UN Assessment of the Social and Economic Impact of COVID-19 in Viet Nam

The Government of Viet Nam’s proactive response to the COVID-19 pandemic saved thousands of lives and reduced the scale of the negative economic impact on the economy and livelihoods. 
Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to record positive growth this year even if this has been revised further downwards after the last COVID-19 outbreaks in July and August. This is, nevertheless, still a considerable achievement given the severity of the global recession and the devastating impact of the pandemic on domestic industries like transportation and tourism. Despite this, the pandemic represents a major development challenge globally and for Viet Nam. It has also exposed the high social and economic costs of inequality and of gaps in healthcare service provision and access to social protection around the world. Most notably, the pandemic has had and will continue to have a disproportionate impact on specific groups including the poor and people vulnerable to poverty, migrants and informal sector workers, ethnic minority groups, other people and children, women, especially victims of gender-based violence and pregnant women, people with disabilities, people living with HIV and others.

The report presents an analysis carried out by the UN in Viet Nam of the social and economic impact of the pandemic, specifically on people, households, communities and enterprises at greatest risk, and the ways that the pandemic has deepened existing disparities. It provides strategic policy recommendations for the Government of Viet Nam and its efforts to mitigate the effects of the crisis and also provides inputs to the SocioEconomic Development Strategy (2021-2030) and Socio-Economic Development Plan (2021-2025) and policies elaborated in these documents to ensure a robust and sustainable recovery from the crisis and progress towards the achievement of the SDGs