Past Research Projects

Examining Governance in Response to the Pandemic of COVID-19: A Case Study of Vietnam

This study is part of a research project called “COVID-19 Study for Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Resilient Society.”

This study takes up the case of Vietnam, which has been called a "successful case" of a COVID-19 response (the analysis covers the period up to the end of June 2021). It aims to examine Vietnam not only from the perspectives of the swiftness of the country’s early response as an infection control measure and the mobilizing power of the state among its citizens (due to the one-party system), which have been previously discussed, but also from the perspective of the relationship between the state and society: how Vietnam actually made appeals to its citizens, how the people reacted, and even how they responded "voluntarily." This demonstrates that a one-size-fits-all approach is not effective, as evidenced by the differences in the responses and infection situations in each country, and also raises the issue of how governance should be based on historical perspectives, rather than political systems, as a factor that will determine the approach’s success or failure.

The lessons learned from this study could be a useful international public good, not only for bringing the current pandemic under control, but also for future measures against infectious diseases. In addition, Vietnam is a middle-income country, which can provide important insights for developing countries with scarce resources to consider the possibility of adapting the Vietnamese approach. The analytical framework and concepts modified through the case study are expected to be put to use for future infectious disease control measures or crisis response in a broader sense, as well as for verification of their effectiveness.