The fund for Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVAF) debuted in Hanoi on November 20 to mobilize all social resources inside and outside Vietnam for taking care of and alleviating pain and suffering of the victims.

As many as 80,000 Catholics will attend the inauguration ceremony of the Jubilee Year 2010 in Ha Nam province, about 70km south of Hanoi, on November 23, says Nguyen Thanh Xuan, deputy head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs.

Priority policies targeting teachers in mountainous areas will be put into action in 2010 with a focus on Project 61, to support 62 poor districts throughout the country, thus improving teachers’ living standards.

Construction of the SOS Children’s Village  began in Quy Nhon city, central province of Binh Dinh on November 18.  

A senior financial expert from the World Bank (WB) has praised Vietnam for its progress in ensuring gender equality and said that the country should improve its statistics on gender to implement the Law on Gender Equality more effectively. 

International and domestic health experts have gathered for a two-day conference in Hanoi to discuss practical ways of improving healthcare services for elderly citizens at an affordable cost. 

Construction of the Lao National Music and Arts School in Vientiane Works started on November 18, with non-refundable aid from the Vietnamese Government.

Former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn on November 18 visited Dong Xa vilage, Binh Giang district, in the northern province of Hai Duong to attend the launch of a project to build 32 houses for poor households.  

The Consulate General of Japan in HCM City signed an agreement with the Vietnam Association of Midwives on November 18 to fund the US$97,000 project on improving health care for poor women in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.  

Both bird flu and blue ear pig disease are almost under control nationwide, however, foot-and-mouth disease continues to spread and develop new strains in northern mountainous areas and the central and central highland region, said Hoang Van Nam, deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Prevention and Control on November 17.

The Ministry of Education and Training is awaiting approval from the State President on a World Bank preferential loan of 85.4 million SDR (IMF’s monetary unit), roughly US$127 million, for a project to improve education quality.

The Run for Children 2009, formerly known as the “Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research”, will take place around Hanoi’s Thien Quang Lake, starting at 7.45am on November 22.

Vietnamese Vice Minister of Health, Dr. Trinh Quan Huan on November 17 attended a meeting of the Management Board of the Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (GAVI).  

Chinese doctors from Tongren hospital in Beijing have successfully operated on nearly 100 cataract patients in northern Bac Giang province from November 14-16.

The social and environmental impact of pangasius farming should be taken into account to develop a sustainable model for the Mekong Delta. 

There is a growing tendency to build nha vuon or garden houses in central Hue city.

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) has received more than US$7 million in foreign and domestic donation to support Ketsana and Mirinae storm victims in the Central and Central Highland regions.

After attending the cultural exchange entitled “Meet Vietnam 2009” in the US, the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong visited doctor Bui Duy Tam, a Vietnamese resident in San Francisco.

Representatives from the Ministry of Health, the National Assembly’s Committee for Social Affairs, the International Elderly Association, and the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) attended a seminar in Hanoi on November 16 to discuss health care for the elderly in Vietnam.

The Saigontourist travel services on November 16 received over 2,000 visitors from the Costa Classica cruise ship docking at Navioil port in Ho Chi Minh City.  

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment has launched a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) worth VND12 billion in the central province of Quang Nam. 

A cultural exchange called “Meet Vietnam 2009” was officially held on November 16 in San Francisco, California, the largest of its kind in the US so far.

About 10,000 people and foreign tourists took part in the 5th walk in Ho Chi Minh City for the poor on November 15.

Overconsumption of alcoholic beverages among Vietnamese, especially young ones, is posing a threat to society and the national economy. As much as 4.4 percent of the population is faced with health problems caused by drinking, according to statistics released by the Institute for Medical Policy Strategies.

With five million sufferers, Vietnam is one of the countries which have the highest rates of diabetes in the world, according to the national endocrinological hospital.

Nguyen Thi Thu Uyen from the Hanoi Law College will represent Vietnam in the Global Youth Summit to take place in the UK from November 15-22.

Ho Chi Minh City will be one of major cities in the world to suffer most from the impact of climate change, announced by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) at the 1st Mekong Delta Climate Change Forum held in Can Tho City on November 12-13.

The government of Thailand on November 13 donated US$50,000 to the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) to help victims of storms Ketsana and Mirinae in Vietnam’s central and central highland provinces.

The Agriculture and Rural Trade Promotion Fair 2009 for Vietnam’s Southern provinces entitled “Agriculture – Farmer – Rural areas” opened at Go Dau stadium in Binh Duong province on November 13.  

A leading Free and Open Source Software event, the GNOME Asia Summit, will be held in HCM City’s Quang Trung software Park from November 20-22.