Hanoi is throwing cash and housing at its low birth rate, scrambling to protect an export boom that is fast running out of young workers
These include seven months of maternity leave for second children, subsidised prenatal and newborn screenings, cash bonuses of up to 6 million dong (US$228) and priority housing for young parents who have two children before the age of 35.
The Health Ministry has set a target of raising the fertility rate to replacement level by 2030, but achieving that will be a challenge. Already, nearly one in seven Vietnamese is older than 60; by mid-century, government projections suggest that figure could hit one in four.