Hanoi (VNA) - Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP ResidentRepresentative in Vietnam, said on December 8 that the Vietnamese Government’squick and effective response in combination with the public’s trust andobservance of prevention and control measures were key to the country’s successin containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
She made the comments at a workshop held by the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) to release a report on people’s awareness andexperience of the COVID-19 prevention and control measures adopted byauthorities at both the central and local levels.
Wiesen expressed her belief that lessons in regard to transparency,accountability, and social cohesion will help the Vietnamese Government dealwith future crises and challenges of public concern.
David Gottlieb, Counsellor for Economic and Development Cooperation atthe Australian Embassy in Vietnam, said he was impressed by Vietnam’s resolveto control the pandemic.
With financial support and cooperation from the Australian Department ofForeign Affairs and Trade, the UNDP and the Mekong Development ResearchInstitute conducted a survey on people’s awareness and experience of COVID-19 preventionand control measures, on which the report was based.
Ninety-six percent of respondents spoke highly of the efforts of theNational Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, while nearly94 percent thought similarly of the efforts of city and provincial authorities.
Nearly 99 percent said they wore masks when going out during the peak ofthe pandemic and 93 percent washed their hands regularly.
The service sector and people working in the unofficial labour sector orbelonging to poor or near-poor groups were hardest hit.
Twenty-four percent of respondents lost their jobs, while 65 percent hadtheir salary cut.
A total of 1,334 people were randomly selected for the survey, which wasconducted in September./.