National goals set for IT sector by 2020
Vietnam targets to maintain its ranking among the world’s top ten preferred destinations for software outsourcing, according to the national agenda for IT sector development through 2020.
The programme requires the sector to achieve an annual growth of at least 15 percent in software, digital content and IT services and attract around 5 billion USD in foreign investment into the electronic hardware industry.
The industry is also tasked with developing its core products, focusing on software used in State agencies and enterprises as well as those in great demands in society such as mobile phone and web applications.
Building capacity and improving the competitiveness of IT organisations and enterprises are also top priorities.
Hai Phong fosters tourism development
The northern city of Hai Phong welcomed 964,300 tourists in the first three months of 2015, an increase of 7.23 percent from the same period last year, according to the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to the department’s director, Doan Duy Linh, the city aims to become the tourism hub of the northern coastal region by diversifying its tourism products and improving its services.
Deputy Chairwoman of the Cat Hai district People’s Committee, Vu Thi Kim Bich, said a fund to promote Cat Ba’s tourism in 2015 was launched to develop material facilities and enhance service quality.
The district will soon hold several activities to kick start its tourism season, including a volleyball competition, a football match and artistic performances.
Meanwhile, Do Son district aims to become an international entertainment and tourism centre serving the city’s open door economic development policy. Local authorities hope that the city will receive 2.5 million tourists in 2015.-
HCM City sees rise in PAD patients
More and more patients have been diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) at HCM City University Medical Centre.
Dr Le Thanh Phong, head of the centre’s surgery ward for blood vessels, said that after Tet (Lunar New Year that fell on February 19), the hospital admitted 23 patients with PAD.
A 61-year-old patient of Soc Trang Province was brought to the medical centre in an emergency state because of necrosis in her right toe.
The patient had a painful ache in her legs for years and her right leg was numb. She did not visit a doctor until her big toe became inflamed.
The centre’s doctors said the problem was PAD.
According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the legs is a narrowing or blockage of the vessels that carry blood from the heart to the legs.
PAD can occur in any blood vessel but it is more common in the legs than in the arms.
The doctors performed surgery to help her legs receive enough blood and to prevent the development of necrosis.
Phong said the elderly, smokers, diabetics and people with high cholesterol and high blood pressure were at risk of developing the disease.
New advanced technologies for screening and diagnosis at hospitals have helped more patients with PAD, he said.
According to a study published in Lancet in 2013, researchers from the UK and US said the number of people with PAD worldwide had increased by 23.5 per cent in the past 10 years, from 164 million in 2000 to 202 million in 2010.
Of these, 54.8 million were in Southeast Asia and 45.9 in the Western Pacific region.
Oncology centre opens in Quang Ninh
An oncology centre at the Viet Nam – Sweden Hospital in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh’s Uong Bi District started operating after 2.5 years of construction.
The eight-storey centre, worth VND336 billion (US$156 million), has 200 sickbeds.
Hospital Director Tran Viet Tiep said the centre would help deal with increasing demand for cancer treatment in the province.
Five firms fined for improper advertising
The Ministry of Health’s Viet Nam Food Administration fined five companies VND107 million ($5,000) for violating regulations on advertising and labelling functional food.
The companies include HCM City-based Ky Phong Trading, Import and Export Co Ltd; HCM City-based Nhom Thien Minh Co Ltd; Ha Noi-based Pharmaceutical Manufacturing and Trading Co Ltd. Authorities found they were improperly advertising their functional foods and had improperly labelled them.
The administration also ordered the firms to recall the advertisements and products.
One patient, one bed, 30 hospitals promise
As many as 30 hospitals have committed to providing a sickbed for each patient under an agreement with the Ministry of Health.
Under the commitment, hospitals would reduce overcrowding and patients would no longer need to share sickbeds. The hospitals include the National Hospital of Endocrinology, Children Hospital’s No 1, Children Hospital’s No 2 and Binh Dan Hospital.
Insurance to cover traditional medicines
Health insurance will cover about 350 types of traditional medicine starting May 1 under a circular signed by Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen.
The medicines help patients detox, boost their energy, or nourish their blood.
The traditional medicines used for treating health-insurance users will be of high quality and planted in Viet Nam.
