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News Analysis

Governance

Covid-19 Performance Index

  • 30 Jan 2021
  • 4 min read

Why in News

India has been ranked 86th in a “Covid-19 Performance Index” comprising 98 countries.

Key Points

  • About the Index
    • Institution Involved:
      • Covid-19 Performance Index was compiled by the Sydney-based Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, which sought to measure the response of countries to the Pandemic.
        • The Institute also took into account the impact of geography, political systems and economic development in assessing outcomes.
    • Parameter Used:
      • Six Indicators: Confirmed cases, confirmed deaths, cases per million people, deaths per million people, cases as a proportion of tests, and tests per thousand people.
      • Fewer reported cases and deaths, both in aggregate and per capita terms, point towards a better response to the virus.
      • More tests conducted on a per capita basis reveal an accurate picture of the extent of the pandemic at the national level.
      • Lower rates of positive tests indicate greater degrees of control over the transmission of Covid-19.
    • Assessing Method:
      • Assessed 98 countries in the 36 weeks that followed their hundredth case.
        • China was not included in the study because all of its testing rates are not publicly available.
      • An average across six indicators was calculated for individual countries in each period and normalised to produce a score from 0 (worst performing) to 100 (best performing).
  • Results:
    • Top Countries:
      • New Zealand topped the rankings closely followed by Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and Cyprus.
    • Bottom Countries:
      • Brazil stood at the bottom of the index. The USA was the fifth-worst performing country, it stood at 94 out of 98 countries.
    • South Asian Countries:
      • Sri Lanka was the best performing nation in South Asia, ranking 10, while the Maldives was at 25, Pakistan at 69, Nepal at 70, and Bangladesh at 84.
    • Performance of India:
      • India ranked 86th in the Covid-19 Performance Index out of 98 countries.
      • At 24.3, India’s average was lower than the region it belongs to — Asia-Pacific — which scored 58.2 and ranked best in the region-wise evaluation.
  • Trend Analysis:
    • Smaller countries performed better: In general, countries with smaller populations, cohesive societies, and capable institutions have a comparative advantage in dealing with a global crisis such as a pandemic.
      • Smaller countries with fewer than 10 million people consistently outperformed their larger counterparts throughout 2020.
    • Leadership Mattered: Levels of economic development and differences in political systems didn’t have as much of an impact on coronavirus response as expected.
      • Proper management of the pandemic was not much dependent on the regime type but whether citizens trust their leaders, and whether those leaders preside over a competent and effective state.
    • The relatively ‘low-tech’ nature of the health measures used to mitigate the spread of the virus created a more level playing field between developed and developing countries.
      • The deployment of vaccines, however, could give richer countries an advantage.

Source: TH

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