Category: Medical

Hanoi: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently ordered efforts to be exerted to enhance the tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control efforts. His recent dispatch in this regard said TB prevention and control activities have achieved commendable results in recent years. On an annual basis, over 100,000 TB patients are detected, with a treatment success rate exceeding 90% and the rate of detection quickly recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the annual death toll remains high, at approximately 13,000, while many cases within the community remain undetected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)'s 2023 report, the TB situation in Vietnam is still severe, ranking 11th out of the 30 countries burdened with the disease and the highest drug-resistant TB rate globally. The PM urged ministries, sectors, central and local authorities to thoroughly implement the national TB prevention and control strategy. Communications work is considered a long-term and important task for the entire political system from central to grassroots levels, with the healthcare sector being the cornerstone. Among the several tasks assigned by the leader, chairpersons of the People's Committees of centrally-run localities are instructed to strengthen the capacity of the healthcare system in diagnosing and treating the disease, while effectively implementing community-based TB prevention and control measures. Meanwhile, the Minister of Health is requested to finalise and issue guidelines for the detection of TB, latent TB, and some respiratory diseases in the community and healthcare facilities. Additionally, there is a need to enhance international cooperation and ensure domestic resources, especially medicine./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

HCM City: Three Vietnamese donors with a rare blood type have helped save the life of a 64-year-old British man with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The man was taken to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for emergency treatment on March 17. Doctors said as he suffered the ITP and high blood pressure and was at risk of intracerebral hemorrhage, he needed an urgent platelet transfusion. The man has a rare blood type of O Rh(-) with just one in 1,000 Vietnamese people having a match while the hospital ran out the platelet at that time. It then called out for donors to roll up their sleeves. Six donors came, with three suitable identified. Getting the blood transfusion and suitable treatment, the man made a good recovery and was discharged from hospital on March 23. He thanked the donors and the medical team for their timely noble act./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The effects of the El Niño phenomenon have caused more than PHP1 billion in agricultural damage across the country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Wednesday. In its latest situation update, the NDRRMC has logged damage worth PHP1.06 billion in 17,718.11 hectares of crop areas in the regions of Ilocos, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula. Western Visayas has so far sustained the biggest amount of damage at PHP687.7 million, followed by Mimaropa with PHP319.7 million, Ilocos with PHP54.4 million, Calabarzon with PHP2.75 million, and Zamboanga Peninsula with PHP717,527. A total of 23,086 farmers and fisherfolk have so far been affected. Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will soon start a year-long rehabilitation and road works worth PHP4.4 billion along the Surigao-Agusan and Agusan-Davao Sections of Daang Maharlika in Caraga region. In a statement, DPWH-Caraga director Pol delos Santos said the undertaking is part of the 45 projects included in the 2024 national budget aimed at improving the condition of the Daang Maharlika Road that starts from Barangay Lipata in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte and ends in Barangay Langkilaan in Trento, Agusan del Sur. 'We are accelerating the pre-construction requirements of these projects with some having completed procurement activities and are ready for implementation. Once all requirements are in place, we will immediately commence construction works,' he said. Delos Santos said the province of Agusan del Sur got the significant portion of the budget for 29 projects with total cost of PHP3.19 billion after careful study and identification of priority sections of the road ne eding improvements. The DPWH Agusan del Sur First and Second District Engineering Offices (DEOs) will oversee the implementation of 13 and 16 projects, respectively. Delos Santos said the rest of the projects will cover the provinces of Agusan del Norte with six projects worth PHP456.78 million; Surigao del Norte with seven projects worth PHP519.91 million; and in Butuan City with three projects worth PHP275.34 million. In his report to Secretary Manuel Bonoan and Undersecretary for Mindanao Operations Eugenio Pipo Jr., delos Santos said the works to be implemented along the major thoroughfare range from preventive maintenance or asphalt overlaying, major repair and widening of roads and bridges, concrete reblocking, to installations of road safety measures such as pavement markings and signages. He also assured the swift and close monitoring of the projects, which are given priority status considering the prominence of Daang Maharlika as the major trunkline in the Philippines. This is also in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s recent directive to repair damaged roads after the recent flooding and earthquake in the region, delos Santos added. Source: Philippines News Agency

