Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Research and Policy Experimentation for Air Quality Improvement in Viet Nam
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
EXPLORATORY
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is that despite significant efforts and policies aimed at improving air quality in Viet Nam, major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City continue to suffer from high levels of PM2.5 pollutants. This persistent air pollution poses severe health risks, affects economic development, and exacerbates climate change impacts. Moreover, the perception of air quality has worsened over the past three years, indicating an urgent need for interventions that resonate with the public's concerns and lead to tangible improvements in air quality. For example between 2017 and 2020, Hanoi’s PM2.5 levels were steadily above national limits and exceeded WHO limits by 8 times in this period.
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
Air quality is a critical environmental and public health issue that affects countries around the world, transcending national borders and socioeconomic statuses. The deterioration of air quality is primarily attributed to human activities, including industrial activities, vehicular emissions, agricultural practices, and the burning of fossil fuels for energy. The consequences of poor air quality are far-reaching, impacting human health, ecosystems, climate change, and economic development. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified air pollution as the single largest environmental health risk, responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths annually worldwide.
Viet Nam's rapid industrialization, urbanization, and increased vehicular traffic have led to deteriorating air quality, with significant health and economic costs. The government has enacted various policies, laws, and regulations to combat this issue, but gaps in policy implementation and people’s perception remain.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
According to the 2024 World Air Quality Report, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have been listed among the cities with the highest levels of PM2.5 pollutants, which are fine particulate matter known to pose significant health risks.
The WHO's Global Health Observatory data repository provides evidence of the health impacts of air pollution, including increased mortality rates due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to PM2.5 exposure. This issue is compounded by rapid industrialization, traffic congestion, and agricultural burning practices, which are significant sources of air pollutants.
According to the 2022 World Bank Air Quality in Hanoi Report, the social cost or welfare cost of these health effects is enormous – a loss of 7.74% GRDP in Hanoi, 5.9% GRDP in RRD regions, 5.29% GRDP in Northern Midlands & Mountain Areas.
The Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) also reveals a mixed perception of air quality across Viet Nam. While the general perception is positive, specific regions, particularly in the Northern areas of the Red River Delta and Northern Midland and Mountain areas, report poor air quality. Additionally, the data indicates that perceptions of air quality have worsened compared to three years ago, with new provinces appearing on the list of those with the worst perception of air pollution.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
The Vietnam Television (VTV) has reported on the air quality situation in major Vietnamese cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, highlighting periods of severe air pollution. These reports indicate that air pollution is a significant concern during certain times of the year, with the American Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City noting over half a year of low air quality.
Articles from national newspapers such as VnExpress International have reported on the deteriorating air quality in Hanoi, noting that the levels of fine dust particles in the air were twice as much as the normal standard on several occasions. Reports by VnExpress International also discussed the economic costs associated with air pollution, including hospitalizations due to cardiovascular diseases and economic losses incurred from people taking days off work. These reports indicate a heightened public concern and awareness about the air quality issues facing Vietnam's capital and other areas.
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
The UNDP Accelerator Lab brings a unique value proposition by leveraging social innovation and design methodologies to address air pollution. Our problem-based approach combines qualitative and quantitative research to dig deeply into the root of the problem, using stakeholder engagement, and policy experimentation to develop and understand behaviors and relations that can be useful for air quality improvement.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
Tackling Viet Nam's air quality problem through innovation and policy experimentation. Join us in creating sustainable solutions for healthier communities and ecosystems. #AcceleratorLab #AirQualityVietNam #InnovationForChange
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the partner:
World Health Organization
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE and provincial level DONRE)
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
Acclab will explore the possibility to collaborate with provincial level governments for the work on air pollution. For example, the city of Hanoi recently released it’s action plan for 2025-2030 with detailed action points on how to tackle different sources of pollution and has expressed interest in collaborating with international development partners on this issue. We would draw from our provincial partnerships through previous work on things such as PAPI to collaborate and bring together stakeholders. With private sector, we will explore testable solutions that address some of the sources of air pollution and incorporate that into our experimentation phase.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
The UNDP Accelerator Lab in Vietnam is set to collaborate with a diverse group of partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE and provincial DONRE), to tackle the pressing issue of air pollution. This collaboration aims to leverage WHO's global health expertise and integrate and draw from existing work in this area by government partner.
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Sense, Explore, Test
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
These methods will enable us to deeply understand the local context, engage with key stakeholders and coduct policy experimentation to provide policy recommendations.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Potentially explore: Mobile Air Quality Monitoring Apps. Explore opportunities to collaborate with developers of mobile applications that crowdsource air quality data from users. These apps can provide real-time, location-specific data on air pollution levels. The rich dataset generated by mobile apps opens opportunities for innovative research into the causes, effects, and solutions to air pollution. It can also inspire the development of new technologies and approaches to mitigate air pollution and protect public health.
Traditional air quality monitoring systems often provide data from fixed monitoring stations, which may not capture the spatial variability of air pollution across different urban and rural areas. Mobile apps can fill this gap by offering real-time, granular data on air pollution levels at various locations, enhancing the understanding of pollution hotspots and temporal trends.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Potential champions include the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, local government units, environmental NGOs, and international organizations focused on climate change and public health. Engaging with these stakeholders early on will facilitate the scaling and adoption of successful solutions.
END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.
3Good health and well-being
9Industry, innovation and infrastructure
11Sustainable cities and communities
Comments
Log in to add a comment or reply.