The entire world remains unprepared for the next pandemic and most countries are not fit for even small outbreaks of disease, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) researchers reported on Wednesday (8).
No country has scored well on the Global Health Security Index (GHS) – a health emergency preparedness measure established by the GHS Health Security Center and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Nuclear Threat Initiative .
“The 2021 GHS Index continues to show that all countries still lack some critical preparedness, which undermines their ability to respond effectively to Covid-19 and reduces preparedness for future epidemic and pandemic threats. The average score in 2021 was 38.9 out of 100, virtually unchanged since 2019,” the report states.
The highest score was from the United States, with just over 75 points. Brazil ranked 43rd among the 195 surveyed, with 51 points, a slight improvement over the previous report.
The worst area observed was preventing the emergence of new pathogens, such as the virus that caused the current pandemic. “The global average for this category is 28.4”, says the report. The document points out that 113 countries “give little or no attention” to diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
“Leaders now have a choice,” said Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, a researcher at the Center. “They can make dedicated and sustainable investments in the new structures created during this pandemic to prepare their countries for the long term, or they can fall into the decades-long cycle of panic and neglect that will leave the world at grave risk of future public health threats” .
The report found that 155 of the 195 countries surveyed have not invested in pandemic or epidemic preparedness in the past three years and 70% have not invested in clinics, hospitals and community health centers.
“Political and security risks have increased in almost every country, and countries with the fewest resources have the greatest risks and greatest preparedness gaps,” the group of researchers said. Populations in 161 countries have low to moderate levels of public trust in their governments.
The US is the greatest example of this, the report concluded. “With more cases and deaths than any other country, the weak response of the United States to the Covid-19 pandemic has shocked the world,” says the report. “How did a country with such capacity at the beginning of the pandemic get such a wrong answer?”
Among the reasons, there is precisely the low confidence in the government, a factor identified as fundamental among the countries with the highest rates of infections and deaths by Covid-19.
“Lack of trust can undermine public adherence to control measures, such as wearing masks or complying with stay-at-home recommendations or vaccination protocols,” added the document.
Other US weaknesses include limited access to free health care and fewer health workers and hospital beds per capita than many other high-income countries.
The findings show that even rich and seemingly prepared countries can still fail to contain a pandemic. “The public must trust the advice of health authorities and not face obstacles such as loss of income if protection recommendations are followed,” the report says.
“The health care system must be combined with public policies and programs that allow all people to comply with public health recommendations. Income, food and housing assistance are examples of policies that helped the populations against the pandemic”, he concludes.
Reference: CNN Brasil
