The United Nations Tuesday signed an agreement with Vietnam to provide US$16.1 million to implement the second phase of a joint program on prevention and control of bird flu in the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnam’s non-governmental organisations (VNGO) group has made significant contributions to implementing the millennium development goals (MDGs), including hunger and poverty reduction, gender equality, sustainable environment, education, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS control.

The infertility department of the Tu Du Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City has reported success in impregnating a woman with the In Vitro Maturation of oocytes (IVM) procedure.

The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) will begin, on Oct. 16, a week-long appeal to inform families about nutrition, in the hopes of further reducing malnutrition.

Researchers, activists and major funders have agreed to a shift in the fight against AIDS to focus on prevention and especially helping women protect themselves.

An additional 2.3 million people in the Red river delta will gain access to clean water thanks to a World Bank project launched in Ha Noi on Aug. 10.

Da Nang authorities have approved a 181,000 USD project to improve the health care of mothers and newborn babies, especially those living in remote and isolated areas.

A project to strengthen the management ability of productive health for the community was signed by the Chief of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Viet Nam, Mr Fumio Kikuchi, and the Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People’s Committee Hoang Ky.

Their husbands all infected them with the deadly virus, but they haven’t given up. Life has shown them a new direction: taking care of other HIV/AIDS patients.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has agreed to donate Vietnam contraceptive devices and drugs worth US$1.1 million in the 2006-07 period.

A first training center and dormitory for village midwives was open on May 19 in Tu Du Ob-Gyn hospital, Ho Chi Minh City.

From April 21-23, a training workshop on sexuality and sexual health was held at the VWU head office for staff.

Nearly 60 children of under 15 years old in Vat Lai Commune, Ba Vi District, northern Ha Tay Province have symptoms of delta myasthenia like children in Nghi Xuan, central Ha Tinh Province. Haft of them are students of the Vat Lai Secondary School.

The national extended vaccination programme will get VND117bil (US$7.3mil) from the State and US$4mil in foreign aid, enough for 2006, said representative, Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Vietnam is the best example in implementing the anti-tuberculosis program.

All children at the Tan Binh Charity House (Ho Chi Minh City) have had bad luck since their births. They were infected with HIV from their parents and most of them were abandoned, then later adopted by the House staff when many orphanages in the region found them in the maternity hospitals.

The family of LeThi Theu, a Co Tu ethnic woman, in Par Nghi II village, A Ngo commune, A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue province has had nine members volunteering to give their blood in the past years.

An ongoing community health care project organised by Johnson & Johnson Co. has offered two new programmes in Ha Noi.

On the occasion of the 51 anniversary of the Vietnam Day for Medical Doctors (27 Feb. 1955 – 27 Feb. 2006), the People’s Committee and the Health Department of Lam Dong province, at the decision by the Chairman of the State, organized a ceremony on 25 Feb.

The Viet Nam Red Cross has recently launched a project on "Supporting Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims in the Central Highlands and southern Tay Ninh province" for the 2006-2010 period.

Marta Santos Pais, Director of the Innocenti Research Centre of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has praised Vietnam's achievements in caring for and protecting children over the years.

Vietnamese now have an average lifespan of 71.3 years as compared to the target of 71 years set for 2010, said the Health Ministry on Jan. 2.

Repercussion of Agent Orange’ is the name of an exhibition of panel posters opened on December 16 in Hanoi.

Mr. Jesper Morch, Chief Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said Vietnam set a bright example for the world on commitments to children

Following was what they said prior to their trip.

A delegation of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange, a toxic defoliant sprayed by US forces during the Vietnam War, will visit the US to seek support for their coming lawsuit against US chemical companies.

Nguyen Thi My Linh has become a new Asian bodybuilding champion in Andong City, the Republic of Korea. However, few people know that she used to be a taekwondo artist. Thanh Ba from Ho Chi Minh City Sports newspaper writes.

Viet Nam’s Ministry of Health has partnered with Save the Children USA to launch a nationwide initiative to improve the health of mothers and newborn children

The Party and the State have always created the best conditions possible for Vietnamese children, ịncluding the handicapped, to help them integrate into the community and contribute to the country, said Vice State President Trương Mỹ Hoa.