Vietnam

Enjoy its beauty

Vietnam’s has an amazingly diverse abundance of plants, animals, and other creatures. Its entire eastern and southern borders are directly on the ocean, providing easy access to fishing as well as such sports as kite surfing. The country stretches 1,000 miles from China southward, but gets as narrow as 25 miles across. There are huge plains of rice fields and tall jungle mountains.

Vietnam boasts a huge diversity of wildlife, having 16% of the world’s species. They have recently just discovered six new mammals. You probably have not yet heard of the saola or the giant muntjac!

The largest cave system in the world and the longest underground river can both be found in Vietnam at the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Some caves have yet to be explored.

Vietnam’s distinctive food and culture have wonderfully survived the many invasions that have taken place. People all over the world enjoy Vietnamese food that combines unique flavors focusing on fresh herbs, vegetables, and meat.

Cities are often bulging with bicycle traffic and busy commerce. About 1 out of 3 people live in the cities. Vietnam has opened its doors widely to the world in recent years and has rapidly grown economically. Many Vietnamese are known for their strong work ethic.

Care for its hurts

The life expectancy of the Vietnamese is quite good and the literacy rate is high. However, there is still a significant segment of the population that is malnourished, even resulting in stunting. Half of the people do not have access to clean water, which leads to such diseases as malaria, dengue, cholera, and typhoid.

23% of the country is under the age of 15. A commitment to immunizations has helped reduce many of the preventable illnesses.

There are an estimated 33,000 prostitutes in Vietnam. Many women and children are trafficked into China and Cambodia. Death ,due to AIDS is increasing, up to 12 people per 100,000 with a minimum of 100,000 who are HIV positive.

46% of men smoke contributing to the fact that 25% of people die from cancer in Vietnam. 21% of deaths are from strokes and 7%from heart disease. Tuberculosis is also on the rise.