The patient (in wheelchair) has been discharged from the hospital and safely returned to the US.

A US citizen who suffered a fatal brain injury after a traffic accident has miraculously recovered and returned to his home country thanks to the efforts from Vietnamese doctors and concerned authorities.

After four months of intensive treatment at the Hanoi-based Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, M.J.J, 33, has recovered following his accident and was reunited with his family in the US.

Earlier, on April 20, the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) received the patient who was suffering from severe traumatic brain injury and had to rely on a ventilator to maintain his life after the traffic accident.

On the CT scan, doctors found that the American had a hematoma under the right hemisphere. He was urgently completed all the necessary tests to have an emergency surgery within the day he was hospitalised at Viet Duc Hospital. Neurosurgery specialists performed surgery to open his skull and remove the hematoma to release the patient's brain.

Dr. Bui Huy Manh, who directly operated the surgery, said an acute subdural hematoma often presents headache, vomiting, nausea, stiff neck, epilepsy, convulsion and coma. If it is left untreated, it can damage the nervous system and lead to death. Most of the dangerous traumatic brain injuries caused by accidents, especially traffic accidents, if not handled in time, can affect the patient's life or cause life-long sequelae.

After the surgery, the patient was transferred to the ICU with a 38C fever receiving mechanical ventilation. 22 days later, thanks to intensive care at the department, the patient was removed from ventilator support and vasopressor. With a stable health status, he was released from the ICU to continue treatment in a normal hospital room.

On June 25, M.J.J was re-examined with good healing surgery scar. His skull CT scan showed an image of a cranial bone defect. The patient was consulted by specialists on cranial neurosurgery and prepared for a second surgery under the autologous cranial bone graft method.

The following day, right after the second surgery, the patient was awake and could communicate with stable survival indicators. Post-operative examination one week later showed that his wound healed well, the brain was in a stable condition and the grafted skull bone was good.
M.J.J was hospitalised in April 2020 when COVID-19 laid negative impact in Hanoi and the whole country. The patient did not have a relative to take care of him and could not communicate. His visa expired on April 26 and Viet Duc Hospital had to send a notice to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the US Embassy in Vietnam to contact his family members in the US and to seek maximum support for him.

The hospital’s International Cooperation Department, in close coordination with the US Embassy, actively assisted the patient in foreign affairs, as well as serving as a bridge between his family and the hospital to exchange timely and accurate information between the two sides.

In addition to supporting the foreign patient, the department has helped his family overcome language barriers to motivate them during the treatment for the patient in Hanoi. The hospital also repeatedly conducted consultations under the direction of the hospital director to come up with the best care options.

Thanks to the relentless efforts from medical staff at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital and his friends in Vietnam, M.J.J was discharged late August and allowed to return home. A support team led by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duc Chinh – the head of the hospital’s International Cooperation Department, and his colleagues accompanied the patient to the airport to return him home in a stable health condition.
As soon as he arrived San Francisco, USA, his family was happy to report to the hospital that the patient was in a stable condition and would soon receive rehabilitation treatment in his homeland. They once again conveyed their sincere thanks to Viet Duc Hospital.

With a sense of responsibility and high level of expertise, doctors at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital saved the patient’s life, while dedicating themselves to care and support him in the best conditions during his treatment at the hospital.

Prof., Dr. Tran Binh Giang, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, said that his hospital is striving to remove all "bottlenecks" in order to develop it into an international-class treatment facility, thus attracting overseas Vietnamese returning home for treatment as well as encouraging foreign patients to choose to stay in Vietnam for medical treatment.

Vietnamese street vendors

Labourers from the informal sector who have been seriously affected by COVID-19 pandemic will benefit from the second support package proposed by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

According to the ministry, the package targets business households and small companies to help them recover, maintain and develop their business and production, thus improving income for labourers.

The MoLISA said labourers from the informal sector are a vulnerable group that face high risks but have access to few support policies.

