Social development
Striking a balance between conservation and development at the heart of Mekong struggle
Depending on who you speak to, there are naturally differing perspectives in regard to the future of the Mekong River, as most people living along the river look for a sustainable future through conservation of the existing ecosystem, while governments seek balanced resource usage and benefit-sharing ...
Healthcare budget hit
The growing elderly population is putting pressure on the universal healthcare scheme, forcing officials to seek fresh funding. The National Health Security Office, which operates the scheme, has submitted a Bt164-billion budget request for the next fiscal year but ended up getting just Bt151 billion. “We ...
Bird flu hits poultry markets in major Chinese city: Media
Authorities in China’s third-largest city warned that about 30 percent of its live poultry markets were contaminated with the H7N9 avian flu virus, as an eastern province ordered markets to shut, state media reported on February 11. East China’s Zhejiang province has ordered all markets ...
Party chief urges socio-economic think tank to uphold high quality
General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng on February 11 asked the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission to improve its operations by coming up with high-quality, strategic projects and conducting objective and persuasive appraisals. In a post-new year meeting with the commission, Trọng demanded that the commission, a ...
Hand, foot, mouth disease alert
The Health Ministry’s Communicable Disease Control department has urged people to be cautious of the spread of hand, food and mouth disease and asked that infants or children displaying symptoms be brought to seek medical treatment immediately. Ministry spokesperson and director of the CDC Ly Sovann ...
DPM offers measures for Xekong to pursue robust growth
Xekong provincial authorities were told to translate the government’s measures, outlined to boost 2017 socio-economic development, into the province’s planning and projects to drive local growth and improve people’s livelihoods. Deputy Prime Minister Dr Sonexay Siphandone, during his working trip to the province last week, ...
Vietnam to provide new hospitals for Huaphan, Xieng Khuang
Huaphan and Xieng Khuang provinces will soon have much-needed modern hospitals funded by the Vietnamese government. Deputy Director of the Planning and Investment Department in Huaphan province, Mr Mayleuy Phimmasone, told Vientiane Times the Vietnamese government had agreed to grant an estimated US$24 million to ...
200,000 unemployed university grads still at acceptable level: educators
The number of university graduates who are jobless must not discourage students from pursuing higher education, Nguyen Thi Kim Phung, director of the University Education Department, has said. Phung said Vietnam has 90 million people and 60 million workers. A report from MOLISA said that ...
Young Cambodian entrepreneur launches Phnom Penh’s first female motor-scooter tour agency
In Cambodia’s capital, motorbike taxis are everywhere – but it’s extremely rare to see women drivers transporting tourists. Those who do are judged harshly. Katya Cengel meets the young entrepreneur trying to change that. When they show up at a Phnom Penh hotel in their ...
Medics assess developments in internal medicine
Development partners along with the line Health Departments of each province under the Ministry of Health met on February 9 in Vientiane to discuss the provision of better healthcare in the field of internal medicine. The 14th Lao Internal Medicine Conference was chaired by the President ...