Historically, the mostly publicly financed health care system in Việt Nam has only been able to afford to pour resources into a handful of central level hospitals in big cities, forcing patients living in remote areas with serious diseases to go to Hà Nội or HCM City for treatment.

Đặng Quang Hữu, 44, of Đakrông District in the central province of Quảng Trị, is known as a bank owner who has risen from owning nothing to offering loans to 600 poor local households. Unlike other financiers, he requires no interest payments, supporting them as they grow forests to escape from poverty.

Transport departments from HCM City and southern provinces have started a campaign to better control unauthorised buses, coaches and bus terminals. They will also punish the owners of buses that stop in unauthorised places.

Post-harvest losses not only refer to the quantity of lost crops, but also any reductions in their quality and access to international markets, experts have said.

HCM City authorities are taking measures to ensure access to clean water during the dry season and upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Nguyễn Thị Hồng Thương, 33, runs a large ginseng garden with more than 600 plants and many other traditional herbal medicine plants.

A cold wave which hit the northern region yesterday has lowered temperatures in the northern and northern central localities down to around 10 degrees Celsius. The cold snap is expected to last for the next in 10 days.

The HCM City Fire and Rescue Police Department and the Sài Gòn Water Supply Corporation will install 11,000 more fire hydrants by 2025 after being instructed to do so by the People’s Committee at a conference on fire hydrant management on January 25.

Residents living near cement plants in central Thừa Thiên- Huế and Quảng Bình provinces have complained about air and noise pollution that continually affects their lives.