Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long at the meeting with Binh Thuan authorities.

Vietnam raises its Zika alert level as an Australian tourist tested positive for the virus after returning from the country.

channelnewsasia.com - by Le Thi Minh Hue - March 24, 2016

HANOI: Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has raised the alert level for Zika after an Australian tourist tested positive upon his return from Vietnam.

The move came after the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Heath Regulations (IHR) agency informed Vietnam of the case, Professor Tran Dac Phu, Head of Preventive Medicine Department, told local media late Wednesday (Mar 23).

Phu confirmed that the Australian tourist went through an incubation period while in Vietnam.

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ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLE HERE - Vietnam braces for Zika virus

Image: A photograph of a city skyline at dusk with lamps in the foreground that resemble stylized trees.

huffingtonpost.com - October 20th, 2015 - Jeremy Rifkin

The global economy is slowing, productivity is waning in every region of the world and unemployment remains stubbornly high in every country. At the same time, economic inequality between the rich and the poor is at the highest point in human history. In 2010 the combined wealth of the 388 richest people in the world equaled the combined wealth of the poorest half of the human race.

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vccinews.com - September 28, 2015

Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh is the co-author of a 3,000-page book on climate change awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - IPCC) and the Chairman of the Centre for Environment Research Education and Development (CERED) under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations. He always thinks of climate change and its impacts on environment, economy and society. He said this is a big issue as it also relates to politics, even conflicts of interest, not just petty things of everyday life. Vietnam Business Forum had an interesting talk with Dr Nguyen Huu Ninh on climate change and environmental protection in the process of socioeconomic development. Anh Phuong reports.

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odi.org - Aditya Bahadur, Emma Lovell, Emily Wilkinson, Thomas Tanner - August 2015

CLICK HERE - Resilience in the SDGs - Developing an indicator for Target 1.5 that is fit for purpose (7 page .PDF file)

We outline a comprehensive approach for developing a cross-sectoral, multi-dimensional and dynamic understanding of resilience. This underpins the core message of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that development is multi-faceted and the achievement of many of the individual development goals is dependent on the accomplishment of other goals. It also acknowledges that shocks and stresses can reverse years of development gains and efforts to eradicate poverty by 2030. Crucially, this approach to understanding resilience draws on data that countries will collect for the SDGs anyway and entails only a small additional burden in this regard.

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

The Mong Duong coal mine in Vietnam's Quang Ninh province has flooded, spilling toxic sludge that contaminated land, rivers and coastline  Photo: Luu Quy Doan/Vnexpress

CLICK HERE - SITUATION REPORTS - United Nations - Vietnam

United Nations - irinnews.org - by Vu Duy - August 7, 2015

HANOI, 7 August 2015 (IRIN) - Toxic sludge that spilled out of open pit coal mines during 10 days of heavy rains may have seriously contaminated farmland, rivers and coastal areas in northern Vietnam.

Flooding has killed 30 people, wiped out roads and damaged thousands of homes, the United Nations said in a situation report on Wednesday. The UN also warned of potential risks to the environment, health and water sanitation after coal mines in Quang Ninh province flooded, spilling thick streams of dark sludge into the countryside.

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The U.S. Government announces it intends to invest more than $1 billion in resources to expand the Global Health Security Agenda to prevent, detect, and respond to future infectious disease outbreaks overseas.

THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS OFFICE                       July 28, 2015

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa continues to galvanize global attention and resources as the international community strives to eliminate active cases and help the affected countries recover.  African leaders and African Union officials have shown extraordinary leadership in addressing the outbreak. The epidemic highlighted the urgent need to establish global capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to biological threats – to prevent future outbreaks from becoming epidemics. 

Beginning with the release of the National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats in 2009, and outlined in his 2011 speech at the United Nations General Assembly, President Obama has called upon all countries to come together to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental or deliberately spread.  Today, the President underscored the unwavering U.S. commitment to partnering with Africans, their governments, and all who will join the effort to improve health security across the continent and for all people.

submitted by Nguyen Huu Ninh

AFP / Dimitar Dilkoff

CLICK HERE - REPORT - The Lancet - Health and climate change: policy responses to protect public health

lemonde.fr - by Paul Benkimoun - June 23, 2015

Acting against climate change is both an emergency and the opportunity to achieve the greatest progress for public health in the 21 ^e century. It is in these terms that the Commission’s report Lancet on health and climate change poses the challenge to humanity. Online on Tuesday, June 23 about the British medical weekly site [1,999,011], the document was written by a multidisciplinary European and Chinese academic team.

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cgdev.org - by Todd Moss and Madeleine Gleave - February 18, 2014

1.     Energy poverty is an endemic and crippling problem; nearly 600 million people in Africa live without access to any power, which also means no access to safer and healthier electric cooking and heating, powered health centers and refrigerated medicines, light to study at night, or electricity to run a business.  Here’s the situation in the 6 countries chosen to be part of President Obama’s Power Africa Initiative, home to nearly 1/3 of the continent’s population:

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Japan Meteorological Agency - http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/

gdacs.org - July 14, 2014

Tropical Cyclone RAMMASUN-14 can have a medium humanitarian impact based on the Maximum sustained wind speed and the affected population and their vulnerability.

