WB Country Director: Vietnam copes with COVID-19 pandemic relatively well

TIN LIÊN QUAN
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World Bank Country Director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione. (Photo: VGP)

Ousmane Dione highlighted that there have been no COVID-19 related deaths and, as of April 6, only 241 infections nation-wide, despite Vietnam’s role as a regional trade powerhouse and a tourism hotspot.

There is no time when speed matters more than when a pandemic strikes. What’s unfolding with the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide speaks volumes to this. First detected in China last December, the novel coronavirus has traveled to 209 countries and territories globally, infected more than 1.1 million and claimed the lives of nearly 70,000 people at the time of this writing.

Fighting COVID-19 – catalysts for Vietnam’s digital transformation

Referring to Vietnam’s measures to cope with COVID-19, the WB Country Director said that many of Vietnam’s swift and effective public health responses have been enabled by information technology. The country has put its high penetration of mobile phones (150%) and the Internet (70%) to great use.

Alert notifications and reminders from health authorities to take precautionary measures are regularly circulated via text messages, websites and social media. There are mobile applications for universal medical declaration and to keep tabs on the pandemic development.

Seamless and timely citizen outreach and engagement are just one of many benefits digital technology offers in the face of pandemic. In the time of a contagious disease, social distancing—which involves a conscious effort to reduce close contact between people to slow and hopefully halt the spread of infections—is arguably the best way to stop the virus.

That is why countries around the world are closing borders, canceling large-scale gatherings, shutting down schools and asking people to stay home. These measures are disrupting everyone’s daily lives, but digital technologies offer a way to adapt to this “new normal”.

Digital technologies are a key enabler to facilitate home-based work, remote learning and home supply delivery, which have become essential in this time of pandemic. Vietnamese have been able to conduct certain businesses online and put this option to greater use since the outbreak hit in late January.

The National Public Services Portal, which provides basic public services to citizens, has registered a significant surge in traffic. Visits to the portal jumped from 11 million in late January to over 28 million at the end of March, according to government data. During March, the number of online service transactions conducted via the portal doubled to more than 23,000.

Popular e-commerce sites report similar trends. Since the first case was reported in Vietnam, the leading e-commerce site Tiki has seen an explosion in the number of purchase orders, and big retailers have seen a dramatic increase in online sales. Saigon Co.op, for example, registered a five-fold increase in online sales in the following week after the first case was detected on January 23.

Development of digital infrastructure helps minimize disruption during social distancing

Ousmane Dione suggested that yet in times of crisis, Vietnam could minimize disruption even further if it had a full-scale digital infrastructure.

With a view of heading to a more digitized Vietnam, the country should virtually provide a majority of public services, not just a few, he said, adding that a credible digital ID system could enable full accessibility to digital financial services and other private sector platforms.

Virtual learning platforms for students at all levels, even at public schools with limited resources, would enable students to learn despite prolonged periods of school closure while big data diagnostic capabilities could aid health surveillance and forecasting.

The WB leader stressed that streamlined and efficient administrative procedures could expedite disbursement of public and ODA investments—critical resources to stem an economic fallout in a time of great uncertainty.

In addition, an IT-enabled social assistance program could reach vulnerable groups and businesses regardless of their remoteness through digital transfers—one pilot project, financed by the WB, demonstrates the feasibility of this approach. More than 2,600 people of ethnic minorities in Cao Bang Province have received their monthly social allowance via mobile money.

Ousmane Dione added that the Government of Vietnam is already committed to the digital transformation agenda. Its efforts to build various e-Government systems such as the National Public Services Portal and the Document Exchange Platform, as well as ongoing initiatives to ramp up systems during the pandemic are laudable.

And the country is also looking to harness the potential of digital payments technology as part of the new national financial inclusion strategy approved in January.

COVID-19 has been a test for every system, from the country to individual level, revealing both strengths and weaknesses. It is a reminder that Vietnam could benefit a great deal from digitalized services and should push the digital agenda even harder and faster.

Digital technologies not only help promote inclusive growth, but they can also make us more resilient in times of crisis– enabling us to manage the impact of social disruption while remaining virtually connected and productive and fed.

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