Da Nang to monitor service charges of enterprises
The Da Nang department of industry and trade has announced hotlines to receive complaints about service charges during Liberation Day and Labour Day holidays on April 30 and May 1.
If residents discover any enterprises, such as restaurants, hotels, coach companies and parking lots, increasing their service charges, they can contact deputy director of the municipal department of industry and trade Lu Bang at 0913414909, the market watch at 05113624191, the department of culture, sports and tourism’s inspectors at 05113886761 and the finance department’s inspectors at 05113825946.
Earlier, the Da Nang People’ Committee asked individuals and organisations providing accommodations during the holiday not to increase their charges by more than 50 per cent, compared with the rates on normal days.
The rate list must be put up in public so that residents and inspectors can keep track of them easily.
Restaurants and food stores have been banned from increasing their prices, and have been asked to put up their price lists.
Parking lots must charge regulated rates, which is VND2,000 (US$0.09) for each bicycle, VND5,000 ($0.23) for a motorbike, VND30,000 ($1.4) for a vehicle with less than nine seats, and VND50,000 ($2.3) for a vehicle with less than 30 seats, as well as VND70,000 ($3.3) for each vehicle with more than 30 seats.
Bang said those who violate the rules would receive administrative fines based on the city regulations, and would have their business permits withdrawn and their names publicised.
Earth Hour campaign makes a difference in VN
About 520,000kWh of electricity, worth VND850 million (US$40,400), was saved during the Earth Hour campaign held over two days, the National Load Dispatch Centre said.
The campaign was held in Ha Noi on March 22, and in other provinces and cities nationwide on March 28.
After the launch of the campaign in Ha Noi on March 22, it quickly spread to other localities through the country, with several activities being held in Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Da Nang and Can Tho, besides HCM City.
The message of the campaign, ‘Saving Energy – Responding to Climate Change,’ was conveyed to the community through various activities, including cycling, a parade, leaflets and posters, among others.
Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang said the ministry would continue to actively participate in the campaign and coordinate with other relevant agencies to participate in the campaign.
The industry and trade ministry called on all organisations, individuals, households and enterprises to contribute to the fight against climate change by simply turning off lights and electrical equipment that are not in use throughout the year.
The Earth Hour 2015 campaign not only contributed to saving electricity, but also helped to raise people’s awareness of using energy economically, effectively contribute to sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection, and actively respond to climate change.
The annual event was held by the industry and trade ministry in coordination with the Danish Embassy in Viet Nam, the World Wide Fund for Nature and People’s Committees of provinces and cities nationwide.
Hanoi seeks to bring clean water to more rural locals
Hanoi is calling for increased business involvement in the city’s rural clean water supply and environmental sanitation projects as part of efforts to help rural residents living access clean water.
Speaking at a conference on March 26, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Tran Xuan Viet asked relevant departments and sectors to improve policies to facilitate business investment in clean-water projects in the city.
Viet said the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development needs to examine and evaluate the current capacity and operation of water supply stations and plants as well as the efficiency of communication initiatives that aim to raise public awareness of the necessity of using clean water.
He stressed that shortcomings in the implementation of clean water projects should be addressed, thus designing appropriate plans for improving the efficiency of water-supply work in rural areas.
According to reports from the Hanoi rural water and environmental sanitation centre, as many as 99.21 percent of the rural population have access to hygienic water, 33.78 percent of which use clean water meeting Ministry of Health standards, as of 2014.
There were 106 water-supply stations in 16 rural districts in 2014, with only 78 operating currently supplying water to 286,000 people.
Hanoi has targeted comprehensive rural population access to hygienic water by 2015, 60 percent of which will use clean water that meets Ministry of Health standards.
To that end, the city has focused its resources on building inter-communal clean water supply systems, communal and district level clean water supply stations and expanding the urban clean water supply network.
April 30 Victory marked with workshop in Argentina
Vietnam’s April 30, 1975 victory that marked the liberation of the southern region and national reunification is a great source of encouragement to progressive forces and peace lovers around the world, said participants at a workshop in Argentina capital city of Buenos Aires on March 26.
The event was held by the Confederation of Workers of Argentina on the 40th anniversary of the victory.