LAOAG: The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in Ilocos Norte said 2,371 Collective Certificates of Land Ownership Awards (CCLOAs), covering over 13,000 hectares, have already been parcelized into 13,749 individual land titles. Of the total land titles, the DAR has distributed 2,530 electronic titles (e-titles), covering an area of 2,969 hectares of agricultural lands to 4,291 agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) under the Support to Parcelization of Lands for Individual Titling (SPLIT) project, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Vic Ines told the Philippine News Agency on Wednesday. 'We are happy that the processing of the individual e-land titles under the Project SPLIT is making progress,' Ines said. The SPLIT project aims to fast-track the subdivision of CCLOAs to allow farmer-beneficiaries to have full ownership and possession of the land they are cultivating. It is funded by the World Bank and is aimed at subdividing around 1.38 million hectares of CCLOA nationwide. Ines said they have inc reased the number of personnel who will work on the validation of the CCLOA, noting that the five-year project is set to end this year. 'The validation will be finished within the first semester this year but the registration and distribution (of the individual titles) will depend on the approval of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) based on the subdivision process as well as the registration of the titles with the ROD (Registry of Deeds),' he said in Filipino. DAR-Ilocos Norte's SPLIT project implementation ranked fifth across all Parcelization indicators covering the 2023 National SPLIT project implementation. Ilocos Region is among the first regions included in the project. The other regions are Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) and Region 9 (Zamboanga del Norte). Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Wednesday raised the term deposit facility (TDF) volume to PHP270 billion. In a statement, BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said the allocation mix for the seven-day tenor was adjusted to PHP150 billion from PHP120 billion. The 14-day tenor was also adjusted to PHP120 billion from PHP90 billion. Total tenders amounted to PHP303.661 billion, which Dakila said, was "within the central bank's expected volume range." The BSP fully awarded its offerings for the seven-day and 14-day tenors. The resulting weighted average interest rate for the seven-day TDF fell slightly by 0.3291 basis points to 6.5617 percent, while that for the 14-day TDF was relatively unchanged at 6.5951 percent. "Looking ahead, the BSP's monetary operations will continue to be guided by its assessment of prevailing liquidity conditions and market developments," Dakila said. Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine Army (PA) announced Wednesday that it had deployed a 12-member contingent to the 3rd Japan-Philippine Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) Cooperation Project in Tokyo, Japan. PA spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala, in a statement, said the contingent came from the 525th Engineer Combat Battalion of the Combat Engineer Regiment. He said the cooperation project, which runs from March 3 to 9, is aimed at mutually enhancing the HADR capabilities of the PA and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) on various disasters by sharing knowledge, good practices, and lessons learned. It focuses mainly on four disaster types, which include volcanic eruption, tsunami, earthquake, and flood. The delegation was headed by 51st Engineer Brigade deputy commander Col. Jonjie C. Juguilon. "(Col. Juguilon) provided an update on the status of the HADR equipment donated by the Japanese government in 2021, highlighting its utilization during the search-and-retrieval Operation after the 7.2-m agnitude quake that hit Turkey on February 2023 and the recent HADR efforts for landslide victims at Barangay Masara, Maco, Davao De Oro on early February 2024," Dema-ala added. He said the PA delegation paid a courtesy call on JGSDF Director General of the Policy and Programs Department, Maj. Gen. Norimichi Shirakawa. The PA earlier hosted the 2023 iteration of the HADR Cooperation Project, which was participated in by search, rescue, and retrieval teams from the 525 Engineer Combat Battalion, 51st Engineer Brigade, observers from selected PA major units, as well as reservists. Armor Division gets more assets As this developed, PA commander Lt. Gen. Roy M. Galido spearheaded the blessing ceremony of the newly-acquired assets of the Armor Division at Camp O'Donnell, Sta. Lucia, Capas, Tarlac on Tuesday. Galido was joined by Southern Luzon Commander and concurrent Armor Division commander Maj. Gen. Facundo Palafox IV. Together, they led the blessing ceremonies for five 6x6 wheeled armor personnel carrie rs, nine Ascod Sabrah light tanks, one command post vehicle, and one tractor-head. "Likewise, the Army Chief also led the unveiling of markers for the Mess Hall, Armor Museum, and Maintenance Depot Facility," Dema-ala said. He added that these newly-acquired assets will bolster the Armor Division's capabilities in terms of operational readiness towards attaining a world-class, multi-mission-ready, and cross-domain capable armor force. Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday rejected China's claims that a promise was made on Ayungin Shoal or other parts of the West Philippine Sea, saying Beijing and Manila have never entered into any agreement that would abandon the latter's rights over the waters. On Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy defended the Chinese Coast Guard's (CCG) dangerous maneuvers and use of water cannons against a Filipino resupply mission that resulted in four injured Filipino service members. It insisted that Beijing has sovereignty over the Spratlys and accused Manila of breaking 'commitments to China' in an apparent reference to a January bilateral meeting to de-escalate tension in the area. DFA Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza countered this, noting Manila's efforts to discuss the issue diplomatically to implement both President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping's instructions to reduce the tensions. 'China, however, has made references to supposed agreements or arrangements out of these discussions. The Philippines has not entered into any agreement abandoning its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and continental shelf, including in the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal,' she said in a press briefing. 'There's also no temporary special arrangement existing between the Philippines and China with regard to Ayungin Shoal.' READ: PH orders Chinese vessels to leave Ayungin 'immediately' Daza reiterated that the Filipino resupply missions to Ayungin Shoal are all in line with both domestic and international laws as opposed to China's entry into another country's EEZ. '(T)hey say that, of course, they own the entire area, that the fishing activities by Chinese fishing boats, what they're doing in terms of regulation and enforcement are legitimate and lawful and beyond reproach,' she said. 'But we're saying that (it) would be legitimate if they were in their EEZ but they're not in their EEZ - there's a big distance away from their EEZ. They're actually in our EEZ and because of that, it's us who will determine what we'll do in our EEZ, is it not?' An EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles (NM) from a coastal state's shore, the very same state that has jurisdiction over resources in that stretch of water. Ayungin Shoal, which is situated in the West Philippines Sea, is only 106.3 NM from Palawan and at least 617.39 NM from the Chinese mainland - clearly beyond the 200 NM maximum maritime entitlement for an EEZ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Daza said the Philippine government would continue to protect and uphold the country's legal maritime entitlements in the West Philippine Sea. 'We continue to call on China to cease and desist from undertaking actions that violate Philippine sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea, and undermine the mutual trust and confidence that should underpin bilateral relations,' she said. On top of summoning Chinese Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Zhou Zhiyong to prote st Beijing's latest actions off Ayungin Shoal, Daza confirmed that the Philippine Embassy in Beijing has 'demarched their counterparts' in the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. This year alone, the Philippines' diplomatic protests lodged against Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea have reached 10. Source: Philippines News Agency