The Philippines is among laggards in the Asia Pacific in terms of COVID-19 pandemic response, a global think tank said Thursday.
The country ranked 79th out of 98 nations assessed in the index published by Australia's Lowy Institute. Together with India and Indonesia, the Philippines is among "significant underperformers" in the region.
New Zealand, Vietnam and Taiwan are the response frontrunners in the Asia Pacific, the institute said. The index analyzed data spanning 36 weeks since each country's hundredth confirmed case of COVID-19 up to Jan. 9, 2021.
"Although Asia–Pacific countries fared well as a whole against the coronavirus, country performance across the region varied significantly between high performers and persistent strugglers," the report said.
"But significant underperformers, such as India, Indonesia, and the Philippines emerged too, struggling to contain COVID-19 throughout much of 2020 with few signs of improvement," it said.
The Philippines currently has one of the world's longest quarantines and hopes to roll out its vaccination program in the first quarter.
In response to the ranking, the Department of Health said it welcomes "all research on COVID-19 and the opportunities to learn from good practices of other countries" but also cautioned against measures used in the study which they said "did not capture the complex nature of pandemic response".
"Please note that the pandemic is very dynamic, and the capture of proper context is crucial in assessing the performance of a country," DOH said.
"..we will continue to improve our response and increase our capacities, not just for this pandemic, but as we endeavor to achieve [Universal Health Care] and deliver health for all," it said.
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According to the report, experience with previous epidemics of SARS and MERS prepared most governments in the region in addressing COVID-19. Favorable geography coupled with early border closures and effective public health systems also gave Australia and New Zealand an advantage, it said.
This week, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world surpassed 100 million with a death toll of over 2 million since the start of the pandemic, as tallied by Agence France-Presse.
READ: Global Coronavirus Cases Top 100 million: Official Sources
As a whole, Asia-Pacific bested Europe and the United States in containing the pandemic, the analysis said, noting the two regions were “quickly overwhelmed” by the rapid spread of COVID-19.
“Levels of economic development or differences in political systems between countries had less of an impact on outcomes than often assumed or publicised,” the report said.
“In general, countries with smaller populations, cohesive societies, and capable institutions have a comparative advantage in dealing with a global crisis such as a pandemic," it said.
