Tackling COVID-19 challenge: Pakistan among least prepared countries

ISLAMABAD: How prepared is Pakistan to respond and cope with the COVID-19 crisis? The United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) latest report based on data suggests Pakistan is among those countries that are least prepared to tackle the coronavirus challenge.

Keeping in view the level of human development, healthcare system capacity and internet access, Pakistan is one of those countries that are vulnerable to Covid-19 due to lack of preparedness. For every 10,000 people, Pakistan has only 9.8 physicians, five nurses and only six hospital beds. The country spends only 2.8 percent of its GDP on health. This level of preparedness shows how vulnerable Pakistan is to this pandemic.

On the contrary, the developed countries with very high human development rankings have on average 55 hospital beds, over 30 physicians, and 81 nurses per 10,000 people. The least developed nations on average have seven hospital beds, 2.5 physicians, and six nurses.

It also highlighted the issues being faced by the people during lockdowns. The digital divide according to this report has become more significant than ever. Almost 6.5 billion people around the globe — 85.5 percent of the global population still don’t have access to reliable broadband internet, which limits people’s ability to work and continue their education.

The UNDP’s new data dashboards reveal huge disparities among countries in ability to cope with Covid-19 and recover. According to this report, shocks like COVID-19 pandemic, show the ability to respond is significantly lower and unequally distributed.

According to this data, India has 7.8 physicians for every 10,000 people whereas, it has 21 nurses and 7 hospital beds for every 10,000 persons. India spends 3.7 percent of its total GDP on health. On the contrary, a developed country like the United States has 125.9 physicians, 86 nurses and 29 hospital beds for every 10,000 people. The US spends 17.1 percent of its total GDP on health.

According to this report, the South Asian region has 7.8 physicians per 10,000 people. The region has 17 nurses and eight hospital beds for every 10,000 people.

"Although everyone is potentially affected in one way or another by this pandemic, some individuals and groups are more vulnerable, and suffer far more harm and have a much longer road to recovery. Poverty adds to the high risks of long-lasting consequences. Despite recent progress in poverty reduction, about 1 in 4 people still live in multidimensional poverty or are vulnerable to it, and more than 40 percent of the global population does not have any social protection. Globalization has brought new opportunities and efficiency gains, but, as witnessed with COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions at one point of the chain can trigger serious local problems elsewhere. The effects of such events may be detrimental for countries and people that, for example, heavily depend on tourism such as island countries, inflows of remittances, or receiving official development assistance," the report says.