Latest Foreign Assistance Briefs

- The Japanese Government will provide $245,000 in non refundable aid for building two schools in the two northern mountainous provinces of Hoa Binh and Lang Son. The aid agreement was signed at a ceremony in Hanoi on July 6. The first school with 8 classrooms will be built to replace the severely downgraded facility of Chieng Chau primary school in Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province. The other school is in Tu Doan commune, Loc Binh district, Lang Son province, where 99.9 percent of the local population are Nung, a minority ethnic group. Addressing the signing ceremony, the Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam, Yasuaki Tanizaki expressed his hope that the two new schools will help improve the study conditions for local children and contribute to enhancing friendship and mutual understanding between the two countries as well. (Vietnamplus.vn July 7)

- KFC Vietnam Joint Venture Co. Ltd. (KFC) and the Saigon Times Foundation (STF) under the Saigon Times Group on Monday presented the first leg of the ‘Long-term STF-KFC Vietnam Scholarship Program’ to 20 students from the HCMC University of Technology (HCMUT). The scholarships for the school year 2011-2012 were given to eight students of the School of Industrial Management and 12 from the Department of Materials Technology of the university. Each scholarship is granted to every HCMUT student on two occasions with a combined value of VND7 million. So far, KFC Vietnam has granted 226 scholarships worth VND791 million to students nationwide. (thesaigontimes.vn Jul 5)

- Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Thanh Hoa and the U.S.-based East Meets West Foundation (EMW) June 29 signed an agreement on the implementation of a project to promptly diagnose and treat children with congenital heart disease. The VND2.6 billion ($123,800) project will be carried out from now until March 2014 in Dong Son and Cam Thuy districts, aiming to boost enhance capacity of clinics across the province via building a key group of qualified cardiovascular doctors and providing medical equipment to offer the best medical services. Under the project, a campaign targeting households with under-six children and pregnant women will be held so as to raise their awareness of inborn heart disease. According to the latest statistics from the provincial Health Department, around 10,000 babies with heart disease have not yet been discovered in the community. Over 400 newborn babies are born with the disease per year. EMW has become a reputable NGO in Vietnam, operating in 33 provinces and cities cross the country with the funding of $10 million -$15 million per year.  (Vietnamplus.vn June 29, Nhan Dan – The People June 29)