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[INFOGRAPHIC] Which Countries are Best and Worst Prepared to Deal with an Epidemic?

[INFOGRAPHIC] Which Countries are Best and Worst Prepared to Deal with an Epidemic?
Pixabay/ Gerd Altmann | Illustration

Which countries are best and worst prepared to deal with an epidemic? Last October, the Global Health Security Index was released, exploring that very issue. It was the first comprehensive assessment of global health security capabilities in 195 countries.

The index analyzed preparation levels by focusing on whether countries have the proper tools in place to deal with large scale outbreaks of disease, with scores measured on a scale of 0 to 100 where 100 is the highest level of preparedness.

The United States has the strongest measures in place and it came first with a score of 83.5, ahead of the United Kingdom with 77.9 and the Netherlands with 75.6. China was further down the ranking with a score of 48.2, placing it 51st. 

This chart shows countries/territories ranked by ability to respond to an epiemic/pandemic in 2019. Image: STATISTA/FORBES
This chart shows countries/territories ranked by ability to respond to an epiemic/pandemic in 2019. Image: STATISTA/FORBES

 

The following map illustrates the state of preparation levels worldwide with Africa's vulnerability to deal with large scale outbreaks readily apparent. This can be seen by a major Ebola outbreak in 2014 which devastated parts of West Africa, killing more than 10,000 people, prompting many countries to boost their own measures of containment. So far at least, no country in Africa has confirmed a case of the coronavirus. 

Here are the ranked of preparation levels of countries in Southeast Asia: 

  1. Thailand 6
  2. Malaysia 18
  3. Singapore 26
  4. Indonesia 30
  5. Vietnam 50
  6. Philippines 53
  7. Myanmar 72
  8. Laos 73
  9. Cambodia 89
  10. Brunei 128

 

 

 

 


Source :

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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