scholarly journals Analysing COVID-19 outcomes in the context of the 2019 Global Health Security (GHS) Index

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. e007581
Author(s):  
Sophie M Rose ◽  
Michael Paterra ◽  
Christopher Isaac ◽  
Jessica Bell ◽  
Amanda Stucke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Elderly Population ◽  
Excess Mortality ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionThe Global Health Security Index benchmarks countries’ capacities to carry out the functions necessary to prevent, detect and respond to biological threats. The COVID-19 pandemic served as an opportunity to evaluate whether the Index contained the correct array of variables that influence countries’ abilities to respond to these threats; assess additional variables that may influence preparedness; and examine how the impact of preparedness components change during public health crises.MethodsLinear regression models were examined to determine the relationship between excess mortality per capita for the first 500 days of countries’ COVID-19 pandemic and internal Index variables, as well as external variables including social cohesion; island status; perceived corruption; elderly population size; previous epidemic experience; stringency of non-pharmaceutical interventions; and social and political polarisation.ResultsCOVID-19 outcomes were significantly associated with sociodemographic, political and governance variables external to the 2019 Index: social cohesion, reduction in social polarisation and reduced perceptions of corruption were consistently correlated with reduced excess mortality throughout the pandemic. The association of other variables assessed by the Index, like epidemiological workforce robustness, changed over time. Fixed country features, including geographic connectedness, larger elderly population and lack of prior coronavirus outbreak experience were detrimental to COVID-19 outcomes. Finally, there was evidence that countries that lacked certain capacities were able to develop these over the course of the pandemic.ConclusionsAdditional sociodemographic, political and governance variables should be included in future indices to improve their ability to characterise preparedness. Fixed characteristics, while not directly addressable, are useful for establishing countries’ inherent risk profile and can motivate those at greater risk to invest in preparedness. Particular components of preparedness vary in their impact on outcomes over the course of the pandemic, which may inform resource direction during ongoing crises. Future research should seek to further characterise time-dependent impacts as additional COVID-19 outcome data become available.

scholarly journals Validation analysis of Global Health Security Index (GHSI) scores 2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (10) ◽  
pp. e003276
Author(s):  
Matthew J Boyd ◽  
Nick Wilson ◽  
Cassidy Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Security Index ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic powerfully demonstrates the consequences of biothreats. Countries will want to know how to better prepare for future events. The Global Health Security Index (GHSI) is a broad, independent assessment of 195 countries’ preparedness for biothreats that may aid this endeavour. However, to be useful, the GHSI’s external validity must be demonstrated. We aimed to validate the GHSI against a range of external metrics to assess how it could be utilised by countries.MethodsGlobal aggregate communicable disease outcomes were correlated with GHSI scores and linear regression models were examined to determine associations while controlling for a number of global macroindices. GHSI scores for countries previously exposed to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Middle East respiratory syndrome and Ebola and recipients of US Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) investment were compared with matched control countries. Possible content omissions in light of the progressing COVID-19 pandemic were assessed.ResultsGHSI scores for countries had strong criterion validity against the Joint External Evaluation ReadyScore (rho=0.82, p<0.0001), and moderate external validity against deaths from communicable diseases (−0.56, p<0.0001). GHSI scores were associated with reduced deaths from communicable diseases (F(3, 172)=22.75, p<0.0001). The proportion of deaths from communicable diseases decreased 4.8% per 10-point rise in GHSI. Recipient countries of the GHSA (n=31) and SARS-affected countries (n=26), had GHSI scores 6.0 (p=0.0011) and 8.2 (p=0.0010) points higher than matched controls, respectively. Biosecurity and biosafety appear weak globally including in high-income countries, and health systems, particularly in Africa, are not prepared. Notably, the GHSI does not account for all factors important for health security.ConclusionThe GHSI shows promise as a valid tool to guide action on biosafety, biosecurity and systems preparedness. However, countries need to look beyond existing metrics to other factors moderating the impact of future pandemics and other biothreats. Consideration of anthropogenic and large catastrophic scenarios is also needed.

