Thailand: 1st in Asia, 5th worldwide in Global Health Security Index

Neill FrondePublished: 12:02, 11 December 2021| Updated: 12:02, 11 December 2021

1,601 5 minutes read

Thailand: 1st in Asia, 5th worldwide in Global Health Security Index — ghsindex.org

PHOTO: Thailand ranks 5th in Global Health Security Index. (via ghsindex.org)

Out of 195 countries, Thailand was ranked fifth in the world – and first in Asia – on the Global Health Security Index this year. The list is compiled by John Hopkins Centre for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and other health experts worldwide.

The index evaluates the health security of countries by analysing 171 questions divided into 6 categories with 37 indicators and 96 sub-indicators. This year the US topped the health security list, followed by Australia, Finland, Canada, and then Thailand. The US had a ranking of 75.9 while Thailand earned a 68.2 health index score. The countries at the bottom of the list include Nauru, Equatorial Guinea, Syria, North Korea, Yemen, and least health secure: Somalia with a score of 16.

Advertisements

The list evaluates a country’s ability to respond to pandemics and epidemics and the Thai government took a victory lap after the global recognition as the results were announced Wednesday. A Deputy Spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office said that the top level ranking shows that the government’s public health policy and management of the Covid-19 pandemic were highly effective.

PM Prayut Chan-o-cha took the opportunity to express gratitude for frontline workers, medical personnel and all the public health volunteers that came together to identify and contain Covid-19 infections and outbreaks. He encouraged the people of Thailand to stay vigilant and stick to health and safety measures in place to protect everyone from Covid-19, especially in the face of the Omicron variant. He said that continued RT-PCR testing for foreign arrivals and high-risk areas and demographics will continue to protect the health of Thailand.

The entire Global Health Security Index is below:

