Netherlands Helps Improve Capacity for Vietnamese Medical Workers

The 14 million Euro programme, which will continue until 2010, aims to improve the health of the Vietnamese people through strengthening the capacity of medical workers as well as training institutions nationwide.

A five-year programme to improve the capacity of Vietnamese medical workers with the aid from the Netherlands Government was kicked off by the Health Ministry of Viet Nam and the Netherlands Embassy in Ha Noi on March 17. It targets eight medical universities, the School of Public Health and 12 medical colleges and secondary medical schools. The programme will also help strengthen the role of the Department of Science and Training of the Health Ministry in planning and monitoring all programmes relating to training of medical workers.

Russia Grants Additional Scholarships for Vietnamese Students

The new programme covers a large range of studies in Russia, including for under-graduate and post graduate study, including military training, and Russian language courses for both students and teachers.

The Russian Government has decided to grant 285 more scholarships to Vietnamese students for the 2007-08 academic year, said the Ministry of Education and Training. This number is in addition to the current 75 annual scholarships agreed upon in an act of cooperation made between the two countries.

US Media Urges Government to Help Viet Nam Deal with Dioxin

The Time, a prestigious US magazine, in its Mar. 12 edition carried an article, written by Walter Isaacson, Director of the Aspen Institute, urging the US Government to help Viet Nam detoxify Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin-contaminated areas. The US should immediately assist Viet Nam to detoxify the areas contaminated by the defoliant sprayed by the US military during the US-led war in the country because the US caused the contamination, the article said, stressing that health issues resulting from the contamination should be dealt with as a humanitarian issue rather than a compensational issue. The magazine suggested that rehabilitation centres, clinics and health consultancy centres be established from Viet Nams northern province of Thai Binh to its central province of Quang Ngai to provide medical treatment and check-ups services for AO-affected children.

In a responsible and moral spirit, the US Governments aid programmes and private humanitarian organisations should resolve the last vestiges of the Viet Nam war, the magazine said.

During last Novembers visit to Viet Nam by US President George W. Bush, a
joint statement issued at the end of a meeting between the two countries leaders cautiously referred to the need to resolve the environmental pollution problem around the AO-contaminated areas and the need of humanitarian aid for the Vietnamese disabled people, the magazine noted. If the US Congress and Defence Department choose to get with this programme, they could go a long way toward resolving this crucial issue by the time Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet visits Washington in June, the article stressed, adding that only then, would the US be able to close the last chapter of the Viet Nam war.

Korea Agent Orange-Affected Veterans Open Office in Hanoi

The Agent Orange-Connected Disabled Veterans of Vietnam War of Korea opened an office in Hanoi Saturday.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Seo Cheol Jae, head of the Vietnamese chapter of the association, said the establishment of the office aimed to promote cooperation between and assistance for dioxin victims in the two countries.

He also pledged active support for Vietnamese victims, especially in their lawsuit against US chemical companies. With the war over and Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) developing friendly relations, RoK war veterans and millions of Vietnamese people, both of them AO victims, were cross-border companions sharing the pain. The RoK had won the struggle for justice with lawsuits against US chemical companies and its veterans would actively help Vietnamese victims with their lawsuit. Dang Xuan Dien, vice president of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA), said assistance from RoK veterans would enable the Vietnamese lawsuit to get support from all progressive people. The Korean organization has been organizing many activities to support Vietnamese dioxin victims since the establishment of VAVA in 2004. VAVA now has more than 350 members, mainly living in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Developing New Legislation to Govern Vietnamese NGOs

By Karla W. Simon*

At present, there are few NGOs in Viet Nam, in part because the legal and policy framework for their existence is dated and extremely limited. With few exceptions, at all levels of government from the central down to the district, village and commune, only government entities are available to respond to social and economic needs. These include both most ministries and mass organizations such as the Fatherland Front, Youth Union, Woman’s Union, and Veterans Union. These have millions of members and meets a broad range of social and economic needs. The mass organizations are state-managed, staffed and controlled.

The basic legal regime for Vietnamese NGOs (VNGOs) can be found in several laws and regulations. Initially, associations were authorized under the 1957 Law on the Right to Establish Associations. The 1992 Constitution provides for VNGOs by guaranteeing citizens rights to become involved in organizations that benefit society and recognizes international organizations. The Civil Code of Vietnam, adopted in 1996, provides a more detailed system for dealing with domestic VNGOs. Under the Civil Code, a domestic NGO can be legally formed in Vietnam if:

“It is authorized by a competent State authority; has an organizational structure; independently owns and is liable for property; and, independently enters into legal relations in its own name”.