The impact of civil liberties, global health security, median age and population size on the spread of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Habtamu Legese ◽  
Wondmagegn Biru ◽  
Frezer Tilahun ◽  
Henock Semaw
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Civil Liberty ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of civil liberties, global health security, median age and population size on the spread of COVID-19 across the globe.Design/methodology/approachThis study was done by taking data from 166 different countries from the Economist Intelligence Unit, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, World Bank, Johns Hopkins University and United Nations Population Division (UNPD). After conducting all the necessary standard econometric tests, the study was analyzed using the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression.FindingsThe finding of the study indicated that COVID-19 tests per million people (LTT/PM), Population Size (LPOP), Civil Liberty Index (CLI) are statistically significant and positively affect the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases; on the other hand, the Health Security Index (HSI) negatively affects the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.Practical implicationsIn emergency circumstances, the government ought to have a special responsibility to align civil rights with the protection of public health cautiously. However, measures to restrict civil liberties must be proportionate.Originality/valueBesides other variables, the study included and considered civil liberties as a significant factor to affect the spread of COVID-19, which is a new contribution to the existing body of knowledge in the field.

The Chronicle of a Disease Foretold: Pandemic H1N1 and the Construction of a Global Health Security Threat

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 797-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Abraham
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Pandemic Influenza ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Health Security ◽  
The Impact

The period beginning in 2004 saw an extraordinary spurt in attention paid to avian and pandemic influenza in the United States and at the global level. A disease that for decades had languished in the ‘dull but worthy’ category of infectious diseases was elevated to a risk to global health security. The securitisation of influenza was not unproblematic. The influenza pandemic of 2009 turned out to be far milder than anticipated, and much of the scientific basis on which planning had proceeded and resources had been mobilised turned out to be wrong. Developing countries with other disease priorities were urged to pour resources into pandemic planning exercises and change poultry-raising practices. The article argues that for an issue to be securitised as a global health threat, it is essential that the United States takes the lead role (or at the very least supports efforts by other leading powers). It uses the Copenhagen School's analysis to examine how avian and pandemic influenza was securitised in the United States, and then uses the concept of framing to examine why this disease was securitised by looking at the prior existence of an issue culture or discourse around emerging infectious diseases, which gained salience after the 2011 anthrax attacks. It finally looks at the impact of securitisation on countries with different priorities.

scholarly journals Shortage of essential antimicrobials: a major challenge to global health security

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. e006961
Author(s):  
Nusrat Shafiq ◽  
Avaneesh Kumar Pandey ◽  
Samir Malhotra ◽  
Alison Holmes ◽  
Marc Mendelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Impact

The lack of access to safe and effective antimicrobials for human populations is a threat to global health security and a contributor to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The increasingly common shortages of antimicrobials are an additional threat to the emergence of AMR. While the threat of such drug shortages is most acutely experienced in low-income and middle-income settings, their consequences impact the quality and effectiveness of antimicrobials worldwide. Furthermore, there is a need for robustly conducted studies examining the impact of these increasingly prevalent shortages on patient outcomes and on the emergence and spread of AMR. In this review, we have mapped common drivers for antimicrobial shortages and propose strategies for rethinking the regulation, supply and pricing of antimicrobials to secure their sustainable access across diverse healthcare systems and to help minimise the unintended consequences of weak and ineffective supply chains. Greater government involvement in antimicrobial manufacture and supply is essential to ensure no one is left behind. Dedicated demand systems need to be developed for antimicrobials which take into consideration evolving AMR patterns, burden of diseases, pandemic events and supply and demand issues and facilitate implementation of strategies to address them. Interventions, ranging from advocacy and forecasting to public–private collaborations, new economic models and international consortia working across countries and supply chains, will help assure access to safe and effective antimicrobials to all populations around the globe and ensure that shortages no longer contribute to AMR.

scholarly journals An evaluation of the global health security agenda steering group governance interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
N E DeShore ◽  
J A Johnson ◽  
P Malone ◽  
R Greenhill ◽  
W Wuenstal
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Health System ◽  
System Performance ◽  
Health System Performance ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Member States ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Global Health Security Agenda