President of the Argentina-Vietnam Culture Institute Poldi Sosa recalled the days in the 1960s and 1970s when Argentinian people along with millions of people around the globe closely followed Vietnam’s resistance war against the US.
She highlighted the victory on April 30, 1975 as the most glorious triumph since Vietnam, an agricultural country lacking modern weaponry, successfully safeguarded its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity with unshakable fighting spirit and patriotism.
She stressed that for the victory, more than 3.4 million Vietnamese people laid down their lives while 2.6 million people suffered from injuries, and millions of others were exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin sprayed by the US .
Vietnamese Ambassador to Argentina Nguyen Dinh Thao noted the war against the US was among the fiercest wars in history, adding that the US used over 8 million tonnes of bombs during the war, doubling the volume it used in the World War II, and spread 20 million tonnes of Agent Orange from 1961 to 1971.
Since the liberation, Vietnam has embarked on its national development and attained remarkable achievements in various fields, especially in socio-economic aspects.
Over the past decade, its poverty rate was cut down from 30 percent to 8 percent while the annual economic growth was posted at 5-7 percent during the last 15 years, the diplomat said.
Research programme on sustainable development in southwest region
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has allowed the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and the Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh City to implement a research programme on scientific and technology tasks necessary for sustainable development in the southwest region between 2015 and 2019.
The Mekong Delta has yet to develop sustainably due to slow economic re-structuring and limited cooperative ties between the region and other provinces across the country, necessitating the plan, said Deputy PM Ninh, who is also Head of the Steering Committee for the southwest region, while chairing a workshop in Kien Giang province on March 27.
He pointed out that the rate of impoverished households in the region remains high, especially in remote and ethnic minority inhabited areas. Additionally, the lack of skilled workers and the impacts of climate change have posed enormous challenges to the delta, he added.
The research plan should find solutions to turn the region into a driving economic force of the country, he said.
The programme will be carried out in two stages, the first from 2015 to 2017 and the second between 2017 and 2019.
In 2015, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) will collect proposals from domestic organisations and select 15 science-technology tasks to carry out. Some possible tasks include building a database for the region’s sustainable development, devising mechanisms and policies for regional connection, and researching issues relating to grassroots political system, education-training, and religion.
From 2017-2019, the VASS will focus on studying scientific and technological solutions to local urgent socio-economic issues in specific fields and in respective cities and provinces in the region while building business production and connection models and solutions to develop key products, as determined by the advantages of each locality.
Participants at the workshop also proposed measures to implement coordination between the VASS and the Steering Committee for the southwest region together with universities and research institutes nationwide.
The southwest region comprises 13 provinces and one city, accounting for 27 percent of the national GDP and 90 percent of Vietnam ’s total rice export volume.-
Armed forces play critical role combating crime: Deputy PM
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hailed the role of the army in combating smuggling, trade fraud and crime in recent years, helping ensure political security, social order and safety during a teleconference held on March 27 by the Defence Ministry.
The event was to review operations to fight drug trafficking, smuggling and trade fraud before, during and after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
In the last three months, the armed forces detected and handled 3,942 cases involving 6,780 suspects, a drop of 652 cases and 855 suspects from the same period in 2014. Legal proceedings also commenced on 445 cases against 500 suspects, a rise of 190 cases and 178 suspects.
The forces also applied administrative fines on 980 cases and collected over 10 billion VND (460,000 USD) as well as razed 44 drug trafficking cases, seizing 67.3 kilograms of heroin and 40,702 kilograms of meth.
Nearly 1,200 smuggling and trade fraud cases were detected, 804 cases more than the same period in 2014.
However, Deputy PM Phuc, who is also Head of the Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Fake Commodities, said the results remained modest as armed drug transport in border areas remains high, especially on the Vietnam-Laos border.
Illegal transport and trade of wine, beverages, cigarettes and wood along border areas passing Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Quang Tri and An Giang provinces continue, as does illegal fuel trade.
He also pointed out that coordination between armed forces and security forces has been poor.
The Deputy PM urged for increased determination, organisational restructuring and human resources training to enhance the capacity of soldiers and officials in fighting criminals.
He also asked the Defence Ministry to strengthen its supervision over entry and exit activities at the border, as well as closer cooperation between the ministry, other forces and localities.