Statistics in 2018 showed that 19.3 million people worked in the informal sector, accounting for 35.6 percent of the total employed labourers in the country. Their average income was 4.8 million VND (nearly 208 USD) per month, equivalent to only two thirds of those in the formal sector.

So far, a number of policies have been designed to support the group, including vocational training for rural labourers, employment consultations services, voluntary social insurance, and those related to labour safety and hygiene./.

The new schoolyear ceremony at a school in Hanoi

Nearly 23 million students nationwide celebrated the official start of the 2020-2021 school-year on September 5 morning.

Due to the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, most schools held a solemn but short ceremony with the direct attendance of only a limited number of students in line with epidemic prevention measures. Other students followed the ceremony in their classrooms.

Schools in areas under social distancing held online ceremonies to ensure health and safety for students.

In the central city of Da Nang, which was the hardest affected by the latest outbreak of coronavirus, local students celebrated the start of the school-year with a virtual programme broadcast on Da Nang TV at the same time with ceremonies in other localities.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong sent a letter to teachers, educational workers, and students across the country on the occasion.

He praised the efforts of the education sector to weather the COVID-19 storm, saying that despite the pandemic severely disrupting classes and educational activities during the last school year, the sector actively and promptly took concerted action to effectively prevent the spread of the coronavirus in schools while completing academic plans.

Schools also made use of the occasion to guide students in measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

According to projects of the Ministry of Education and Training, in the 2020-2021 schooyear, there will be more than 5.38 million children attending kindergartens, 8.7 million students at elementary schools, over 6 million at lower junior high schools and over 2.8 million at senior high schools in the country./.  

President Donald Trump directed the Office of Management and Budget to end anti-racism trainings Friday. He later tweeted that such programs are a “sickness” that must be eradicated. He’s shown here during a news conference at the White House on Sept. 4

Trump calls it ‘divisive, un-American propaganda’
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered government agencies to end anti-racism training sessions for federal employees on the grounds they amount to “divisive, un-American propaganda”.

The order comes as Mr. Trump works to appeal to his white, blue-collar base while fighting an uphill battle for re-election amid a fraught national reckoning over racial injustice in policing and other walks of life.

In a memorandum, the White House Office of Management and Budget cited unspecified reports that “employees across the Executive Branch have been required to attend trainings where they are told that 'virtually all White people contribute to racism' or where they are required to say that they 'benefit from racism.'”

It added: “According to press reports, in some cases these trainings have further claimed that there is racism embedded in the belief that America is the land of opportunity or the belief that the most qualified person should receive a job.”
“The President has directed me to ensure that Federal agencies cease and desist from using taxpayer dollars to fund these divisive, un-American propaganda training sessions,” wrote the office's director, Russell Vought.

He directed agencies to “identify all contracts or other agency spending related to any training on 'critical race theory,' 'white privilege,' or any other training or propaganda effort that teaches or suggests either (1) that the United States is an inherently racist or evil country or (2) that any race or ethnicity is inherently racist or evil.”

“The divisive, false, and demeaning propaganda of the critical race theory movement is contrary to all we stand for as Americans and should have no place in the Federal government,” the memo added.

Mr. Trump doubled down on Saturday morning, firing off more than 20 tweets and retweets on the subject -- including one calling critical race theory the “greatest threat to western civilization.”

“Not any more!” Mr. Trump wrote.

Protests in major U.S. cities erupted after the death of African American George Floyd in May at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, and flared up again last month after another black man, Jacob Blake, was shot in the back by a white policeman in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Mr. Trump — who is pressing a tough law and order line in the run-up to November's elections — has blasted such demonstrators as violent anarchists.

This week, the U.S. President visited Kenosha, but did not meet with the family of Mr. Blake, who has been left paralysed , instead meeting with law enforcement officials.

 Viet Nam has attached importance to, fully and seriously joined the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism from the first cycle in 2009 with the consistent policy of protecting and promoting human rights.