Abstract Background Member States lack of compliance with 2005 IHR implementation led to the launched of the Global Health Security Agenda. This research will provide an understanding of how the Global Health Security Agenda Steering Group (GHSA SG) governance interventions impact health system performance and global health security. This will enhance the understanding of a Steering Group's governance interventions in complex Global Health initiatives. Research questions: To what extent have GHSA SG governance interventions contributed towards enabling health system performance of WHO Member States? To what extent have GHSA SG governance interventions contributed towards the implementation of global health security among WHO Member States? Methods Correlational analysis using Spearman's rho examined the relationship between governance, health system performance and global health security variables at one point in time. A convenience non-probability sample consisting of eight WHO Member States was used. SPSS Statistics generated the bivariate correlation analyzes. Results Governance and health system performance analysis indicated a statistically significant strong positive effect size in 11 out of 18 and moderate positive effect size in the remaining seven out of 18 health system performance indicators. Governance and global health security analysis concluded three of the governance indicators had strong and moderate positive coefficients. Global health security variables demonstrated weak effects in the remaining three governance indicators. Conclusions This study presents a case for health systems embedding in global health security. Health system performance is only as effective at protecting populations when countries achieve core capacities of preparedness and response to global health threats. The associations provide stakeholders information about key characteristics of governance that influence health system performance and global health security implementation. Key messages This study provides an argument for the continued support of the GHSA 2024 Framework with implementation of global health security capabilities and meeting 2005 IHR requirements. The GHSA SG governance role remains profoundly important in establishing sustainable efforts internationally towards achieving the objectives of the GHSA in support of the 2005 IHR standards.

Spread of Infections and Global Health Security

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-330
Author(s):  
Arnauld Nicogossian ◽  
Edward J. Septimus ◽  
Otmar Kloiber ◽  
Bonnie Stabile ◽  
Thomas Zimmerman
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Health Security

scholarly journals The utilisation of tools to facilitate cross-border communication during international food safety events, 1995–2020: a realist synthesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Joseph Savelli ◽  
Raul Fernando Garcia Acevedo ◽  
Jane Simpson ◽  
Céu Mateus
Keyword(s):  
Food Safety ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Realist Synthesis ◽  
Foodborne Disease ◽  
Global Health Security ◽  
Programme Theory ◽  
Communication Tools ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Communication And Coordination

AbstractEfficient communication and coordination are needed between countries to prevent, detect and respond to international food safety events. While communication tools, networks and systems exist, current evidence suggests that they are only useful within particular contexts and several only target specific geographic areas. There is a need to unpack and explore the mechanisms of how and in what context such communication tools and their components are effective at facilitating international communication and coordination to keep food safe and mitigate the burden of foodborne disease around the world.A realist synthesis was undertaken to understand how and why certain processes and structures of communication tools, used during international food safety events, influence their utility and effectiveness according to different contextual factors. The focus of this review was explanatory and aimed to develop and refine theory regarding how contextual factors trigger specific processes and mechanisms to produce outcomes. Using the realist context–mechanism–outcome configuration of theory development, a range of sources was used to develop an initial programme theory, including the authors’ experience, a scoping review of published papers and grey literature and input from an expert reference committee. Literature was then systematically located and synthesised from several databases with input from the expert reference committee to refine the programme theory.The programme theory developed indicates that when a country has interests in food import or export, has the technical infrastructure to detect and respond to food safety events, and is governed in accordance with regional and/or global laws and regulations relating to food control and global health security, then specific mechanisms will facilitate various outcomes. Mechanisms include trust, experience, support, awareness, understanding, a sense of community, standardisation and intersectoral collaboration. The outcomes include using communication tools to relay information abroad and the prevention of foodborne diseases, among others.Components of such communication tools may be adapted according to different contextual factors to promote, support and improve their use. Improving international coordination and communication during international food safety events is in the interest of global health security and can mitigate the global burden of foodborne disease.

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