Vietnam, Japan discuss hi-tech agriculture, environmentally-friendly technology
The fourth meeting of Vietnam-Japan Joint Committee on Science and Technology was held on March 29 in Hanoi, focusing its discussion on hi-tech agriculture, environmentally-friendly technology, climate change adaption and the proper use of water resources.
Addressing the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Khanh spoke highly of joint research projects between the two countries, especially within the framework of the “Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development” (SATREPS) and the East Asian Science and Innovation Area Joint Research Programme (e-ASIA JRP).
During the discussions, the two sides conducted a comprehensive review of their opportunities and challenges for collaboration and sought solutions to expand their cooperation.
Inked in 2006, the Vietnam-Japan Agreement on Science and Technology has facilitated joint initiatives in the field and produced positive outcomes, including biotechnology projects between Vietnam’s Agricultural Genetics Institute and Japan’s Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN) as well as aerospace projects between the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Other institutes and experts from both countries in the field have worked closely to exchange information and undertake research studies on topics of mutual interest.
Health care urged for female workers
Huynh Cao Hai, deputy head of the Dong Nai Province’s Health Department, said he plans to encourage all factories in the province to offer reproductive healthcare services for female workers, especially those with a large number of female workers.
“This is very vital to ensure their health,” he said.
Speaking at a workshop held on March 27 on empowering female migrant workers, Hai said a project initiated in 2013 by the NGO, Marie Stopes International Vietnam, had benefited women working in five footwear factories in the province.
The main objective of the three-year project was to “advance the social and economic empowerment of female migrant workers” through gender-sensitive initiatives in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, where many factories are located. The pilot programme also emphasises corporate social responsibility of Vietnamese factories.
The women have been offered check-ups, healthcare for pregnant women, information about reproductive system diseases and contraceptive methods. Information about labour and equity law has also been provided to the women. At some factories, obstetricians and midwives were recruited to work at health clinics in order to provide better sexual and reproductive healthcare to their female workers.
Hai said that he will encourage other factories with a large number of female workers to hire obstetricians and midwives for their health clinics.
The project is also being carried out at four factories in Binh Duong Province.
After two years of implementation in the two provinces, more than 230,000 workers have had access to essential sexual reproductive healthcare services. Workers have also received family planning information and services via group communication activities, mobile clinics at factories and the Marie Stopes’ programmes.
Nguyen Tuan Kiet, a certified CSR expert at the UN’s Industrial Development Organisation, said more female workers have used reproductive healthcare services and received gynecologic examinations than before the project began. More than 96 percent of pregnant woman have also shown interest in prenatal care now. Huynh Duc, a specialist at the HCM City-based representative office of New Balance Athletic Shoes Ltd, said that labour productivity of female workers at the shoe factories has increased and the rate of work absences due to health problems has fallen.
National efforts tackling natural disasters scrutinised
Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai presided over an online conference on March 28, reviewing the outcomes of natural disasters prevention and search and rescue efforts nationwide in 2014 and initiating 2015’s tasks.
Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development, reported that natural disasters occurred in a fewer number and smaller scale in 2014, compared to that of recent years.
Overall, the disasters left 133 people dead and missing as well as 145 injured, causing a total damage of 2.83 trillion VND (131.8 million USD). The Government aided affected localities with more than 1.5 trillion VND (70 million USD), 2,000 tonnes of rice and some 1,700 tonnes of seeds.
Rear Admiral Pham Ngoc Minh, standing vice head of the Vietnam National Committee for Search and Rescue (VNCSR), took note of the timely and effective search and rescue operation across the country under his agency’s instructions and monitoring.
More than 153,000 people and 5,000 vehicles were mobilised, delivering prompt services to save over 3,800 lives, he said.
This year, weather conditions will be further complicated with at least nine tropical storms expected to hit the East Sea, including four to five strong storms directly affecting the mainland, informed Hoang Duc Cuong, Director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
According to Cuong, there will be additional floods and landslides striking the Central Highlands region, the northern and central areas, whilst the south is to be hit by severe droughts and salination.
Participants pointed to weaknesses, such as poor weather forecasts and impractical preparedness in a number of provinces, outdated communication facilities in remote mountainous areas, and limited investments in prevention and logistics work.
Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai, who heads the National Steering Committee on Calamity Prevention and Control, agreed with those setbacks, urging local agencies to prioritise raising public awareness and devising precaution plans.
Focal 2015 tasks include completing relevant legal framework as well as scrutinising the national strategy on preventing natural disasters in the context of global climate changes, among others, he declared.
Ministries urged to improve care for the elderly
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has urged the Ministry of Health to establish additional geriatric wards in hospitals and coordinate with the Vietnam Social Insurance to intensify healthcare access for the elderly – who currently number 9.4 million, accounting for 10.45 percent of the total population.
Under Vietnam’s law, the elderly are persons of 60 years old and above.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ought to encourage the operation of exchange clubs and reduce entrance fees to visit historical and cultural relic sites for the elderly to assist with their spiritual and cultural life, requested Dam, who is also Head of the National Committee for Elderly People.
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) is responsible for expanding the network of social support facilities and raising public awareness of such facilities’ benefits to the elderly themselves and their families.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance is to work with relevant ministries, sectors and localities to review policies relating to the elderly for timely adjustments and supplements.
According to the MoLISA, nearly 2.8 million people are currently receiving retirement pensions and social insurance benefits and over 1.5 million benefit from monthly social allowance, nearly 1.4 million of whom are 80 years old and above.
Geriatric wards have been established in provincial-level hospitals in 49 out of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Nearly 5,600 hospital beds have been prioritised for the elderly and over 2.3 million elderly are currently receiving periodic medical check-ups.
Vietnam issued the Law on the Elderly in 2009. The country has also established the National Committee for the Elderly and launched a national action programme to support senior citizens.-
Health care urged for female workers
Huynh Cao Hai, deputy head of the Dong Nai Province’s Health Department, said he plans to encourage all factories in the province to offer reproductive healthcare services for female workers, especially those with a large number of female workers.
“This is very vital to ensure their health,” he said.
Speaking at a workshop held on March 27 on empowering female migrant workers, Hai said a project initiated in 2013 by the NGO, Marie Stopes International Vietnam, had benefited women working in five footwear factories in the province.
The main objective of the three-year project was to “advance the social and economic empowerment of female migrant workers” through gender-sensitive initiatives in Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, where many factories are located. The pilot programme also emphasises corporate social responsibility of Vietnamese factories.
The women have been offered check-ups, healthcare for pregnant women, information about reproductive system diseases and contraceptive methods. Information about labour and equity law has also been provided to the women. At some factories, obstetricians and midwives were recruited to work at health clinics in order to provide better sexual and reproductive healthcare to their female workers.
Hai said that he will encourage other factories with a large number of female workers to hire obstetricians and midwives for their health clinics.
The project is also being carried out at four factories in Binh Duong Province.
After two years of implementation in the two provinces, more than 230,000 workers have had access to essential sexual reproductive healthcare services. Workers have also received family planning information and services via group communication activities, mobile clinics at factories and the Marie Stopes’ programmes.
Nguyen Tuan Kiet, a certified CSR expert at the UN’s Industrial Development Organisation, said more female workers have used reproductive healthcare services and received gynecologic examinations than before the project began. More than 96 percent of pregnant woman have also shown interest in prenatal care now. Huynh Duc, a specialist at the HCM City-based representative office of New Balance Athletic Shoes Ltd, said that labour productivity of female workers at the shoe factories has increased and the rate of work absences due to health problems has fallen.
Tra Vinh, Ben Tre accelerate implementation on ADM project
The Mekong Delta provinces of Tra Vinh and Ben Tre have undertaken great efforts to push forward the “Adaptation in the Mekong Delta” (AMD) project, said Henning Pedersen, Country Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
He made the statement at a meeting to review the results of the AMD project implementation in two localities held on March 26 in Tra Vinh province.
An inspection group from the IFAD conducted its first project supervision from March 9-26 to evaluate its initial efficiency and orient its subsequent activities in line with the project’s sustainable development goals.
Pedersen highlighted that Ben Tre needs to integrate poverty reduction into the project’s strategies alongside its climate adaptation goal.
Meanwhile, he said that the project coordinating board in Tra Vinh province should enhance the capacity of the local women development fund for prudent capital management.
The AMD programme in Ben Tre and Tra Vinh is being implemented in 30 communes in each province between 2014 and 2020.
