The level of countries’ preparedness to health risks during Covid-19 and pre-pandemic
: the differential response to health systems building blocks and socioeconomic indicators
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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
The level of countries’ preparedness to health risks during Covid-19 and pre-pandemic
:
the differential response to health systems building blocks and socioeconomic indicators
Description:
The global health security (GHS) Index assesses countries' level of preparedness to health risks. However, there is no evidence on how and whether the efects of health systems building blocks and socioeconomic indicators on the level of preparedness difer for low and high prepared countries. The aim of this study was to examine the contributions of health systems building blocks and socioeconomic indicators to show diferences in the level of preparedness to health risks. The study also aimed to examine trends in the level of preparedness and the World Health Organization (WHO) regional diferences before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. We used the 2021 GHS index report data and employed quantile regression, log-linear, double-logarithmic, and time-fxed efects models. As robustness checks, these functional form specifcations corroborated with one another, and interval validity tests confrmed. The results show that increases in efective governance, supply chain capacity in terms of medicines and technologies, and health fnancing had positive efects on countries' level of preparedness to health risks. These efects were considerably larger for countries with higher levels of preparedness to health risks. The positive gradient trends signaled a sense of capacity on the part of countries with higher global health security. However, the health workforce including doctors, and health services including hospital beds, were not statistically signifcant in explaining variations in countries' level of preparedness. While economic factors had positive efects on the level of preparedness to health risks, their impacts across the distribution of countries' level of preparedness to health risks were mixed. The efects of Social Development Goals (SDGs) were greater for countries with higher levels of preparedness to health risks. The efect of the Human Development Index (HDI) was greatest for countries whose overall GHS index lies at the midpoint of the distribution of countries' level of preparedness. High-income levels were associated with a negative efect on the level of preparedness, especially if countries were in the lower quantiles across the distributions of preparedness. Relative to poor countries, middle- and high-income groups had lower levels of preparedness to health risks, an indication of a sense of complacency. We fnd the pandemic period (year 2021) was associated with a decrease in the level of preparedness to health risks in comparison to the pre-pandemic period. There were signifcant WHO regional diferences. Apart from the Eastern Mediterranean, the rest of the regions were more prepared to health risks compared to Africa. There was a negative trend in the level of preparedness to health risks from 2019 to 2021 although regional diferences in changes over time were not statistically signifcant. In conclusion, attempts to strengthen countries' level of preparedness to health shocks should be more focused on enhancing essentials such as supply chain capacity in terms of medicines and technologies; health fnancing, and communication infrastructure. Countries should also strengthen their already existing health workforce and health services. Together, strengthening these health systems essentials will be benefcial to less prepared countries where their impact we fnd to be weaker. Similarly, boosting SDGs, particularly health-related sub-scales, will be helpful to less prepared countries. Moreover, there is a need to curb complacency in preparedness to health risks during pandemics by high-income countries. The negative trend in the level of preparedness to health risks would suggest that there is a need for better preparedness during pandemics by confating national health with global health risks. This will ensure the imperative of having a synergistic response to global health risks, which is understood by and communicated to all countries and regions.