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Japan-funded project helps mitigate Covid-19 impacts on Vietnam’s vulnerable groups

Japan-funded project helps mitigate Covid-19 impacts on Vietnam’s vulnerable groups

By Minh Tuan

Representative of UNFPA in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara and Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio address the launch ceremony of the project “Mitigate Covid-19 impacts on vulnerable populations in Vietnam” – PHOTO: COURTESY OF EMBASSY OF JAPAN

HCMC – The Government of Japan is providing more than US$2.8 million to support a project that helps Vietnam mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on vulnerable populations and ensure national progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

The project, which was jointly launched by the Embassy of Japan and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam early this week, will be executed from April 2021 to March 2022 in 14 cities and provinces nationwide—Thai Nguyen, Dien Bien, Lao Cai, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Danang, Quang Tri, Quang Nam, Daklak, An Giang, Can Tho, Vinh Long and HCMC.

It plans to intervene in four areas–gender-based violence, improvements to elderly care, sexual and reproductive healthcare and support for returning Vietnamese migrants.

Addressing the launch ceremony of the project, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio said, “The Covid-19 pandemic proved the importance of mutual understanding, sharing of resources and, above all, solidarity and cooperation between communities, societies and countries in tackling unprecedented challenges. This project is also a continuation of the good relationship between Vietnam and Japan.”

Although Vietnam has been more effective in dealing with Covid-19 than most countries, the social and economic consequences caused by the pandemic are of great concern, with vulnerable groups such as women and girls, the elderly and adolescents hit the hardest.

According to Naomi Kitahara, representative of UNFPA in Vietnam, vulnerable groups are facing more challenges amid Covid-19 as the pandemic has deepened existing inequalities and exposed social gaps.

For Vietnam to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 and ensure that all people are included in the country’s sustainable development process so that no one is left behind. She expected the project will represent a great leap forward for Vietnam in remaining committed to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.

The project will be co-implemented by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Home Affairs, UN agencies and other stakeholders.

Three service centers will be set up to protect victims of gender-based violence. The project will also organize 10 innovative campaigns on the prevention of gender-based violence amid Covid-19 and provide training on preventing and responding to gender-based violence for around 500 men and women.

In terms of elderly care, it is expected that 1,000 older people will enjoy high-quality healthcare and support services, while 58,000 others will be provided with remote health services.

Besides, 5,000 women of ethnic minority groups will benefit from a mobile application that offers information and consultation on sexual and reproductive healthcare, while 45 district-level public clinics will receive medical equipment to protect their health workers from Covid-19.

The project will also help 1,000 returning migrants complete training courses on soft skills and comprehensive gender education and provide 300 workers with counseling services on sexual and reproductive health, prevention of gender-based violence and future careers.

by e.vnexpress.net Leave a Comment

Habeco chairman blames low profit target on Covid-19

The brewery targets post-tax profits of VND255 billion ($11 million), down 64 percent from last year.

Its chairman Tran Dinh Thanh said a fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in January means tourism companies, hotels and restaurants continue to languish, directly causing a decrease in the sales of alcoholic beverages.

The company’s revenues in the first quarter of this year were down 39.6 percent from the previous quarter to VND1.1 trillion ($48.5 million).

Rising competition with many brewers introducing new products in the mid-priced market segment in which Habeco mainly operates is also a reason for falling sales, he said.

“If the pandemic is contained this year, the company will definitely surpass the profit target.”

It is striving to maintain its position as one of the biggest brewers in the northern and central regions, and working to expand its business in the south, he added.

Last year, beer consumption fell 22.6 percent because of Covid-19 impacts as well as the impact of a law increasing fines for driving under the influence.

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Don’t relax Covid-19 vigilance, WHO tells Vietnam

Vietnam needs to stay vigilant before the looming threat of new coronavirus outbreaks coming from beyond its border, even during an ongoing vaccination campaign, Kidong Park, the WHO representative in Vietnam, said Tuesday.

“The risk of case introduction to Vietnam including onward community transmission is high especially if cases among the illegal incoming travelers go undetected,” Park said.

Cambodia has been in the grip of a new wave since late February. Its caseload has crossed 11,700, after recording only around 400 cases the whole of last year.

The Lao government last Friday closed the country’s borders and announced a two-week lockdown in capital Vientiane. On Monday, the country recorded 113 new cases, its highest single-day tally. There were 93 new cases on Wednesday, taking the national infection toll to 604.

Thailand reported 2,012 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, the sixth straight day it recorded more than 2,000 daily cases, taking the total to 61,699 so far. Last year it had detected less than 7,000 cases.

Despite Vietnam’s successful record in the coronavirus fight, the recent surges in certain countries including India show that the crisis can worsen anytime and there’s still a “long way to go as a global community,” he said.

Officially, the number of cases in India surged by 362,902 in just 24 hours. As of Thursday, the country of 1.3 billion people has recorded mroe than 18.3 million infections and 204,812 Covid deaths, after 3,647 more died overnight.

