Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The US-based Brookings Institute on May 20ran an article attributing Vietnam’s success in COVID-19 containment to itsimproved governance and policy coordination.
Vietnam is now one of the first countries to ease social distancing measuresand reopen its society, it said.
According to the article, Vietnam’s state capacity was not born overnight butresulted from decades-long efforts to improve governance and responsiveness atlocal levels.
Data from Vietnam’s Provincial Competitiveness Index(PCI) and Provincial Administrative Performance Index(PAPI) showed that the Vietnamese provinces have made steady improvementsin healthcare, information access, and corruption control. Access to healthinsurance has grown rapidly over time, with 90 percent of Vietnamesecitizens insured today.
Taken together with the government’s policy to provide massquarantine largely free of charge, these data suggest that the Vietnamesecitizens today did not have to worry about costs from COVID-19 tests,associated hospitalisation, and centralised quarantine, thereby increasingtheir willingness to comply with extensive contact tracing and strictquarantine measures.
Vietnam’s ongoing anti-graft campaign has generally received favourableresponses from watchers and international audiences, it said,adding that the anti-graft campaign has also intersected with the pandemicresponse. The head of the Hanoi’s Centre for Disease Control hasrecently been indicted on a charge of collusion to inflate COVID-19test kit costs.
The institute stressed that transparency efforts have alsomitigated skepticism towards the Vietnamese Party and State’s COVID-19reporting. The Ministry of Health has posted all reported cases online,enabling deeper analysis by data scientists and bloggers, and gainingendorsement from public health experts.
Commenting on Vietnam’s post-pandemic growth, the article said the currentstrategy focuses on promoting the domestic market and repositioning Vietnam foropportunities in shifting global supply chains.
To promote Vietnam’s domestic market, it said the Vietnamese leaders haveissued a host of relief measures, including freezing business obligationsto pay costs such as retirement and life insurance contributions, providingquick-access loans for wage payments, and increasing social welfare forlaid-off workers.
Vietnam’s leaders have put forth a plan to promote linkage in the domesticmarket, including in tourism, agriculture, and seafood. Among other actions,this requires reorienting businesses towards high-demand areas.
While eager to restart its economy, the country also made clear that economicrevitalisation must be balanced with public health goals by imposing limitedhours for businesses, crowd control, and continued enforcement of socialdistancing requirements. Compliance with these measures hinges on continued publictrust.
The article concluded that Vietnam’s improving governance and central-localpolicy coordination have helped it weather the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling thereopening of its society and economy ahead of most peers.
Despite the clear challenges Vietnam faces, the country’s strong growthtrajectory and swift COVID-19 response have positioned it to be one the world’sfew economic bright spots. The World Bank projected that Vietnam willbe one of few countries to experience positive economic growth in 2020, and itmanaged to attract 8.6 billion USD in foreign investment during thefirst quarter of 2020. This success, however, depends upon continuing thehistorical trajectory of improved economic governance, including reducingcorruption./.
