All‐of‐government response to the COVID‐19 pandemic: The case of Vietnam
| Published date | 01 October 2020 |
| Author | Dat Huynh,Mehmet Serkan Tosun,Serdar Yilmaz |
| Date | 01 October 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1893 |
DOI: 10.1002/pad.1893
COMMENTARY
All‐of‐government response to the COVID‐19 pandemic:
The case of Vietnam
Dat Huynh
1
|Mehmet Serkan Tosun
1
|Serdar Yilmaz
2
1
Department of Economics, The College of Business, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
2
Governance Global Practice, World Bank, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Correspondence
Serdar Yilmaz, Governance Global Practice, World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington DC 20433, USA.
Email: syilmaz@worldbank.org
KEYWORDS
governance, local public service delivery, municipalities, Vietnam
1
|
INTRODUCTION
Vietnam reported its first two cases of the 2019 coronavirus disease
(COVID‐19)
1
on January 23, 2020. As the number of cases rose to six
on February 1, the Government of Vietnam declared the outbreak an
epidemic. The Prime Minister established a National Steering Com-
mittee for COVID‐19 Prevention and Control chaired by a Deputy
Prime Minister. This multi‐ministerial committee is instrumental in
communications with public and conducting epidemiological
response activities. The Committee, for example, launched a mobile
application to mitigate the rise of coronavirus cases in the country.
The application, which is instrumental in identifying localities with
community spread, enabled citizens to frequently update their health
conditions and report suspected cases in their communities.
2
At the heart of the success of the Vietnamese government in
fighting against the COVID‐19 pandemic is its ability to deploy pro-
vincial governments effectively. The national steering committee
structure is mirrored at the provincial level. Provincial steering
committees supervise and detect infections early, monitor border
crossings, airports, and seaports, particularly for passengers coming
from affected areas. Provincial governments offer free testing and
treatment to those who are found positive and enforce wearing
facemasks in public spaces.
3
The World Health Organization
applauded the proactive public health practices of the Vietnamese
government and praised it as a multi‐sectoral collaboration within
the government.
4
All of these efforts kept the infection rate very low in Vietnam.
By the middle of June, 95% of all COVID‐19 cases (about 325 cases)
had been treated, and there were no reported deaths. However, in
July there was a deadly outbreak in the Da Nang province. Cases
suddenly surged after more than 3 months with no serious commu-
nity spread. In early August, the country had the first COVID‐19
death, a toll that has risen to more than 10 since then. This recent
local outbreak highlights the volatility of the situation. As the case
and death numbers are evolving, we present an analysis based on the
numbers by the end of June.
2
|
ROLE OF SUBNATIONAL GOVERNMENTS IN
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic the government's
efforts to strengthen the intergovernmental system and to capaci-
tate subnational governments have been put a test. Vietnam has
The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are entirely those of authors, and do not represent the views of the World Bank, its executive directors, or countries they represent.
1
On February 11, 2002, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization announced COVID‐19 as the name of the disease causing the 2019 novel coronavirus
outbreak (https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1227297754499764230).
2
Giang, H. (2020, March 9). Health declaration app launched in support of Covid‐19 combat. VGP News. http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/Health-declaration-app-launched-in-support-of-
COVID19-combat/20203/39108.vgp
3
Giang, H. (2020, March 11). Steering committee convenes meeting amid complicated developments of COVID‐19 outbreak. VGP News. http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/Steering-Committee-
convenes-meeting-amid-complicated-developments-of-COVID19-outbreak/20203/39132.vgp
4
Nguyen, S. (2020, February 28). Coronavirus miracle? Vietnam says all its infected patients cured. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/infected-patients-vietnam-cured-
coronavirus-miracle-200228035007608.html. See also La et al. (2020) and Tran et al. (2020) for more on local government response and public health system in Vietnam.
236
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Public Admin Dev. 2020;40:236–239. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pad © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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