An information workshop on the national master plan for the implementation of the third circle UPR’s recommendations accepted by Viet Nam, Ha Noi, September 4, 2020.

Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung made that statement on September 4 at an information workshop on the national master plan for the implementation of the third circle UPR’s recommendations accepted by Viet Nam.

Trung asserted that the implementation of UPR recommendations has brought about effects in Viet Nam, including completing legal regulations on human rights, ensuring social welfare and improving people’s lives.

The nation’s experience in effectively joining the UPR mechanism were also appreciated by the international community, especially the issuance of comprehensive plans to follow recommendations throughout cycles, he added.

He mentioned new challenges to the guarantee of human rights and the implementation of UPR recommendations, including the COVID-19 pandemic

UNDP Resident Representative in Viet Nam Caitlin Wiesen acknowledged and spoke highly of Viet Nam’s commitments and efforts in joining the UPR mechanism, proposing integrating contents on sustainable development, protection of vulnerable groups and public involvement in the work.

The UPR, a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council (HRC), is aimed at improving the human rights situation on the ground of each of the 193 United Nations (UN) Member States. Under this mechanism, the human rights situation of all UN Member States is reviewed every 5 years.

During the third cycle, Viet Nam received 291 recommendations from 122 countries and accepted 241 of them.

 Five years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda we are far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the recently launched SOFI Report (The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020), we are not on track to eradicate poverty, hunger and malnutrition. On the contrary, with the current trends, the global number of undernourished people in 2030 would exceed 840 million. Moreover, WHO has reported alarming rates of overweight and obesity, globally affecting 39% and 13% of the adult population, respectively.

What are the reasons?

The SOFI Report identifies conflicts and climate-related shocks as main causes, adding that even in peaceful settings, food security has worsened, due to increased inequalities and economic slowdowns affecting access to food for the poor. Unhealthy diets contribute to increasing rates of overweight and obesity, creating serious social, health problems, triggering heavy burden on public health expenditures.

Our broken food systems have negative impacts on the environment as well, leading to biodiversity loss, soil degradation, increased GHG emissions, etc. Food losses and waste, as preventable consequences of unsustainable food systems, are also contributing to food insecurity.

This year's SOFI Report makes a clear reference to some of the externalities, the so-called "hidden" costs of our food systems. It quantifies the increased medical costs: Diet-related "health costs are projected to reach an average of USD 1.3 trillion in 2030" and the costs of climate damage: "The diet-related social cost of GHG emissions related to current food consumption patterns are estimated to be around USD 1.7 trillion for 2030 for an emissions-stabilization scenario".

In addition, the costs of inaction on biodiversity loss, described by a recent OECD report, should also be taken into consideration: "The world lost an estimated USD 4-20 trillion per year in ecosystem services from 1997 to 2011, owing to land-cover change and an estimated USD 6-11 trillion per year from land degradation."

The shocking figures confirm the urgent need for an overall assessment of all positive and negative externalities of our food systems. Results of this assessment, based on neutral science, could be a solid foundation for policy decisions to elaborate and apply appropriate policy incentives aiming at more sustainable food systems.

Scientists agree that transforming our food systems is among the most powerful ways to change course and realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that in 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will convene a Food Systems Summit as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the SDGs by 2030. As UNSG said: "Transforming food systems is crucial for delivering all the Sustainable Development Goals."

According to the concept of the Summit "we are all part of the food systems, so we need to come together to bring about the transformation that the world needs".

Transformation of our food systems should be a bottom-up, inclusive process, where all stakeholder groups are involved: FAO and other UN organizations, governments, local communities, private sector, civil society, academia, famers' associations. In this regard, the unique, inclusive and multistakeholder model of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) could apply.

The reports of the High Level Panel of Experts are valuable, relevant instruments and the CFS policy recommendations and other CFS "products" (adopted by consensus) can also provide proper guidance for governments and all other stakeholders in their policy decisions.

