From commitments to change - governments in the lead - advancing disability and health equity on the road to an inclusive 2030 - World Health Organization (WHO)

A mother with her child after vaccination at Yalobi Nursing Station, Waya island in Fiji. A WHO field staff talks to a woman fetching water from a water catchment tank in Kiribati.

Around 200 Government leaders, experts, researchers and development partners gathered in Ha Noi this week for the Second National Conference on Combating Air Pollution and Improving Air Quality in Viet Nam. Jointly organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Health, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Viet Nam, the conference focused on turning national air quality commitments into action under the theme "Combatting Air Pollution and Improving Air Quality in Viet Nam - Turning Policy into Action". Air pollution is a major public health and environmental challenge in Viet Nam, contributing to disease, premature death and significant economic costs. Urban areas including Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City continue to experience periods of poor air quality affecting millions of people. The conference comes as Viet Nam moves to implement the National Action Plan on Overcoming Pollution and Managing Air Quality for 2026-2030, approved by the Government in November 2025.