Thursday, 25 March 2010

DAP News ; Breaking News by Soy Sopheap

via CAAI News Media

Army Commander’s Son Arre-Sted For Logging

Thursday, 25 March 2010 06:52 DAP-NEWS

A Fourth Region Army Commander’s son, Chea Sophal, was arrested on Wed-nesday afternoon in Siem Reap province and charged with illegal logging.
The arrest comes after one of the alleged heavyweights of Cambodia’s illegal logging industry was arrested on Tuesday in Phnom Penh.

According to a Siem Reap source, Chea Sophal was sent to the provincial court. The provincial source claimed that the court ruled to imprison him for 18 months for robbery.

Cambodians have been pleasantly surprised by the arrests of high ranking individuals involved in illegal logging after Prime Minister Hun Sen instructed authorities to crack down on illegal logging, especially in border areas.

Your Sereivuth, sub-commander of the illegal logging crackdown, said on Tuesday that twelve people have been arrested since March 17, of whom six have been remanded in custody, Yeay Mab being the latest. You Sereivuth vowed to arrest others involved in illegal logging.

Border provinces like Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear and Oddar Meanchey are noted centres of the illegal timber trade.

WHO, MoH Join A/H1N1 Campaign

Thursday, 25 March 2010 06:52 DAP-NEWS

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health on Wednes-day together announced to Phnom Penh residents a campaign to prevent A/H1N1.

MoH Minister Mam Bunheng said “Cambodia will focus on patients infected by A/H1N1 and try to prevent transmission in the provinces.”

Only six of Cambodia’s 566 cases of A/H1N1 have resulted in a fatality, he added.

Pregnant women, infants less than 6 months old and those at risk from lung disease are to be immunized.

Pieter Vanmaare, WHO Cambodia representative, said that in the nine months since A/H1N1 broke out in Mexico, the disease has spread globally.

“The factories tried to produce vaccine to prevent the disease, because they saw all the victims who infected non-stop for the death soon,” the WHO’s representative said.

The World Health Organization announced that we all must responsible to join together to against the A/H1N1, especially in developing countries.

Cambodia needs at least 1.5 million doses of the A/H1N1 vaccine, but the WHO has given only 300,000 doses.

The health minister said Phnom Penh, Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang and Kandal provinces will be the first to receive vaccines. The vaccination campaign will run from May to June and include all provinces.

World Tuberculosis Day Commemorated

Thursday, 25 March 2010 06:52 DAP-NEWS

The US government on Wednesday joined the Cambodian Government and international and local partners to commemorate World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. At least 4,500 people are killed by tuberculosis each day around the world, said a senior official from the Ministry of Health (MoH).

On the occasion of World TB Day 2010, MoH Secretary of State Te Kuysean said the goal is to elimate the disease worldwide. “We must find a new strategy to destroy the bacteria,” he said.

Mao Tann Eang of the TB Depart-ment told DAP News Cambodia that the dissemination of information about TB, especially through the media, would help curb transmission. He said TB remains a major concern in Cambodia.

Around15 percent of TB patients are also infected with HIV, and TB is respon- sible for nearly one quarter of the deaths among AIDS patients, Mao said.

Eng Hourt said least about 40,000 new TB cases were recorded in Cambodia in 2009, a decrease over 2008.

A statement from the US embassy said that deaths worldwide from TB have gone down since 1990, but the disease continues to claim more than 1.3 million lives each year.

“In Cambodia, the United States is working with the Ministry of Health’s National Tuberculosis Program and local NGOs to address the TB epidemic.

US assistance is helping to upgrade Cambodia’s reference laboratories, increase TB-HIV co-infection care, and expand Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course (DOTS) services nationwide. US TB programs also support vulnerable groups and prison populations, the US statement said.

“Today, as we commemorate World Tuberculosis Day, we are reminded that TB is a global problem that affects all countries. Until we as partners have effectively brought TB under control in Cambodia, we are all at risk,” US Ambassador to Cambodia Carol A. Rodley was quoted as saying.

Cambodia has made significant improvements in providing a sustained high TB treatment success rate, which has been at over 90 percent for more than a decade. Seventy percent of TB patients are tested for HIV, and Community DOTS services now reach more than 75 percent of the health centers in Cambodia, surpassing targets set in the national strategic plan.

“Despite these achievements, challenges remain in Cambodia. The TB detection rate must be increased and access to TB care must be ensured for all Cambodians. Multi-drug resistant TB is an emerging problem that should be ambitiously addressed,” the US statement said, adding that the US is committed to working with its partners in Cambodia to tackle these challenges.

The US provided nearly US$4.2 million to TB programs in Cambodia in 2009, and it is the largest bilateral donor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, at US$4.34 billion contributed to date.

Health Minister Mam Bun Heng expressed concern about TB infections in the ceremony yesterday.

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