The People’s Committee of the southern-tip province of Ca Mau on March 21 officially reported a bird flu outbreak in Hiep Tung Village, Nam Can District.
The outbreak was discovered on March 16 when 30 birds in a farmer family’s 90-strong white-winged duck flock were killed.
The local veterinary service had taken immediate action, culling the entire epidemic-hit poultry flock and disinfecting the surrounding environment.
This has brought the total number of bird flu-hit provinces and cities to eight so far, including Hanoi and the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang and Lao Cai, the central provinces of Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Quang Nam and the northern provinces of Soc Trang and Ca Mau.
Ho Chi Minh City will mobilise 1.45-1.55 trillion VND for hunger alleviation and poverty reduction programme in 2008, the city Steering Committee for Hunger Eradication and Employment announced on March 20.
The city plans to spend between 1.2 - 1.3 trillion VND of the amount on providing loans for disadvantaged households, aiming to help at least 10,000 households escape from poverty.
The fund for hunger alleviation and poverty reduction also expects to offer jobs to 11,500 people, provide vocational training for 5,000 disadvantaged workers and spend 34.8 billion VND on granting 267,734 health insurance cards for the poor and elderly people.
The German Government has donated medical facilities worth over 2 billion VND (125,000 USD) to northern Thai Binh Province.
The donation was under a HIV/AIDS/STI project financed by the German Government through the German Development Bank (KfW).
The project will further equip medical facilities for 20 medical establishments in the province from now to the end of the year with an aim of strengthening their capacity in the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Staff from the Veterinary Department of the Mekong delta province of Vinh Long have undergone training to control and prevent the highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The Japanese-funded project was carried out by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Vinh Long Province from October 2006 to March 2008.
The 1.2-billion-VND project ran 13 courses that gave staff updated information on bird flu, epidemiology, sanitation and how to deal with new bird-flu hotspots.
It also provided the province with necessary medical facilities as well as information on how to control and prevent bird flu and how to deal with dead and infected chickens.
Central Binh Thuan Province will create all-favourable conditions for Japanese investors, a senior provincial official said.
Speaking at a seminar on investment, trade and tourism in Japan on March 21, Binh Thuan provincial Party Committee Secretary Huynh Van Ty said he hoped Japanese enterprises will invest in tourism and service sectors through building ecotourism areas, multi-functional entertainment and trade centres, and luxury restaurants and hotels in the province.
Regarding the industrial sector, Japanese investors were advised to get involved in hi-tech industries such as IT, telecommunication, clean energy, auto manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, construction materials and households utensils.
At the seminar, several Japanese businesses showed their attention to Japanese and English language training in Binh Thuan and opportunities to invest in gas and electricity projects.
They said they also care about investment incentives for Japan’s small- and medium-sized enterprises who want to invest in the province.
The seminar was jointly held by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Binh Thuan provincial People’s Committee and the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (Source: VNA) | 
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