B: Yes. It’s great to know that many of them consider VOV’s English program an indispensable information channel in their everyday routine. We thank Amir Jameel of Pakistan for your lovely e-card and best wishes for the staff and managers of VOVEnglish Section. “I’m praying for your so nice, so good, so great health and more happiness in your beautiful life. I hope we’ll have more interesting and informative programs in 2016.”

A: Richard Nowak of the US emailed us on December 24 and said: “I enjoyed tonight’s broadcast on 6275 khz, listening with a Hallicrafters SX-28 hooked up to about 5 meters of indoor wire. The reception was very good with SINPO rating at 45444. The program was about increasing airport security, Christmas wishes, and a meeting with leaders of an archdiocese. The great Letter Box mentioned VOV receiving Christmas cards from listeners and placing them on a Christmas tree. Mine is on the way. Tourism in Vietnam, the old quarter in Hanoi, and the costs to stay in Hanoi were mentioned. This was very interesting and useful information.”

We deeply thank Amir Jameel for this lovely greeting card.

B: Richard Nowak listens to VOV and sends his feedback to our office everyday. On December 28, he told us that he got VOV New Year’s card and a pocket calendar. He listened to the show first using a Heathkit GR-81 and then a Hallicrafters SX-28. The Heathkit was encountering interference from RHC so he switched to the other which gave a better overall signal of 4.

A: Like many other listeners, Mr. Nowak enjoys VOV’s features on Vietnam’s culture, people, and landscape. An article talked about the Mekong Delta, melaleucas, boats as the dominant modes of transportation, the making of fish sauce, and the custom to cook with fish sauce. Nowak said the show made him feel like he was in Vietnam.

A fish farm in the Mekong Delta

B: Thank you very much for sharing your thought about our shows and the signal quality. It’s very helpful for us to produce the most suitable programs for our foreign audiences. Ricky Hein, another listener of the US, complained that he was getting a lot of interference on 6175 khz from 01 to 03 UTC. “I try to tune into your English broadcast but it’s very hard to understand what you guys are saying because there was a lot of noise interference. SINPO was all 1s.”

A: Hein continued to say: “I get the relay from WHRI better from the transmitter in Cypress, South Carolina in the US on December 9, 2015 with SINPO of 55455. I heard news followed by your world news and the Saturday music show.”

B: Thank you, Hein. We appreciate your technical remarks. We’ll forward them to our Radio Technical Center to process and hope they will quickly resolve the problems. Later in the Letter Box, we’ll read more listeners’ letters and talk about Vietnam’s healthcare system to answer a question from Indian listener Radhakrishna Pillai. For now, relax with a song about spring and the new year.

Thank you so much for the beautiful sunflower e-card we received on the s1st day of 2016.

A: I got an email from Abdur Razzak informing us of the 10^th anniversary of the Japan-Bangladesh Listeners’ Club on January 1. We’d like to send your sincere congratulation to Abdur Razzak and all other club members. We wish your club will grow with more members and interesting activities.

B: From India, Radhakrishna Pillai wants to know more about Vietnam’s healthcare system. Vietnam has made great progress since the 1990s and is today generally providing good quality healthcare. The average life expectancy in Vietnam is 73 and the child mortality rate has decreased significantly. Still, the improvement of the current healthcare service is an important part of the national reforms. 

A: Universal access to quality health services is a primary goal of the Vietnamese Government. Social health insurance is considered the main measure to achieve this goal by ensuring that all of society takes responsibility for health. Currently, Viet Nam's health system consists of public-private mix. In the public system there are four levels: national, provincial/municipal, district, and commune.

B: At each of these levels, the system delivers three types of services: medical examination and treatment; primary health care, preventive medicine and national health target programs, and population and family planning. The development of the private health sector is strongly encouraged by the government to reduce pressures on the public system but at present consists mainly of a large number of outpatient clinics and pharmacies with a few hospitals.

A: Traditional herbal medicine has been integrated into the national health system since the 1950s. It involves two components: a plant remedy-based form of medicine based on indigenous medicine from 54 ethnic groups, and a Chinese-Vietnamese system of healing, which includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage and exercise techniques.

B: The health care system includes 13,500 public curative care facilities. The public sector plays a leading role in providing inpatient health services in 1,087 hospitals. Most inpatient care is provided by public hospitals, but there is a growing number of private hospitals in municipalities and provincial capitals providing an important source of competition.

A: Vietnam has increased investment, in reforming the health sector. Besides the state budget, there are a number of official development assistance health-related organizations and projects related to health service delivery ranging from health systems development to small-scale projects in single facilities or localities. Projects include facility renovation, medical equipment procurement, subsidies to the poor and near-poor, HIV/AIDS care and treatment and reproductive health services. Some short-term projects funded by international NGOs support research, training, and small-scale health interventions.

B: In big cities, it’s not very difficult to find a hospital or clinic for foreigners. For instance, the Family Medical Practice in Hanoi has several doctors who are used to dealing with the needs of Vietnam's expat community. VOV has cooperated with the Hanoi Family Medical Practice for several years to produce the Doctor at Home segment which gives medical advices on common diseases in Vietnam.

A: In Hanoi alone, there are many well-equipped hospitals to help with expatriates and their needs. Among them are two dental clinics and a branch of the International SOS Clinic. The languages spoken there are Chinese, Russian, English, French, Korean, and Spanish.

B: Now let’s continue to read listener letters we received during the week. Pak Ning Tjang of Indonesia emailed us on January 4 to say: “I hope you are all in good health. May this new year bring more joy and happiness to all of you in VOV. This is my first reception report in 2016 for the program on January 4^th on 9840 khz, using a SONY-7600 DS with telescopic antenna. SINPO rating was all 4s.”

A: We acknowledge receptions from Francis Lawlor of Ireland, Cristiano Crotti of Italy, Deekay Hdee, Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, Pratik Kabi of India, Handy Muhamad of Indonesia, Henry Umadhay of the Philippines, Amir Manzoor of Pakistan, and Toshiya Nishimura of Japan.

B: Thank you very much for your reception and please feel free to send us your feedback. Our address is English Section, Overseas Service, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Good bye until next time.