Medical workers direct residents to a Covid-19 testing center in Hong Kong on December 10th.
Photographer: Roy Liu / Bloomberg
Photographer: Roy Liu / Bloomberg
As a pandemic ravaged the world, the Asian economies led by Hong Kong and Singapore led a classification of the most efficient health systems.
The Bloomberg Health Efficiency Index, first conducted in 2013, tracks life expectancy and medical spending to determine which health care systems have the best results. This year’s results include the impact of Covid-19 on mortality and gross domestic product in 57 of the world’s largest economies.
These measures helped many Asian territories improve their position on the list, as their generally aggressive responses to coronavirus kept cases and deaths relatively low. Brazil and Russia joined the United States at the lower level, reflecting relatively low life expectancies along with high Covid-19 mortality and weaker economic prospects.
“Efficient health systems are often found in places with limited natural resources and therefore prioritize policies that depend on people’s potential,” he said. Pisonthi Chongtrakul, Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.
“Success in the fight against Covid-19 has occurred in places that were coordinated between government bodies and that were willing to let health experts go on fire, which helped create clarity of messages. public, ”he said.
To measure efficiency during the pandemic, two adjustments were made to the original classification formula: the 2020 table includes a one-year change in GDP based on an October forecast from the International Monetary Fund, as well as the toll Covid-19 in every economy.
For example, a 2020 contraction in GDP of 6% meant a subtraction of 6 points from the total score, while a death toll or new confirmed cases of 100,000 subtracted 11.5 points.
The United States is between 10% lower in this method and the formula used before the Covid-19, which simply measured spending compared to life expectancy. Low U.S. scores reflect an average life expectancy, the world’s largest health care spending along with the highest number of Covid-19 cases.
Residents are queuing at a Covid-19 test center installed on the grounds of an urbanization in Hong Kong in early December.
Photographer: Roy Liu / Bloomberg
Using the pandemic-adjusted formula, eight of the world’s ten most efficient health systems are located in Asia Pacific. Singapore and Hong Kong top the list, while Taiwan, New Zealand, South Korea and Thailand jumped many territories according to their Covid-19 statistics.
“The pandemic has underscored the fact that economic health depends on public health, which in turn depends on adequate public spending on health,” said Poonam Khetrapal Singh, director of Southeast Asia’s World Health Organization, December 12. report.
“In normal times, every dollar invested in health generates an average return of between 2 and 4 dollars, which can be Until 20 times higher than low- and middle-income countries, ”Singh said.
A visitor arrives at a fast shop at the Covid-19 test center in Paris in early November.
Photographer: Adrienne Surprenant / Bloomberg
The ranking of France, Spain and Peru fell further among the 57 economies in Bloomberg’s 2020 adjusted formula survey, which includes only those with an average life expectancy of at least 70 years, a GDP per capita of more than $ 5,000, and a minimum population of 5 million. India does not meet minimum metrics, although it is among the nations hardest hit by the pandemic.
China, the most populous territory in the world, ranked 25th according to the pre-pandemic formula, but moved up to number 12 when adjustments for Covid-19 were incorporated. The epicenter of the virus was also the site that used some of the most draconian measures, ranging from monitoring people’s movements to mandatory testing, to limiting cases and mortality.
Read more: The best and worst places to be in the coronavirus era
All but one of the 57 economies in this index are expected to shrink in 2020, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts, with only China and Taiwan forecasting year-on-year growth.
The average life expectancy in the US is 78.5 years, having decreased for several consecutive years, according to the latest data. This is almost on par with those in the UAE and Cuba, where per capita spending on health care is less than dessert of the $ 10,246. Only $ 9,956 spending from Switzerland is close, although average Swiss live five years longer than their American counterparts.
To access Bloomberg Health Efficiency Rankings, click here.
– With the assistance of Alexandre Tanzi and Margo Towie
(spreadsheet updates)