The Civil Code recognizes the following types of not-for-profit legal persons: social and socio-professional organizations, social and charitable funds and other organizations, as provided by law. Requirements for the contents of a VNGO charter are also found in the Civil Code. Given its explicit language, the Civil Code of Vietnam seems to be the leading authority for the right to establish VNGOs and may have superseded the previous law on associations.

Operating under this legal and policy framework there are about 30 officially recognized NGOs that are affiliated with either a government ministry or mass organization. They seem to operate with some degree of autonomy from the government and have been formally sanctioned by the Government. Most are centered around Hanoi. Examples include the Highland Education Development Organization (HEDO), Toward Ethnic Women (TEW), Education For Nature (ENV) and Vietnam Save Association for Disabled Children.

There are three types of such organizations:

• Those that have their origin in mass organizations or other state bodies;
• Groups of researchers that are university or hospital based; and
• Small organizations that work through private operations to meet local needs. TEW, noted above, is one such organization. It has a handful of employees and operates a not for profit handicraft store in Hanoi. It helps to promote village-level, ecologically sound farming projects. The TEW director is a government employee.

It should be noted that for the past few years an inter-ministerial committee in Viet Nam has been drafting a new NGO law. They have produced a number drafts. It appears that the work of this committee has been frustrated by political opposition to the enactment of an NGO law. However, it now appears that Viet Nam is fully committed to enact such legislation and in fact has committed itself to do so in the context of joining the World Trade Organization.

In October 2001, the Government of Viet Nam formally requested the assistance of Vietnam Assistance for the Handicapped (VNAH) and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) in organizing a two and a half day workshop to examine the current status of NGO law in Viet Nam, in other nations and other related issues. The workshop took place in December in Hanoi and served to help identify next steps needed to enact legislation favorable to the development of strong and effective NGOs in Viet Nam. Participants included two international experts from ICNL – Dr. Leon Irish and Prof. Karla Simon, ICNL’s co-founders, local representatives from INGOs and those in the Government of Viet Nam with responsibility for and interest in the development of a local NGO movement. Funding for the Workshop was provided by USAID.

The Workshop attendees demonstrated a keen interest in the subject and seem to be genuinely committed to helping to put into place a new Vietnamese NGO law. Topics discussed included identifying a series of next steps and the timetable needed to enact a national NGO law. The discussion also mentioned likely roadblocks to enactment and means to address these hurdles.

*Karla W. Simon is Co-Founder (with Leon Irish) of ICNL and General Editor of the International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law (IJNL). She is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Center for International Social Development at the Catholic University of America and can be reached at simon@law.edu.

City charity donates fixes for faulty hearts

A charity programme to provide free heart surgery to low-income patients from seven southern and Central Highlands provinces was launched last month by the HCM City Association of Sponsors for Poor Patients and the Medical-Pharmacy University Hospital.

The programme aims to help about 1,000 young patients 7-17 years old from the provinces of Gia Lai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, An Giang, Binh Phuoc, Ca Mau and Tra Vinh.

Hospital deputy director Nguyen Hoang Bac said many of these patients, from poor families which cannot afford to pay for surgeries, would die if not operated upon in a timely manner. The association will work through eight hospitals in HCM City during 2007-08.

Viet kieu named to head foundation

VietnamNews — Dr Vo Van Toi, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Tufts University, has been appointed excutive director of the Viet Nam Education Foundation (VEF).

At Tufts University Toi created the biomedical engineering programme and helped establish the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Earlier he served as a post-doctoral fellow at the Biomedical Engineering Centre in the Division of Health Sciences and Technology – a combined programme of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also helped create and was vice-director of the Eye Research Institute in Sion, Switzerland.

Toi has dedicated his expertise to helping Viet Nam by co-founding the Vietnamese North American University Professor network.

He also created the Biomedical Engineering Consortium of Viet Nam-International Universities and the Vietnamese Association of Biomedical Engineering, and initiated a virtual Biomedical Engineering Department of Viet Nam within Tufts’ Biomedical Engineering Department.

"Toi is an outstanding professor in biomedical engineering and is dedicated to the development of science and technology as well as higher education in Viet Nam," said chairman of VEF’s Board of Directors, Malcolm Gillis.

"With an excellent understanding of both American and Vietnamese cultures and their respective languages, he is an exceptionally able leader of VEF to advance its mission of building Viet Nam’s capacity in science and technology through educational exchange, and thus strengthening the relationship between the US and Viet Nam."

