On October 25, 2019, Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2019 was released. It is a project of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security (CHS), with research by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). It is the first comprehensive assessment of epidemic and pandemic threats globally. In this Index, India was ranked 57th out of 195 countries with a score of 46.5 out of 100. The United States (US) topped the list globally, overall with a score of 83.5, followed by United Kingdom (77.9) and Netherlands (75.6).
Key Points:
i.Indicators: The countries were assessed on 6 indicators namely Prevention; Detection & Reporting; Rapid Response; Health System; Compliance with international norms and Risk environment.
ii.Analysis: No country is fully prepared for epidemics or pandemics. International preparedness is weak. Asian countries face significant risks. Only 13 countries scored in the top tier.
iii. Overall GHS Index Score: The average overall GHS Index score stood at 40.2 out of 100. The average score of High-income countries stood at 51.9.
iv. Thailand and South Korea were among the best-performing countries in Asia.
India’s indicator wise performance:
| Indicator | Rank | GHS Index Score |
| Prevention | 87 | 34.9 |
| Detection & Reporting | 67 | 47.4 |
| Rapid Response | 32 | 52.4 |
| Health System | 36 | 42.7 |
| Compliance with international norms | 100 | 47.7 |
| Risk environment | 103 | 54.4 |
About the Index:
The Index assesses each country’s capacity to prevent, detect and respond to health emergencies, as well as the efficacy of their health systems, commitment to global norms, and the political, socioeconomic and environmental risk factors that can limit response.