Health and Healthcare Systems

These are the top 10 countries for pandemic preparedness

A Czech military personnel wearing protective gear takes part in a drill in the Biological Defence Centre, a specialised medical institution ensuring complete biological defence, in the village of Techonin August 11, 2014. The Biological Defence Department is involved in the NATO biological defence system and is equipped for treatment of possible Ebola virus patients.       REUTERS/David W Cerny (CZECH REPUBLIC - Tags: MILITARY HEALTH SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - GM1EA8B1M3D01

A Czech military personnel wearing a HAZMAT suit, training for treatment of potential Ebola epidemics. Image: REUTERS/David W Cerny

Niall McCarthy
Data Journalist, Statista

Last week, the Global Health Security Index was released and it examined whether countries across the world are prepared to deal with epidemic or pandemic. The topic was thrust into the spotlight in 2014 when an Ebola outbreak devastated parts of West Africa, killing more than 10,000 people. That prompted many other countries to boost their levels of preparation.

The index analyzes those preparation levels by focusing on whether countries have the proper tools in place to deal with large scale outbreaks of disease. Measured on a scale of 0 to 100 where 100 is the highest level of preparedness, the United States came first, followed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Unsurprisingly, higher income countries tended to record better scores in the index.

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