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GV EXT Medical workers at rally stand to attention during national anthem (6 shots)
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SV Nurses
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GV Minister hands flag to male nurse as delegates look on (2 shots)
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GV Nurses in parade
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SV PAN Delegates standing, watching parade
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MV & LV Nurses in parade (2 shots)
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Vehicles in parade (2 shots)
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Initials BB/0036 RW/AW/BB/0037



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: South Vietnam has launched a campaign to improve health facilities in the country districts. Much of the project will involve people who suffered during the war.

On Saturday (17 February) in Saigon, 2,000 nurses paraded before setting out on their missions of mercy. The Minister of Health, Dr. Tran Minh Tung, presented a flag to the nurses before their parade, which included a drive-past of the dozens of vehicles which will be used in the campaign.

SYNOPSIS: The South Vietnamese national anthem is played and a parade of two thousand people stands to attention. But its a parade with a difference. The people on parade are all nurses and medical workers. The scene in Saigon on Saturday was the launching of a new government campaign to improve health in the countryside.

The two thousand nurses were parading before setting off on their missions of mercy. The Health Minister, Dr. Tran Minh Tung, presented them with a banner at the; start of the procession.

Top officials were at the ceremony. The new campaign is intended to raise health standards generally in the country areas. But it's also especially aimed at helping the people who suffered badly during the long years of war. Often the diseases that have ravaged villages in the aftermath of battles have proved as deadly as the bombs and bullets.

A fleet of specially-equipped vehicles was driven in the parade. They'll help in the vital task of restoring health to a shattered land.