Global Health Security Index

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The Global Health Security Index (GHS Index) represents the results of a worldwide study of the state of preparedness for dealing with epidemics and pandemics in 195 countries. The study was carried out by the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University , the Nuclear Threat Initiative ( NTI) and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). It was first published in 2019. It shows that "no country in the world is fully prepared for epidemics and pandemics, and that every country has to address important gaps". In 2019, the following countries were in the “best prepared” category in alphabetical order: Australia, Finland, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, South Korea, Thailand, Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the USA. The USA is in first place with an index value of 83.5 out of 100. Germany is in 14th place with an index value of 66, just behind Switzerland (13th place) and ahead of Austria (26th place). The greatest number of countries in the “least prepared” category are in West Africa and Central Africa.

method

The report is based on a questionnaire with 140 questions in six categories:

  • Prevention: preventing the emergence and spread of pathogens.
  • Detection and Publicity: The early detection and publicizing of epidemics that may be of international concern.
  • Response: The quick response and slowdown in the spread of the epidemic.
  • Health system: A sufficient and “robust” health system to treat sick people and to protect those working in the health system.
  • Compliance with international standards: In addition to compliance with international standards themselves, this includes binding declarations, addressing gaps and providing the necessary resources.
  • Risk Environment: A country's “general risk environment” and susceptibility to biological hazards.

The index is based solely on open source information. The researchers worked with an international advisory board made up of 21 experts from 13 countries.

Weaknesses in the German system according to the report

According to the report of the GHS Index 2019, the German system performed poorly (index value below 50) in the following sub-areas:

  • In Germany, research is being carried out on pathogens with pandemic potential, but there is no publicly available inventory of this research.
  • The researchers could not find any information on the websites of the responsible federal ministries as to whether an emergency communication system exists through which authorities and employees of healthcare facilities can communicate with each other during crises.
  • There is no national emergency plan for the simultaneous outbreak of multiple epidemics, even if the Robert Koch Institute has drawn up an emergency plan for the outbreak of a flu epidemic.
  • The researchers could not find any publicly available information that the security and health authorities have plans to cooperate with biological weapons in the event of a terrorist attack.
  • The joint reporting and situation center of the federal and state governments did not carry out any exercises in the twelve months before the report was concluded.
  • There are no statistics on how many epidemiologists work in Germany, so it cannot be determined whether there is more than one epidemiologist for 200,000 inhabitants.
  • There was no external evaluation of the system e.g. This was done, for example, by the World Health Organization , so the researchers could not find any information about funding provided to fill any gaps.

financing

The development of the index was funded by the Open Philanthropy Project, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Robertson Foundation , among others .

Coronavirus epidemic

The index became known to a wider public during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and was widely quoted by the media. On February 27, 2020, President Donald Trump held up a card based on the index and said the US was the "best pandemic prepared country in the world." One of the experts who worked on the project pointed out, that the US has deficits in access to health care.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ GHS Index: Findings and Recommendations . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b GHS Index: About . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  3. ^ GHS Index Country Profile for Germany . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ Hilary Brueck: Trump held up a map showing the US is the best prepared country in the world for a pandemic, but only for the rich, influential, and fully insured . Business Insider. Retrieved February 29, 2020.