Ho Chi Minh City receives 'Labor Hero' title for COVID-19 response, recovery efforts

The title was officially presented during the national celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of southern Vietnam and national reunification held in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday morning.

Signed by State President Luong Cuong at the request of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, this esteemed recognition acknowledges the exceptional and outstanding achievements of Ho Chi Minh City in pandemic response and socio-economic recovery, contributing to socialist construction and national defense.

Representing the city, Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen and other senior officials received the honor from Party General Secretay To Lam.

In a prior report sent to PM Chinh, the municipal People’s Committee highlighted the extraordinary achievements of the city's Party, administration, and people between 2020 and 2024 in battling the COVID-19 pandemic and spearheading socio-economic recovery.

Alongside its efforts to deal with the public health crisis, the city adopted measures to ensure the well-being of its residents.

The southern metropolis distributed over 71,000 metric tons of rice from national reserves to assist roughly 4.7 million vulnerable citizens.

The city received more than 10,800 donations totaling over VND5.9 trillion (US$227 million), of which more than VND5.7 trillion ($219 million) was disbursed to support residents.

Civic organizations also launched numerous humanitarian initiatives in which they provided free-of-charge food and medical supplies to help the city dwellers weather the pandemic.

Following its efforts in controlling the outbreak, the city witnessed remarkable success in economic recovery and development.

Despite a deep GRDP (gross regional domestic product) contraction of minus 5.36 percent in 2021, the city posted a strong recovery of 9.03 percent in 2022.

From 2022 onward, its average growth rate has hovered between 7.7 and 7.9 percent.

Between 2020 and 2024, the city generated over VND2.1 quadrillion in state revenue ($81 billion), contributing around 24 percent of the national budget.

Its retail market expanded by 1.6 times, and export levels increased slightly compared to the pre-pandemic period.