, and orchids that have seen an increase of 10ha to 110ha.

The director of the centre, Tran Viet My, said the output of flowers and ornamental plants is estimated to reach 4 million pots, with yellow ochna plants accounting for the largest number of 1.5 million.

Nearly 15 per cent of apricot flowers, grown mostly in outlying districts like Thu Duc, Go Vap, Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, 9, and 12, have begun to blossom two months earlier than expected due to unfavourable weather.

The plants and flowers are grown for the upcoming Tet (the lunar New Year), which falls on February 14, 2010.

The centre said to meet the demand during the country’s biggest holiday, the city would need a large volume of flowers and ornamental trees from other provinces and cities.

Illegal gold mining activities suspended

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the People’s Committees of northern Vinh Phuc and Thai Nguyen provinces to suspend illegal gold mining activities in the border area between the two provinces.

Relevant agencies were asked to determine the level of responsibility each of the provinces has in controlling the mineral exploitation.

Many people have recently rushed to Deo But in Vinh Phuc province’s Ngoc Thanh Commune, which borders Thai Nguyen Province’s Thanh Cong Commune, in search for gold, which has resulted in chaos in the area.

Two Mong ethnic minority were killed on Wednesday when a gold mine collapsed in northern Lai Chau Province. The victims were father and son.

Fund improves personal hygiene

he Unilever Viet Nam Foundation will donate VND2 billion (US$110,000) to improve personal and institutional hygiene among pre-school children at 35 schools in 10 central provinces this year.

The activity is part of the project “Dissemination of personal hygiene and health protection for pre-school children”, which aims to improve awareness and personal hygiene practices among pre-schoolers, especially by helping them develop a habit of washing their hands with soap to prevent diseases.

The foundation also announced a $250,000 fund on Thursday for 20 community health and hygiene projects.

Over 5 tonnes of animal gut seized

More than 5 tonnes of animal innards of unknown origin worth VND1 billion (US$54,000) were seized on Thursday in northern Lao Cai Province, said Trinh Ngoc Anh, head of the local Market Watch Department’s Team No1.

The department also seized and destroyed nearly 60 kilos of quail meat on Wednesday, Anh said.

Ha Noi eases up on roadwork for Tet

a Noi Department of Transport will stop issuing licences for road construction from February 1 to 24 to help with road safety during the Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

Licensed ongoing constructions, including maintenance of roads and pavements for underground construction, have to be finished by January 31.

The department will also tightly control road safety, especially along National Highway No 21A, 21B to Huong Pagoda and flower markets.

Motor-tricycle drivers get support

Disabled tricycle drivers will be given VND15 million (US$812) to change their job.

The special support is part of the Government’s general aid for drivers of tricycle and three and four-wheelers in Ha Noi.

Poor, ethnic minority and mountain people will receive VND10 million ($541). Other drivers will receive VND5 million ($270), according to Nguyen The Thao, chairman of the municipal People Committee.

In addition, the city’s Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs will provide free vocational training for drivers who want to learn a trade.

PV