Global Health Security Index 2021 | 10 Dec 2021

Why in News

Recently, the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2021 has been recently released.

• In India NITI Aayog releases its own health index.

Key Points

• GHS Index:
  
  • About:
    
    • It is an assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries.
    • It has been developed in partnership by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center.
      
      • NTI is a nonprofit global security organization focused on reducing nuclear and biological threats imperiling humanity.
      • Johns Hopkins Center was created to recognize the crucial role of communication in public health.
  • Methods of Ranking:
    
    • The GHS Index assesses countries’ health security and capabilities across six categories. 
    • The six categories are as follow:
      
      • Prevention: Prevention of the emergence or release of pathogens.
      • Detection and Reporting: Early detection and reporting for epidemics of potential international concern.
      • Rapid Response: Rapid response to and mitigation of the spread of an epidemic.
      • Health System: Sufficient and robust health system to treat the sick and protect health workers.
      • Compliance with International Norms: Commitments to improving national capacity, financing plans to address gaps, and adhering to global norms.
      • Risk Environment: Overall risk environment and country vulnerability to biological threats.
    • The index measures countries’ capabilities from 0-100, with 100 representing the highest level of preparedness. The GHS Index scoring system includes three tiers.
      
      • Low Scores: Countries that score between 0 and 33.3 are in the bottom tier.
      • Moderate Scores: Countries that score between 33.4 and 66.6 are in the middle tier and
      • High Scores: Countries that score between 66.7 and 100 are in the upper or “top” tier.
• Ranking:
  
  • India’s:
    
    • India, with a score of 42.8 (out of 100) has slipped by 0.8 points since 2019.
  • World:
    
    • Three neighbouring countries of India like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives have improved their score by 1-1.2 points.
    • The world’s overall performance on the GHS Index score slipped to 38.9 (out of 100) in 2021, from a score of 40.2 in the GHS Index, 2019.
    • In 2021, no country scored in the top tier of rankings and no country scored above 75.9.
• Overall Performance of the Countries:
  
  • Unprepared for Future Epidemic:
    
    • Countries across all income levels remain dangerously unprepared to meet future epidemic and pandemic threats.
      
      • This, even as infectious diseases are expected to have the greatest impact on the global economy in the next decade.
  • Insufficient Health Capacities:
    
    • All countries had insufficient health capacities.
      
      • This left the world acutely vulnerable to future health emergencies, according to the Index that measured the capacities of 195 countries to prepare for epidemics and pandemics.
  • National Public Health Emergency:
    
    • 65% of assessed countries had not published and implemented an overarching national public health emergency response plan for diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential.
  • Medical Countermeasures:
    
    • 73% of countries did not have the ability to provide expedited approval for medical countermeasures, such as vaccines and antiviral drugs, during a public health emergency.
    • Thus, the world was acutely vulnerable to health emergencies in the future.
  • Lack of Financial Investments:
    
    • Most countries, including high-income ones, have not made dedicated financial investments in strengthening epidemic or pandemic preparedness.
      
      • Close to 79% of the 195 countries assessed had not allocated national funds within the past three years to improve their capacity to address epidemic threats.
  • Public Confidence in their Governments:
    
    • A whopping 82% of countries have low to moderate levels of public confidence in their government.
      
      • Health emergencies demand a robust public health infrastructure with effective governance. But the trust in government, which has been a key factor associated with success in countries’ responses to Covid-19, is low and decreasing.
• Recommendations:
  
  • Allocate Health Security Funds:
    
    • Countries should allocate health security funds in national budgets and conduct assessments using the 2021 GHS Index to develop a national plan to identify their risks and fill gaps.
  • Additional Support:
    
    • International organizations should use the GHS Index to identify countries most in need of additional support.
  • Involvement of Private Sector:
    
    • The private sector should use the GHS Index to look for opportunities to partner with governments.
  • New Financing Mechanisms:
    
    • Philanthropies and funders should develop new financing mechanisms and use the GHS Index to prioritize resources.

Source: DTE