To enhance the role of private sector in the process of transforming our food systems, it is much appreciated that the new management of FAO decided to prepare a revised strategy for the private sector engagement, following the recommendations of FAO governing bodies.

From FAO Members' perspective, the basic values such as transparency, accountability, inclusivity, neutrality and independence and regular impact assessments could be guiding principles of the new FAO private sector engagement strategy.

For the sake of transparency and accountability, it would be desirable to make available some basic information on existing private sector partnerships (main objectives, the financial and non-financial contributions, etc.). Naturally, it requires the (hopefully granted) consent of the private sector partners. What does it mean if they do not agree? It might mean there is something to hide and this lack of transparency would be a matter of serious concern.

FAO has an important role and responsibility to ensure, as honest broker, that private sector partnerships follow the principle of inclusivity, address the real needs of people and contribute to eliminating poverty and hunger.

FAO should guarantee the participatory and needs-based approach and make sure that all private sector investment projects and initiatives are developed in consultation and close collaboration with national governments, local communities, civil society organisations and farmers' associations. This would increase ownership of the rural communities.

In addition, FAO could help countries with policy advice to create the enabling economic policy environment where private sector finds its profit interests while the investments are serving the needs of the local communities, contributing to their development.

Neutrality and independence of FAO has been a great value and it should be preserved, in particular when private sector engagement is extended to fields like policy dialogue, norms and standard setting. In this regard, appropriate process for selecting partners should be in place to reduce and manage any potential risks (conflicts of interests, reputational risks, interference in standard setting, etc.).

In addition, compliance with CFS policy recommendations and other CFS "products", such as the RAI principles and the Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure (VGGT), could be a prerequisite for private sector partners wishing to engage in partnership with FAO. Why? Because CFS "products" are relevant instruments, they can guide governments and all other stakeholders in their policy decisions. CFS "products" are adopted by consensus, after inclusive, multistakeholder discussions, including by the Private Sector Mechanism at CFS.

Compliance with the CFS VGGT is a rather serious issue, statistical figures clearly show that in many parts of the world land grabbing situation has been worsening also in the past decade.

In order to improve efficiency and effectiveness of private sector partnerships, it is essential to regularly assess their impacts, possibly involving external, independent experts. Appropriate benchmarks should be in place to understand the extent to which the private sector partnerships contribute to the achievement of SDGs, in particular SDG 1 and 2, eliminating poverty and achieve zero hunger. Based on these assessments, private sector partnerships performing well should be scaled up, and those with poor results should be improved or terminated.

All in all, private sector has an essential role to play (engaged with due respect to the above principles) to achieve the common goals. As Agnes Kalibata, UN Special Envoy for the 2021 Food Systems Summit has put it: "We believe in a world where healthy, sustainable and inclusive food systems allow people and planet to thrive. It is a world without poverty or hunger, a world of inclusive growth, environmental sustainability, and social justice. It is a resilient world where no one is left behind."

 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has sent his warmest congratulations to the Vietnamese Government and people on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the country’s National Day (September 2, 1945 – September 2, 2020).

In his message of congratulations, Guterres praised Vietnam for always being a strong partner since its admission to the UN in 1977.

The Vietnamese army has been taking part in the UN's peacekeeping activities and Việt Nam’s leading role in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals lays a solid foundation for the country to carry out the Sustainable Development Programme 2020, he said.

Vision and aspirations of the Sustainable Development Goals will become more important than ever when the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN leader stressed.

According to him, Việt Nam has made important contributions to supporting sustainable peace in its capacity as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

The 75th anniversary of Việt Nam’s National Day is concurrent with the time when the country assumes the roles as ASEAN Chair and UNSC non-permanent member, reflecting its strong presence on the international arena, he added.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released a press statement to send congatulations to Vietnam on National Day Sep 2nd 2020. "On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I send congratulations to the people of Vietnam as you celebrate your National Day.