Updated: this report is based on advisory number 18.

• Tropical Cyclone Hurricane/Typhoon > 74 mph (maximum wind speed of 167 km/h)
• from 14/07/2014 00:00 UTC to 18:00
• Population affected by Category 1 (120 km/h) wind speeds or higher is 35.6 million
• Vulnerability: High

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE JOINT TYPHOON WARNING CENTER (JTWC)

CLICK HERE - GDACS Tropical Cyclones - Joint Research Centre

CLICK HERE - Tropical Cyclone Information - Japan Meteorological Agency

The Mekong Delta is set to face more extreme weather

asiapacificsd.iisd.org

20 March 2014: The values at risk in key livelihood sectors from predicted climate change impacts are estimated to be at least US$16 billion per year, according to the findings of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) 'Mekong ARCC Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Study.' The study, which was inspired by an International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) study, considers climate impacts on agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and rural infrastructure and health.

The study analyzes the potential magnitude of climate impacts in the Mekong delta with the aim of translating them to local communities and policymakers to support adaptation investment.

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Press Release and links to additional information
http://www.ciatnews.cgiar.org/2014/03/20/ciat-inspired-mekong-study-highlights-climate-concerns/

reliefweb.int - monre.gov.vn - January 25, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, and Dr. Dang Kieu Nhan, left, wave goodbye after Kerry spoke in Tan An Tay along the Mekong River Delta Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013.  (AP Photo/Brian Snyder, Pool) (The Associated Press)

nytimes.com - By Coral Davenport - January 2, 2014

As a young naval officer in Vietnam, John Kerry commanded a Swift boat up the dangerous rivers of the Mekong Delta. But when he returned there last month as secretary of state for the first time since 1969, he spoke not of past firefights but of climate change.

“Decades ago, on these very waters, I was one of many who witnessed the difficult period in our shared history,” Mr. Kerry told students gathered on the banks of the Cai Nuoc River. He drew a connection from the Mekong Delta’s troubled past to its imperiled future. “This is one of the two or three most potentially impacted areas in the world with respect to the effects of climate change,” he said.

submitted by Nguyen Ninh

vnexpress.net - 18/12/2013

Tuyết phủ trắng đèo Ô Quý Hồ (Lào Cai) mấy ngày nay khiến hàng trăm xe tải, xe khách kẹt cứng. Tài xế và hành khách trải qua những ngày khó quên trên núi tuyết.

Dòng xe ùn tắc trên đèo Ô Quý Hồ sáng 18/12. Kể từ khi Sapa xuất hiện mưa tuyết hôm 15/12, xe ôtô không thể di chuyển qua con đèo nối liền Sapa (Lào Cai) và tỉnh Lai Châu do lớp tuyết đóng dày từ mấy ngày trước và lớp băng hình thành khi tuyết tan khiến đường trơn trượt rất nguy hiểm.

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Cây đổ ở Hà Nội sau bão Haiyan
Ảnh hưởng của cơn bão Haiyan, Hà Nội từ đêm qua có mưa to và gió thổi mạnh
http://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/thoi-su/cay-do-o-ha-noi-sau-bao-haiyan-2908333.html

Trực tiếp: Bão số 14 đã làm 13 người thiệt mạng
VOV.VN- Tại các địa phương ảnh hưởng của bão số 14 đã có 13 người chết và 81 người bị thương...
http://vov.vn/Doi-song/Truc-tiep-Sau-can-quet-Quang-Ninh-bao-huong-vao-Trung-Quoc/290460.vov

Tâm bão Haiyan đang ở địa đầu Móng Cái (Quảng Ninh)
http://tuoitre.vn/Chinh-tri-Xa-hoi/579503/tam-bao%C2%A0haiyan-dang-o-huyen-dia-dau-mong-cai-quang-ninh.html#ad-image-0

Haiyan makes landfall, weakens into depression
http://english.vov.vn/Society/Haiyan-makes-landfall-weakens-into-depression/266984.vov

gdacs.org - November 7, 2013

Tropical Cyclone HAIYAN-13 can have a high humanitarian impact based on the Maximum sustained wind speed and the affected population and their vulnerability.

Updated: this report is based on advisory number 20.

• Tropical Cyclone Hurricane/Typhoon > 150 mph (maximum wind speed of 315 km/h)
• from 04/11/2013 00:00 UTC to 08/11/2013 00:00 UTC
• Population affected by Category 1 (120 km/h) wind speeds or higher is 17.7 million
• Vulnerability: High

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE JOINT TYPHOON WARNING CENTER (JTWC)

CLICK HERE - GDACS Tropical Cyclones - Joint Research Centre

CLICK HERE - Tropical Cyclone Information - Japan Meteorological Agency