IMF specialists: VN's success in containing COVID-19 offers roadmap for other developing countries
VGP – Viet Nam has so far shown strength and stability in weathering the COVID-19 storm, and offers a successful example of how a developing country can fight a pandemic.
 |
|
Viet Nam's success of COVID-19 containment offers a successful example of how a developing country can fight a pandemic. |
According to the article, Viet Nam was regarded as highly vulnerable, given its long border and extensive trade with China, densely populated urban areas, and limited healthcare infrastructure.
But Viet Nam’s cost-effective containment strategy resulted in only 373 confirmed cases (as of early July 14) and no deaths in a population of almost 100 million people. The country was among the first to lift virtually all domestic containment measures, the article states.
The IMF specialists highly spoke of Viet Nam’s effective measures in the COVID-19 fight: “While a higher-cost, mass-testing strategy was adopted in most advanced economies to combat the pandemic, Viet Nam focused on high-risk and suspected cases and conducted only 350,000 tests, a relatively small share of its population. However, around 1,000 people per confirmed case were tested, the highest ratio in the world”.
Referring the success of Viet Nam in this fight, the article stresses that “Public buy-in was critical for success”.
From an early stage, communications about the virus and the strategy were transparent. Details on symptoms, protective measures, and testing sites were communicated through mass media, a government website, public grass-root organizations, posters at hospitals, offices, residential buildings and markets, via text messages on mobile phones, and as voice messages before a phone call could be made.
“The government also launched a contact tracing app in big cities. This well-coordinated multi-media approach strengthened public trust and helped society adhere to protective and containment measures”, the article highlights.
By Thuy Dung