In 2020, we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations.  The remarkable transformation of our relationship, across trade and investment, security cooperation, and people-to-people ties, is a testament to those who worked to overcome the past and build a better future for both our peoples.  We celebrate the recently signed agreement that will bring Peace Corps volunteers to Vietnam for the first time ever, a significant and symbolic milestone in this historic year for our two countries.

We commend Vietnam for its successful Chairmanship of ASEAN in this challenging year, and we appreciate your close coordination in the fight against COVID-19.  As we work together to build a more peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, I extend best wishes to the people of Vietnam."./.

 The 1945 Declaration of Independence of Vietnam serves as a permanent legal document that promotes both fundamental human rights and a number of great values from the era.

Following the victory of the August Revolution, on September 2, 1945 and on behalf of the provisional government, President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence before the entire nation, therefore proclaiming the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This Declaration not only affirms the right of the nation and people to enjoy independence, but also contains several great epoch-making values on human rights of all colonial nations worldwide.

President Ho originally wrote the Declaration of Independence on August 28, 1945, at No. 48 Hang Ngang street in Hanoi. Featuring only 1,000 words arranged in 49 sentences, this represents a historical, straightforward, and legal text that not only asserts national sovereignty, but also marks a new era for the nation.

In the opening lines, President Ho cites the 1776 Declaration of Independence of the United States and the 1791 Declaration of the French Revolution on the Rights of Man and the Citizen, affirming that “All men are born with equal rights”. In a broader context, President Ho asserts that human rights are closely linked to the nation’s rights, such as the right to self-determination, independence, and freedom. Due to these influences, his Declaration of Independence aims to promote the legality of human rights.

“President Ho Chi Minh combined two very basic types of rights, the right to national independence and the right to human freedom, into a fundamental right of the nation that is the right to independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity,” analyses Ass. Prof. Dr. Bui Dinh Phong, a senior lecturer at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics. “The idea was put forward by President Ho in 1945 but it was not until 15 years later, in December, 1960, that the United Nations General Assembly issued a resolution on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and a few years later, in December, 1970, the United Nations General Assembly again endorsed a resolution on the implementation of the 1960 resolution.”

According to President Ho, human rights and national rights have a mutual relationship as they interact with one another. Indeed, an independent nation is a prerequisite to ensuring the enforcement of human rights, and conversely, the positive enforcement of human rights for the purpose of promoting the noble values and the true meaning of national independence. In the later part of the Declaration, President Ho demonstrates the nation’s equal rights that every Vietnamese person is entitled to enjoy.

Preceding generations of Vietnamese have made vast strides, even sacrificing their lives, in an effort to retain the people’s right to live in peace. However, President Ho believed that independence means nothing if people living in a free and independent nation are not happy. In order to meet these expectations, it therefore requires the tireless efforts of the entire Party and nation in order to bring about a better life for local citizens.

Most notably, the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence affirms the sacred and inviolable rights of the Vietnamese people, as well as the unshakable will of the people in the struggle for national independence and defence, Dr. Tan concludes.

Although 75 years have elapsed, researchers affirm that President Ho’s Declaration of Independence also holds theoretical and practical values in the modern era, especially with regard to the issue of national rights and human rights.

“President Ho Chi Minh said ‘All men are born with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’. That is the goal that all countries in the world, not just Vietnam, try to achieve,” says Dr. Pham Thi Thu Huong, former deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh Museum. “To promote human rights, it is our task and obligation to build and protect a socialist, law-governed Vietnamese state of the people, by the people and for the people.”

Professor Shingo Shibata, a famous Japanese historian, maintains that President Ho Chi Minh’s famous dedication aims to develop human rights into national rights.

With the nation gaining independence 75 years ago, the significance of President Ho’s Declaration of Independence remains fresh today in the context of the country striving to accelerate the process of international integration. Upon studying the legal document, every Vietnamese national is more aware than ever of the value of independence and freedom, as well as President Ho’s thoughts on human rights and the rights of each nation. This is therefore the ideal goal that all nations across the globe aim for while leaving no stone unturned.