VEF is a special initiative by the US Congress to bring the US and Viet Nam closer through educational exchanges related to science and technology.

The Foundation is in its fourth year of operations and incorporates assistance from the US National Academies in developing and executing VEF programmes.

As its flagship activity, the VEF Fellowship programme has placed nearly 200 fellows at more than 50 top US graduate institutions, mostly for doctoral degrees.

VEF fellows are required to return to Viet Nam after completing their academic programmes in the US.

VEF is governed by the board of directors whose 13 members include three US cabinet members – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, and Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson. Toi, who was serving on the board as a presidential appointee since 2004, said: "I will dedicate my efforts to furthering the already proven success of VEF and will work closely with the scientific, educational, and government communities of both the US and Viet Nam to achieve our mutual goals."

Tourism for poverty alleviation

VietnamNews - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophonie’s Asia-Pacific Region approved resolutions on developing the tourism industry for poverty elimination and environmental protection for sustainable development at a three-day session that closed in Siem Riep Province, Cambodia, on Wednesday.

The Vietnamese delegation, led by Nguyen Ngoc Tran, vice chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations and president of the APF Viet Nam, presented the country’s point of view regarding strengthening tourism development and environmental protection in collaboration with other regional countries.

The delegation also mentioned specific resolutions to improve living standards and sustainable development.

The meeting also drew the participation of representatives of APF sub-committees from Cambodia, Laos and Vanuatu. Representatives from European and American regions, France and the APF General Secretariat also attended the meeting.

PM OK’s fund to support fisheries

VietnamNews -Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a new fund to aggressively promote the preservation and continued sustainable development of the fisheries sector.

The fund entitled, Viet Nam Fund for Aquatic Resources Reproduction (VIFARR), will receive financial resources from the State to disburse to programmes related to the preservation and reproduction of aquatic resources.

As a State financial fund under the direct management of Ministry of Fisheries, it will operate in accordance with the standards and requirements defined by the Ministry of Finance.

The Fund will also provide financial support for organisations or individuals to shift from coastal fishing to off-shore fishing activities and displaced residents of marine preservation areas. Other activities including projects to apply new technology in fisheries farming or new and improved fishing methods will also qualify for the Fund’s support.

The establishment of the fund is part of a larger plan to develop the sector with a view to long term growth, where an export turnover target of US$4.5 billion has been set for the year 2010. The fisheries sector has set a target of receiving US$3.6 billion from seafood and marine exports this year, an increase of $0.3 billion over last year.

First Graders to Get Free Vaccine

Children in the first grade will receive a second inoculation against measles free of charge as part of a drive to eliminate measles by 2010.

Children in the first grade will receive a second inoculation against measles free of
charge as part of a drive to eliminate measles by 2010, according to the director of the Expanded National Inoculation Programme, Associate Professor Do Sy Hien.

Many parents, however, don’t know about the availability of the free vaccination, said Hien.
Despite past efforts, the country still reported nearly 2,000 cases of measles last year, 2.5 times more than national targets.

Measles epidemics broke out in the three provinces of Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Thai Nguyen in the early months of last year, afflicting different age groups and not merely among children.
Hien was optimistic, however, that Viet Nam could meet the target of eliminating measles by 2010 if the vaccination programme was implemented well and early.

Overall, he noted, the rate of measles infection in the population has declined markedly in recent years.

Hien said the programme would provide inoculation against measles for students as soon as they start school as first-grade students. The State budget has provided funds for the programme.

The Ministry of Health and other offices were also mobilising several international organisations to provide funding for the programme, Hien said, and help a significant number of children in mountainous regions receive vaccinations against measles.

Hien also revealed that the Preventive Health Department was working with the programme to draft a regulation on safe inoculations. They hope to inform both health workers and parents about the inoculation process, empowering parents to take part in supervising the process.

Over 7 million Children with Mental Health Problems

About 7mil children in Vietnam show signs of mental health problems such as lack of motivation to study, disobedience and truancy, said reports delivered at a seminar on social assistance to children with psychological problems in Hanoi on March 2.

Reports at the seminar, jointly held by the National Committee for Population, Family and Children and the Vietnam-UNICEF cooperation project, warned of the increasing number of children suffering anxiety, stress, psychological trauma and depression.

More and more kids suffered autism, depression and nervous breakdowns due to conflicts in schools and at home, reports said.

Disadvantaged children, including those infected with HIV/AIDS, street children, drug addicts children and victims of sexually abuse, were particularly vulnerable to psychological traumas and long-term mental illness, the reports said.