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Global Review
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SOURCE: NTI AND JOHNS HOPKINS CENTRE FOR HEALTH SECURITY, GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY INDEX 2019
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UAE (Rank 56)
Thanks to its compliance with international health standards and high levels of food safety, the UAE is relatively well placed to prevent and respond to public health emergencies. During a MERS outbreak in 2014, the World Health Organisation (WHO) praised the UAE’s authorities for “following up diligently” on cases. It noted how effective the country was at gathering data and information to help it better understand the virus. However, the WHO also found that lapses in hospital infection control measures may have contributed to the spread of the disease. Overall, the Global Health Security Index deems the quality of the UAE’s health system to be below average.
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Ukraine (Rank 94)
Ukraine is faced with a number of major health threats: it’s home to the second-largest HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe, and also faces a serious measles epidemic that infected more than 58,000 people in 2019. These outbreaks are testament to the country’s poor healthcare system, which suffers from a shortage of medicine and healthcare workers. Meanwhile, for political and security risks, the Global Health Security Index gave Ukraine a score of just 14.3, compared with the global average of 60.4, due to the ongoing conflict between armed groups and government forces in Eastern Ukraine. This only makes the country more vulnerable to outbreaks.
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Liberia (Rank 111)
In 2013, a deadly Ebola outbreak revealed just how vulnerable Liberia’s healthcare system was. Like Guinea and Sierra Leone, which were also affected, Liberia had to rely heavily on global assistance to stop the epidemic. As a result of this international assistance, Liberia’s healthcare systems are now improving: with the help of donors like the World Bank, Liberia is preparing itself to adjust how it combats disease outbreaks. As a consequence, Liberia now ranks in an impressive 10th place for its adherence to international norms, despite its low overall score. The country has also received more than 520 pieces of medical equipment from the WHO and the UN.
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Equatorial Guinea (Rank 195)
With a population of just 1.2 million people, Equatorial Guinea – a small country on the west coast of Africa – is the least-prepared nation in the world in terms of managing a public health emergency, according to the index. In the prevention category, Equatorial Guinea has a score of just 1.9, compared with the global average of 34.8. It also has no capacity to monitor and report on outbreaks, and no planned emergency response should one occur. The fact that its economy is so reliant on oil – accounting for 90 percent of export earnings – also leaves it prone to recession, making its healthcare systems even more vulnerable.
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