Rank	Country	Score	Change
1	United States of America	75.9	-0.3
2	Australia	71.1	-2.1
3	Finland	70.9	-1.1
4	Canada	69.8	+2.2
5	Thailand	68.2	-0.7
6	Slovenia	67.8	-0.8
7	United Kingdom	67.2	-1.1
8	Germany	65.5	-0.2
9	South Korea	65.4	-0.5
10	Sweden	64.9	-1.5
11	Netherlands	64.7	-3
12	Denmark	64.4	-2.9
13	New Zealand	62.5	+6.7
14	France	61.9	-0.7
14	Latvia	61.9	+2.1
16	Armenia	61.8	-1.4
17	Spain	60.9	+0.5
18	Japan	60.5	+1.7
19	Norway	60.2	-1.2
20	Bulgaria	59.9	-1.5
21	Lithuania	59.5	+4.6
22	Belgium	59.3	-2.6
23	Switzerland	58.8	-1.6
24	Singapore	57.4	+1.6
25	Mexico	57	+1.9
26	Austria	56.9	-0.5
27	Malaysia	56.4	+1.3
28	Chile	56.2	+3.2
29	Poland	55.7	+1.4
30	Estonia	55.5	-0.1
31	Ireland	55.3	+0.2
32	Peru	54.9	+1.1
33	Portugal	54.7	-4
34	Argentina	54.4	-1.7
34	Hungary	54.4	-0.6
34	Slovakia	54.4	+2.4
37	Panama	53.5	+3.1
38	Colombia	53.2	+3.2
39	Czech Republic	52.8	-2.2
40	Georgia	52.6	+4.4
41	Italy	51.9	0
42	Greece	51.5	+0.9
43	Brazil	51.2	+0.2
44	Ecuador	50.8	+2.6
45	Indonesia	50.4	+1.2
46	Turkey	50	+0.2
47	Russia	49.1	+2.0
48	Croatia	48.8	-1
49	Qatar	48.7	+3.6
50	Iceland	48.5	+0.9
51	Luxembourg	48.4	-0.2
52	China	47.5	-1.5
53	Israel	47.2	-3.5
54	Liechtenstein	46.4	+1.4
55	Kazakhstan	46.1	+1.4
56	South Africa	45.8	-1.7
57	Philippines	45.7	+2.2
57	Romania	45.7	+0.2
59	Albania	45	-1.2
59	Serbia	45	0
61	Saudi Arabia	44.9	-0.1
62	Montenegro	44.1	+3.3
63	Belarus	43.9	+2.1
64	Brunei	43.5	+10.5
65	Vietnam	42.9	+0.7
66	India	42.8	-0.8
66	Jordan	42.8	+1.6
68	Kyrgyz Republic	42.4	-0.6
69	North Macedonia	42.2	+2.1
70	Cyprus	41.9	-0.4
71	Moldova	41	+0.2
71	Mongolia	41	+0.1
73	Costa Rica	40.8	+0.3
73	El Salvador	40.8	-2.1
75	Paraguay	40.3	+0.5
75	Uruguay	40.3	+1.2
77	Malta	40.2	+0.9
78	Bhutan	39.8	-1
79	Mauritius	39.7	+1.4
80	United Arab Emirates	39.6	-0.5
81	Oman	39.1	-1.8
82	Uzbekistan	39	+1.3
83	Ukraine	38.9	+2.0
84	Kenya	38.8	-4.3
85	Myanmar	38.3	+0.5
86	Nigeria	38	+1.0
87	Ethiopia	37.8	+0.4
88	Kuwait	36.8	-3.3
88	Trinidad and Tobago	36.8	-0.9
90	Iran	36.5	-3
90	Uganda	36.5	-2.5
92	Bahrain	36.3	-2.6
92	Nicaragua	36.3	-3.7
94	Liberia	35.7	+1.2
95	Bangladesh	35.5	+0.1
96	Bosnia and Herzegovina	35.4	-1
97	Suriname	35	+1.8
98	Barbados	34.9	+2.7
99	Laos	34.8	+2.0
100	Andorra	34.7	+4.2
100	Azerbaijan	34.7	+0.5
100	St.Lucia	34.7	+0.5
103	Dominican Republic	34.5	-1.3
104	Ghana	34.3	+2.7
105	Cabo Verde	34.1	+1.5
105	Sri Lanka	34.1	+1.0
107	Nepal	34	-1.6
108	Botswana	33.6	+2.5
108	Morocco	33.6	-2
110	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	33.5	+0.8
111	Lebanon	33.4	-3.4
112	Monaco	33.3	-0.5
113	Rwanda	33.1	+2.0
114	San Marino	32.9	+0.7
115	Senegal	32.8	-3.1
116	Sierra Leone	32.7	-1.4
117	Zimbabwe	32.4	-1
118	Maldives	32	+1.2
119	Turkmenistan	31.9	-1.4
120	Jamaica	31.8	+0.9
120	Seychelles	31.8	-1.4
122	St. Kitts and Nevis	31.7	+0.9
123	Tunisia	31.5	-0.6
124	Tanzania	31.3	-0.9
125	Côte d’Ivoire	31.2	-1.7
126	Cambodia	31.1	+0.1
127	Lesotho	30.9	-1.7
128	Guyana	30.8	+0.8
129	Cuba	30.5	-1.8
130	Haiti	30.4	+0.3
130	Madagascar	30.4	-0.5
130	Mozambique	30.4	+0.8
130	Pakistan	30.4	-0.9
134	Namibia	30.3	-0.6
135	Bahamas	30.1	+0.5
136	Antigua and Barbuda	30	-0.2
137	Bolivia	29.9	-2.1
138	Burkina Faso	29.8	-4.6
139	Belize	29.7	-0.5
140	Eswatini	29.3	-1.4
140	Tajikistan	29.3	-0.5
142	Angola	29.1	+3.9
142	Guatemala	29.1	-1.9
144	Mali	29	-1.6
145	Afghanistan	28.8	+0.9
145	Samoa	28.8	-0.9
147	Gambia	28.7	-0.8
147	Niger	28.7	-1
149	Cameroon	28.6	-3.6
150	Malawi	28.5	+0.7
150	Micronesia, Federated States of	28.5	-2
152	Sudan	28.3	-1.7
153	Egypt	28	-2.3
154	Timor-Leste	27.8	+3.6
154	Togo	27.8	+1.7
156	Guinea	26.8	-1.7
157	Grenada	26.7	+1.1
158	São Tomé and Príncipe	26.6	+5.7
159	Zambia	26.5	-1.5
160	Dominica	26.4	-0.7
160	Tonga	26.4	+1.9
162	Congo (Brazzaville)	26.3	+2.4
163	Algeria	26.2	-0.6
163	Honduras	26.2	-0.1
163	Kiribati	26.2	+4.6
163	Mauritania	26.2	+0.8
167	Congo (Democratic Republic)	26.1	+0.1
168	Vanuatu	25.9	-1.1
169	Fiji	25.8	+0.4
170	Palau	25.5	+5.6
171	Benin	25.4	-1.6
172	Libya	25.3	+2.0
173	Djibouti	25.2	+1.3
174	Papua New Guinea	25	-1.3
175	Comoros	24.9	-0.3
176	Marshall Islands	24.6	+5.8
177	Iraq	24	+0.7
178	Chad	23.9	-0.6
178	Cook Islands	23.9	+2.8
180	Solomon Islands	23.3	+1.5
181	Burundi	22.1	-0.6
182	Gabon	21.8	+1.9
183	Eritrea	21.4	-1.1
183	Guinea-Bissau	21.4	+2.1
185	South Sudan	21.3	-0.3
186	Venezuela	20.9	-0.5
187	Niue	20.1	-1.6
188	Tuvalu	20	-0.2
189	Central African Republic	18.6	-2.1
190	Nauru	18	-1.5
191	Equatorial Guinea	17.4	-0.6
192	Syria	16.7	-2
193	North Korea	16.1	-2.8
193	Yemen	16.1	-3.8
195	Somalia	16	-1.9

SOURCE: National News Bureau of Thailand

Neill Fronde

Neill is a journalist from the United States with 10+ years broadcasting experience and national news and magazine publications. He graduated with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of California and has been living in Thailand since 2014.