Healthcare Relief Project in Central Highlands

Some Background

My clinic has been asked to run a Healthcare relief effort in Kon Tum Province, specifically in Kon Ray district--through the World Health Organization. Kon Ray district lies near Highway #24, which connects the two provinces of Kon Tum and Quang Ngai. Kon Ray district consists of 7 towns (name and populations as follows: Dak Rve pop 5,161; Dak Koi pop 2,013; Dak To Lung pop 1,642; Dak Ruong pop 3,277; Dak Tre pop 3,960; Tan Lap pop 3,243; Dak Pne pop 1,490). Cumulative population in the Kon Ray district totals 20,786, in which 63% of them are minority peoples. The district is 890.77 square kilometers. The main economic activity there is...you guessed it, agriculture.

The health care system there consists of 1 hospital with 50 beds, 1 clinic with 10 beds, 7 health care centers with 5 beds each, 1 epidemic team consisting of 1 doctor and 8 medical staff. None of these are at the national healthcare standard for Vietnam.

For a population of 20,786, there are 102 medical personnel... an average of 5.28 medical staff/town. Of the 102 medical personnel, there are only 8 doctors, the rest of the staff are with a high school and primary school education.

The health care budget for the district hospital is $943usd/bed/year; for the health care centers $723usd/bed/year. With such a low budget, it is very hard to arrange/organize/implement all the needed activites for proper basic healthcare (this budget is just enough to pay for the medical staff and the most urgent activities).

The health status of Kon Ray district during the past 10 years has been relatively stable. There have been no serious epidemics. Small epidemics were discovered and treated in a timely manner. The common diseases for that area are: acute respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, amoebic dysentery, hepatobiliary disorders, parasites (malaria/worms), urinary tract infections, Kidney stones, hypertension, and gout. Greater than 30% of children under the age of 5 are malnourished.

Preparation

There will be 29 staff member from my clinic participating in this project (8 foreign physicians, 1 foreign dentist, 5 local nurses, and 15 supporting staff). The project is scheduled to occur from May 26 - June 1, 2006. We have decided to split into 4 teams, that will cover each of the 7 towns. Our clinic has been working in a frenzy the last few days with preparation, with multiple donations pouring in from companies, our past patients, and various individuals in the community.

It's scheduled to be a fantastic trip. I'll report more when it's all over!

Opening a Company/Business in Vietnam

If you are an overseas Vietnamese and want to establish a company in Vietnam, you will need to submit a certificate of Vietnamese origin.

According to Joint Circular 02/ 2005/ TTLT-BKH-BTP-BNG-BCA dated May 25, 2005, by the ministries of Planning and Investment, Justice, Foreign Affairs and Public Security, which guides Vietnamese abroad and foreign residents wanting to invest in Vietnam under Government Decreee 51/1999/ND-CP, you can contact the Oversease Vietnamese Committee under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the People's Committee of the province or city in Vietnam where your parents or grandparents were born or where you have lived, to apply for the certificate of Vietnamese origin.

The file includes:
1. The application for certification of Vietnamese origin.
2. The legitimate foreign passport or the paper with the same value as the passport.
3. The following papers (including those issued by the regimes before April 30, 1975): a) The paper proving the Vietnamese nationality of your parents or grandparents, though in cases where they have lost Vietnamese nationality papers they must have certificates for the loss, b) the paper proving the applicant is the child or grandchild of those people.

In case you have not kept papers regarding your Vietnamese origin, you can replace them with the following: Your self-made resume stating your history until the time you made the application, the affidavits by at least two Vietnamese citizens in Vietnam with full civil capacity confirming they have blood relationship with the applicant and stating the applicant has or once had Vietnamese nationality. The affidavit must state the names and addresses of both the confirmers and the confirmee and must be made and certified at a competent Vietnamese authority (the People's Committee of the commune or ward).

The overseas Vietnamese who already has a certificate for Vietnamese kinship is not required to obtain the certificate of Vietnamese origin. They can use this paper to supplement the application for business registration.

Information has been provided by Mr. Trinh Thanh, lawyer of Ho Chi Minh City.