2020 Articles

The value proposition of the Global Health Security Index

Ravi, Sanjana J.; Warmbrod, Kelsey Lane; Mullen, Lucia; Meyer, Diane; Cameron, Elizabeth; Bell, Jessica; Bapat, Priya; Paterra, Michael; Machalaba, Catherine; Nath, Indira; Gostin, Lawrence O.; James, Wilmot Godfrey; George, Dylan; Nikkari, Simo; Gozzer, Ernesto; Tomori, Oyewale; Makumbi, Issa; Nuzzo, Jennifer B.

Some scholars have recently offered constructive critiques of the Global Health Security Index’s approach to scoring and ranking countries; its weighting of select indicators; its emphasis on transparency; its focus on biosecurity and biosafety capacities; and divergence between select country scores and corresponding COVID-19-associated caseloads, morbidity, and mortality. Here, we (1) describe the practical value of the GHS Index; (2) present potential use cases to help policymakers and practitioners maximise the utility of the tool; (3) discuss the importance of scoring and ranking; (4) describe the robust methodology underpinning country scores and ranks; (5) highlight the GHS Index’s emphasis on transparency and (6) articulate caveats for users wishing to use GHS Index data in health security research, policymaking and practice.