Globally, 5.7 million cases and 88 000 deaths were reported to WHO last year.

“We are nearing 150 million cases of Covid-19 and 3.1 million deaths since the start of the pandemic. These are worrying trends as we continue to see the impact of variants, opening up of societies, and inequitable vaccine rollout,” Park said.

In Vietnam, the public needs to be kept informed of the risks and public health measures to be adhered to, even as a national Covid-19 vaccination program is being rolled out, he advised.

The government also needs to be alert and active in risk assessment, preparing for possible resurgence of cases by ramping up border surveillance and control, setting up field hospitals in areas close to the border and advising its citizens in other countries to avoid illegal entry, among other measures, he added.

Vietnam has not recorded any new community transmission in over a month, but officials have been warning that the threat of another Covid-19 outbreak is imminent, especially via illegal entrants. Residents have been asked to wear masks in public and avoid large gatherings.

Meanwhile, patrol teams have been deployed round the clock at the border in certain provinces like Kien Giang, An Giang and Dong Thap. Field hospitals are planned in Can Tho, a vital traffic intersection in the Mekong Delta; and extra Covid-19 vaccine doses have been provided to certain Mekong Delta provinces.

So far, over 425,000 people have been vaccinated with a Covid-19 vaccine made by British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca. Most of them are frontline workers in the coronavirus fight, including doctors, soldiers and police personnel.

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Sympathy offered to Laos over COVID-19 resurgence

Sympathy offered to Laos over COVID-19 resurgence hinh anh 1 A desert street in Luang Prabang, Laos, during the lockdown period (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc have sent a letter of sympathy to Lao Party General Secretary and State President Thongloun Sisoulith over the resurgence of COVID-19 and the loss caused by the pandemic in Laos.

In the letter, the Vietnamese leaders noted that the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing with complicated and unpredictable developments, causing profound impacts on every aspect of socio-economic life in all countries, including Vietnam and Laos. They stressed that the Vietnamese Party, State and people always closely follow the situation in Laos and sympathise with the difficulties that Laos is facing due to the pandemic.

“We appreciate the measures that the Lao Party and Government have been implementing to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic, and we believe that under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party headed by Comrade Thongloun Sisoulith and the drastic management of the Lao Government, as well as with the unity of the entire political system and the consensus and support of all Lao people, Laos will be able to stop and curb the spread of the pandemic in the shortest time possible,” the two leaders wrote in the letter.

They informed the Lao leader that Vietnam has implemented strong measures and mobilized the participation of the entire political system and all the people in order to timely stop the spread of COVID-19. “We continue to implement drastic measures to contain sources of infection and actively conduct vaccinations,” they said, adding that Vietnam has basically curb the spread of the pandemic, which is an important achievement hailed by both domestic and international community. This outcome reflects the strength of the national unity bloc and the superiority of the socialist regime, read the letter.

The Vietnamese leaders affirmed that Vietnam is always ready to cooperate, assist and share experience with Laos in the fight against the pandemic, so that both countries can early stabilize the situation and resume socio-economic development for a better life of their people./.

VNA

by vov.vn Leave a Comment

V.League 1 matches to be held behind closed doors due to COVID-19 fears

As the current situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is developing in a complicated manner across the country, actions are being taken with the aim of curbing the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus among the community, as announced on April 30 by Hanoi FC on their website.

This comes after it was announced that the game between hosts Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) FC and Binh Duong FC at the Pleiku stadium won’t take place in front of any spectators on May 2.

During the 12th round of matches in the V.League 1, all matches will kick off at 5 p.m. on May 2.

The tournament’s organisers have since updated the new schedule of the 13th round in line with the current national situation. Indeed, matches in the 13th round will now be played on May 7 instead of May 9.

So far the 2021 season of the V.League 1 has seen four matches played without supporters. Most notably, the third round of games was cancelled for more than one month due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, before resuming on March 13.

According to the Vietnam Football Federation’s (VFF) plan, following the 13th round of fixtures, the season will pause for footballers to represent the Vietnamese national men’s football team in the qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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Covid-19 hits 5 million laborers in Vietnam

The rate of laborers joining the workforce in the first quarter recorded a 10-year low with 75.4% of the working-age population, down 1.3 percentage points year-on-year.

In the year to mid-April, nearly five million workers in Vietnam have become unemployed or forced to take unpaid leave and 84.4% of enterprises were negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

A delivery man waits to deliver a customer’s food from a restaurant on Hanoi’s Com Vong Street. Photo: Pham Nga

Upon breaking down, 59% of the affected laborers have been put on furlough, 28% faced a reduction in working hours and 13% are now out of work, stated the GSO in a survey regarding the impacts of the pandemic to the labor market.

Meanwhile, the number of laborers affected in the January-March quarter was one million.

Data: GSO. Chart: Ngan Nguyen

Additionally, the rate of workers joining the workforce in the first quarter recorded a 10-year low with 75.4% of the population aged 15 and over, down 1.3 percentage points year-on-year.