The total budget is over 1 trillion VND (approximately 48 million USD), including a 426 billion VND (over 20 million USD) loan from IFAD, a 252 billion VND (nearly 12 million USD) grant from IFAD and 159 billion VND (7.4 million USD) from the State budget.
Its main objective is to develop sustainable livelihoods for the rural poor in the face of a changing climate and to enhance the target communities’ capacities to adapt to climate change.
Work to start on belt road next year
Construction of a 17.8-kilometer belt road connecting HCMC and neighboring Binh Duong Province and passing through Dong Nai Province will start in the first quarter of next year.
According to Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Infrastructure, the Belt Road No. 3 project will be appraised within this month so that the Ministry of Transport can pass it to the Government for approval in May.
Credit contracts could be signed in June to implement Component 1A of the project in the first quarter next year.
The Transport Ministry on Wednesday discussed the project with Lee Young Seob, head of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) under the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) in Vietnam.
Nguyen Ngoc Dong, deputy minister of Transport, described the road as an urgent project, which has got the green light from the Government.
The project consists of components 1A and 1B with the first stretching 8.7 kilometers and at a cost of some US$200 million, and the second 9.1 kilometers. When opened to traffic, the investors can collect tolls to get back their investment capital.
According to Cuu Long Corporation, the road will start at the interchange of Ben Luc-Long Thanh Expressway and end at Tan Van-My Phuoc Expressway in Binh Duong Province.
Ceremony to commemorate late President Ton Duc Thang
A delegation of municipal authorities and sectors have offered incense to commemorate the late President Ton Duc Thang on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of his death (March 30, 1980) at his museum in Ho Chi Minh City.
At a ceremony on March, Director of the Ton Duc Thang Museum Tran Xuan Thao said the late President Thang devoted his life to national liberation, independence and the happiness of the people.
She also stated that he was a symbol of the national solidarity cause and international cooperation.
During the event, the museum received nearly 150 items and documents related to President Ton from the Ho Chi Minh Museum and individuals.
The same day, an exhibition themed “Uncle Ton with the South” was held at the Ton Duc Thang Museum, showcasing more than 100 documents and objects demonstrating his devotion to the revolution of the Party and the people.
The exhibition will run through August 2015.
New rural development movement sees strong progress
The new-style rural building programme has made strong progress last year, bringing about positive changes in socio-economic life in rural areas, it was reported at a recent national meeting in the northern province of Lang Son in late March.
The event, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, was attended by the ministry’s senior officials and leaders of provincial-level coordinating offices for the programme nationwide.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam said it aims to review achievements in 2014, and establish orientations for 2016-2020 of the National Target Programme on New Rural Development as well as to adjust criteria for new-style rural areas.
According to a report of the National Coordination Office, the progress can be seen in the improved people’s awareness, upgraded infrastructure and increased income of people in rural areas thanks to the introduction of various production models.
Despite having considerable achievements, there are still shortcomings in the movement implementation such as low ratio in obtaining basic criteria. Only 36.4 percent of the total communes nationwide met the criterion on poverty rate among households. The rate was 23.3 percent regarding the criterion on transportation, 17.9 percent in terms of cultural infrastructure and 26.8 percent in terms of environment.
The northern mountainous region lags behind others in fulfilling new style areas criteria, recording the lowest rates of completion for 12 out of the total 19 criteria.
The goal is to have all communes across the country build 6 crucial infrastructural works by 2020 including transportation, electricity and clean water supply systems, schools, medical stations, and cultural and sport facilities in order to improve people’s living condition.
Eighty percent of all the communes should meet the criteria on income and poverty rate by 2020, according to the programme.
The National Target Programme on New Rural Development, launched in 2010, sets 19 criteria for new-style rural areas, covering infrastructure, production, living standards, income and culture, among others.
Rice aid supplied to poor people in Dien Bien
The Prime Minister has requested the Ministry of Finance to provide 1,174 tonnes of rice aid for poor people in northern Dien Bien province who are suffering from food shortages in the between-crop period.
The provincial People’s Committee was asked to distribute the rice amount free of charge to eligible beneficiaries without delay.
Earlier this year, national stockpile supplied rice to provinces in need across the country.
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