US outlet praises Vietnam safety amid COVID-19 thanks to efforts by Government and locals

The article was published on BORGEN Magazine on October 25.

The article notes that in contrast to other countries such as Italy and the US, COVID-19 was swiftly repelled by Vietnam. The country employed a unique approach to testing, with mass-testing procedures allowing Vietnamese doctors to practice thorough contact tracing and therefore effectively controlling the spread of cases.

Despite the lingering impact of COVID-19 globally, the Vietnamese government remains optimistic regarding the prospects of the country’s economy. The Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) predicts that Vietnamese GDP will record growth of at least 5% growth by the end of the year, largely due to citizens already resuming normal economic activities.

The past few decades has witnessed the nation’s poverty rate fall dramatically with services such as healthcare becoming more widely available to citizens. Indeed, in 1990 the country’s extreme poverty rate was 50%, with that figure falling to 2% today. Elsewhere, last year saw 90% of Vietnamese citizens have access to health insurance, compared to the figure of 59% in 2011.

The article published by BORGEN Magazine outlines that the Vietnamese policy against COVID-19 reflects the nation’s measures taken against poverty.

Even with COVID-19 in the country receding, economic projects are underway as countermeasures to combat poverty and building towards the nation’s development. Resolution 84, a policy recently issued by the Government, outlines incentives and fee reductions for small, private-owned businesses as they attempt to operate during the pandemic period. In line with this resolution, there will be a 15% reduction in the cost of renting Government-owned land. In addition, the resolution includes a 2% interest reduction for Government loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. These fee reductions can be viewed as potentially conducive to increasing employment and boosting business.

Furthermore, the nation recently came to an agreement with the EU the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The deal will eliminate 99% of tariffs on traded goods between both sides and global organisations such as the World Bank view this deal in a positive light. As such, the World Bank estimates that Vietnamese GDP and exports may be boosted by 12% by 2030, with these optimistic projections also set to benefit the local citizens, many of whom are farmers or producers of exported goods.

The article concludes by noting that the country has recorded major achievements in poverty alleviation and economic growth. Moving forward, even though Vietnam has successfully dealt with COVID-19, it must continue to fight poverty on all fronts.

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