"Filipinos are in despair."
Second to last. This is a distinction we should be ashamed of, but one we should also learn from.
Two media organizations, using data from various recognized sources, have the Philippines at the bottom rung of countries in terms of fighting COVID-19. We are 120st out of 121 countries, according to the Nikkei COVID-19 Recovery Index, as of August 31. This represented a 14-place drop from our ranking in July.
China took the top spot among the nations in the Index; in Southeast Asia, Singapore was the best performer at 14th place.
Nikkei Asia ranked the countries in terms of infection management (confirmed cases of COVID-19 versus peak case count, confirmed cases per capita, and tests per case), vaccine rollout (total vaccine doses given per capita, new vaccine doses given per capita, and share of people who have received at least one dose), and mobility (community mobility, stringency of government response, and flight activities).
Meanwhile, in Bloomberg’s COVID Resilience Ranking published August 26, the Philippines ranked 52nd out of 53 countries, falling three notches from its position in July. This territory makes the Philippines “a bad place to be in during the pandemic.”
Bloomberg’s study is a monthly snapshot of where the virus is being handled most effectively with the least social and economic disruption. Performances were gauged according to countries’ reopening progress, COVID status, and quality of life.
Both studies reflect the effects of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and show countries’ rise and fall in terms of responding to the crisis from month to month.
Certainly, these rankings are telling us something and it would be to our detriment if we ignored such a resounding message: “Get your act together! Shape up!”
Alas, in July, the invincible Health Secretary Francisco Duque III decried the Bloomberg index to be “very unfair” because it used parameters that were skewed in favor of countries with a high vaccination rate.
That we are indeed at a disadvantage in obtaining much-needed vaccines from the global market does not invalidate what our position in the indices tells us.
Case in point: Sunday was the third straight day fresh infections totaled more than 20,000 across the country. The positivity rate has also reached record highs this week.
In the meantime, our leaders are busy defending questionable deals made in the purchase of personal protective equipment, face masks, and face shields, among others, and are resorting to insulting those who dare raise valid questions on such transactions.
We are being led on with adjustable projected milestones, even claims of the President’s superb communication skills.
We need to listen to what the numbers are telling us. This is not a personal affront on our leaders but an objective basis that we are lagging behind in dealing with an unseen menace.
Filipinos are crying in despair as we plead to our decision makers: Take heed.