Report highlights effect of COVID-19 on vulnerable households, companies
COVID-19 has had a serious impact on vulnerable households, especially those of ethnic minority groups, those with members working in the non-official sector, or those with immigrants, according to a report released at a conference in Hanoi on July 23.
Jointly prepared by the UNDP, UN Women, and the Centre for Analyses and Forecasting at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, the report highlights the pandemic’s socio-economic influence on vulnerable households and businesses in Vietnam, with consideration also given to gender factors.
It said the impacts led to an increase in temporary poverty, especially in ethnic minority households.
It underscored that COVID-19 caused considerable declines in revenue for both business households and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, forcing them to slow down operations and cut staff.
According to Caitlin Wiese, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, the report aims to provide information to support COVID-19 response activities and post-pandemic recovery.
She underscored the significance of timely, forecasted, and flexible actions by the Vietnamese Government that contributed to the country’s success in fighting the pandemic.
Dr Tran Toan Thang from the National Centre for Socio-economic Information and Forecasting (NCIF) at the Ministry of Planning and Investment said COVID-19 had a rapid and strong impact on the global and Vietnamese economy, while possibly triggering the greatest crisis in many decades, even more so than the 2008 financial crisis.
Economic, trade, and investment have been interrupted, while the world financial market has become unstable and new economic and geo-politic trends have emerged and been forecast to grow in the future, in particular the reshaping of global supply chains.
Control of the pandemic still faces difficulties around the world, while many countries may be subject to another outbreak due to opening their economy too early, he said.
He held that the prospects for economic growth in the second half of the year have been lowered dramatically, and stressed the need for market broadening, investment promotion, and consumption encouragement as key measures to drive growth and contribute to the recovery process.
Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Chief Representative of UN Women in Vietnam, said that if the consequences of the pandemic are not tackled comprehensively, COVID-19 will leave severe health and socio-economic effects that may cause gender inequality and harm the outcomes of efforts over recent decades to empower women.
She expressed a hope that the report’s assessments, with consideration given to gender factors, will contribute to the Government’s efforts in adopting solutions suitable to the specific demand of women and girls, while preserving and promoting achievements made in gender equality and women’s empowerment.