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Las brutales lecciones de gobernanza de 2020

Dec 29, 2020 Ngaire Woods

OXFORD – El COVID-19 ha ofrecido algunas lecciones duras pero útiles sobre gobernanza. Muchos países ricos no manejaron la crisis tan bien como se anticipaba, mientras que muchos países más pobres, poblados y vulnerables superaron las expectativas. La diferencia plantea interrogantes importantes no sólo sobre la gestión de la salud pública, sino también sobre el estado de gobernanza en las democracias más grandes y más antiguas del mundo.

Justo antes de la pandemia, una coalición de fundaciones importantes publicó un Índice Global de Seguridad Sanitaria (GHSI por su sigla en inglés) que calificaba la capacidad de los países para prevenir, detectar y reportar una infección, y responder rápidamente a brotes de enfermedades. “Previsiblemente”, observó en aquel momento un periodista de datos de Statista, “los países de mayores ingresos tendían a registrar mejores resultados en el índice”. Al tope de la lista de “países mejor preparados para lidiar con una pandemia” figuraban Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido.

Un año después, esos rankings parecen absurdos. Según un estudio publicado en septiembre, “los 10 países más afectados por el COVID-19 en términos de muertes por millón de habitantes están entre los primeros 20 países en términos de sus resultados generales en el GHSI”.

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 12 Comments on this article

Shahzad Gill Feb 8, 2021

Insightful, indeed!
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Paul Daley Jan 3, 2021

Previous experience with the SARS epidemic was a factor but the biggest problem for the US and UK was simply their failure to place the line between private rights and the public interest properly. That failure left everyone fearful of the liability they might incur by acting boldly. As a result, testing was sabotaged by the CDC's efforts to maintain quality control through a monopoly, contact tracing never got off the ground, and vaccines that took two days to develop took 10 months to approve. Next time, we will need to mobilize more effectively with legislation to supplement the Defense Production Act and allow the federal government to set liability limits and to fully coordinate research, development, production and deployment of the information, regulations and materials needed to meet the threat.
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Malcolm Duncan Jan 2, 2021

This article like so many others of its kind fails to consider their apparent good performance may be at least due to factors such as...

1. Young populations
2. Relatively few people with severe "underlying conditions", transplant recipients, cancer survivors etc.
3. Poor case ascertainment, lack of testing facilities etc.
4. Lack of rigorous and accurate death certification coupled with death (COVID-19 or otherwise) being managed more commonly at home than the most wealthy countries.
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lt lee Jan 1, 2021

According to Leonard Sagan, the author of "THE HEALTH OF NATIONS: The Causes of
Sickness and Well-being," health and life expectancy are as much, if not more, a matter of psychosocial factors than of sanitation and medical care.

Developed nations are economically developed, not necessarily psychosocially. In contrast, China is culturally and psychosocially more coherent than, for example, the U.S.
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Emanuel Müller Dec 30, 2020

In many developing countries old people are essential workers e.g. when caring for their grandchildren. Letting them die would amount to asset destruction. In the West old people are net asset destroyers, and letting them die amounts to asset preservation. What we are witnessing in the West is either miracle-level incompetence or indirect mass euthanasia by denial of service.
- Robert Wolff Jan 1, 2021
  
  The current political atmosphere -- "Save the Economy" or "Save Lives" is a perennial contest. Economically, the value of a human life is the value of its production. Old people are an economic liability.
  
  It's not about incompetence or euthanasia. It is about whether we value human life or economic production more.
  
  Economists study this profound conundrum, and it differentiates them into two factions: (1) those who believe in Humanism over Profits, and (2) those who believe in Profits over Humanism. Socialism favors (1). Capitalism favors (2).
  
  The survival of Nations requires a balance: denial of the value of human life compared to the value of production versus denial of the value of production compared to the value of human life.
  
  Now, we are talking the philosophy of politics and the pragmatism of ideology.
  
  It has a lot to do with self-interest.
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Robert Wolff Dec 30, 2020

What the Covid-19 crisis has proved is that Authoritarian Administrative States like China, which serve their People as their highest priority, with the People being more socially regimented and loyal to their Administrative States and more trustful of their advice, perform much better under crises than free market capitalist states like America in which their institutions do not serve The People First, but Profits First.

That is the only Lesson Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it is profound.
- Michael Seleanu Dec 31, 2020
  
  Two fundamentally erroneous statements in such a short comment...
  1. The highest priority of the CPC, by far, is it's unchallenged control of power, and not the People.
  2. The same "People" are not more loyal and trustful of their government to serve them - they fear their government, and trust it will crush them if they ever stepped out of line. Some "trust"!
  - Robert Wolff Dec 31, 2020
    
    Very much like Russian culture, Chinese culture historically prefers order over anarchy. Order gives people a sense of security. Every one of us gives up some freedoms for safety and security. I don't see Chinese as walking around the streets shuddering in fear. They appear willingly compliant and Xi has an 87% popularity rating.
    
    In contrast, the US is in chaos and most Americans feel extremely insecure and anxious. Many would be willing to suppress anarchy in America today in order to feel more secure and more certain about their future. Trump's approval rating is 43%, less than half that of Xi's.
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Leo Arouet Dec 29, 2020

Formerly communist, now capitalist, and lower-middle-income Vietnam has managed the pandemic better than other more developed countries. A welcome surprise.
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Edwin Hoffman Dec 29, 2020

Cambodia attributes its “0” covid deaths to magic scarecrows, not masks or social distancing.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-cambodia-scarecrow-idUSKBN2860LL

Perhaps future data will show western countries that adopted the draconian measures originally promoted by China suffered the most.
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