Nathan A. Paxton, PhD
Senior Director, Global Biological Policy and Programs
Global Health Security Index
Assessing national capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to pandemic threats
Challenge
Countries need to work together to control pandemics, but without an independent assessment of national health security capability, it is difficult to fully understand needs, identify gaps, and track improvements over time.
Action
Create a Global Health Security (GHS) Index to assess national-level capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to high-consequence biological events.
Results
The GHS Index highlights individual country needs, assesses compliance with international standards, and creates better understanding of global capabilities to address biological threats.
Details
Project Staff
What is the GHS Index?
The Global Health Security (GHS) Index is an assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries.
The GHS Index measures health security in the context of other factors critical to fighting outbreaks, such as political and security risks, the broader strength of the country health system, and country adherence to global norms.
The GHS Index is designed to inform leaders of the foundational elements necessary to prepare their countries for future outbreaks and where they should prioritize planning and invest durable funding. By assessing these capacities, the GHS Index stimulates political will and action to prioritize addressing these gaps. The full methodology report explains how aggregating publicly available data helps to create a transparent picture of national level health security gaps.
The first two editions of the GHS Index were published in 2019 and 2021 and developed in partnership between the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, working with Economist Impact. The 2021 Global Health Security Index assessed countries across 6 categories, 37 indicators, and 171 questions using publicly available information. The Index projects are currently a partnership of NTI, the Brown University Pandemic Center, and Economist Impact.
Impact of the GHS Index
The results of the latest GHS Index show that even as many countries proved they could ramp up new capacities during an emergency—including setting up labs and creating cohorts of contact tracers to follow the spread of COVID-19—some responses were crippled by long-unaddressed weaknesses, such as lack of healthcare surge capacity and critical medical supplies.
Countries now have a more acute understanding of what this lack of preparedness means for their health and prosperity. The response to COVID-19 has shown that many factors—including public health and healthcare capacities, scientific understanding and countermeasure distribution, and social and economic resilience—play a pivotal role in how countries are able to respond during a pandemic.
International Panel of Experts
Since the inaugural edition of the GHS Index, the International Panel of Experts have provided guidance in their personal capacities or in their capacities as representatives of advising organizations. The judgments and recommendations reflected in the GHS Index do not necessarily reflect the views of panel members or their respective employers, other affiliations, or governments. Download the list of the GHS Index International Panel of Experts.
For more information about the GHS Index, visit www.ghsindex.org.
2026
Tracking Health Security Progress and Building Resilience in Africa
Webinar
|
3:30 – 5:00 pm EAT (8:30 am – 10:00 am ET)
Leading with Science and Evidence in a Time of Retreat
As global resources become more constrained, evidence-based tools that guide investments toward maximum impact are more important than ever. This World Health Day, the WHO urges the world to embrace evidence, support science-led solutions, and advance global cooperation to turn evidence into action.
The Next Crisis Won’t Wait: Why Pandemic Preparedness Is a Business Imperative
Global health security —the ability to protect against the negative impacts of disease outbreaks — is too important to be left solely to the public sector. Industry has a vital interest in helping countries better prepare for future epidemics and pandemics.
2025
What Buddy the Elf Can Teach Us About Global Health Security
You might not expect a man in yellow tights eating syrupy spaghetti to teach you about global health security—but Elf offers surprisingly helpful lessons to understand the importance of addressing biological threats before they become global pandemics.
Past Event
The Next Biological Shock
San Francisco, California J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
|
9:45AM PT
Smarter Health Financing for Self-Reliance and Resilience Across the African Continent
Amid a combination of economic slowdown, reductions in official development assistance, rising biological threats, and climate change’s disproportionate impact on Africa, leaders and experts call for data-driven tools to guide strategic health security investments.
From Agreement to Action: Strengthening Africa’s Health Security Through Data
The Pandemic Agreement is a historic step toward strengthening global systems to prevent, detect, and respond to epidemic and pandemic threats. Yet many low- and middle-income countries face significant political and technical challenges in ratifying and implementing the agreement.
NTI Statement in Support of WHO Pandemic Accord
NTI applauds today’s announcement that the International Negotiating Body of the World Health Organization (WHO) has reached a deal on the language of the Pandemic Accord. Pandemics continue to pose a global threat, and this proposed agreement is proof that the world can unify to reduce the most catastrophic risks.
A Call to Action for Global Health Security
Each day brings alarming headlines—H5N1, measles, tuberculosis—but the quieter underlying issues of public health security rarely break through the noise. On this World Health Day 2025, as U.S. domestic and global health policies undergo a realignment, the world must recommit to address both the urgent and the underlying health challenges that shape our lives.
The Private Sector’s Role in Advancing Global Health Security
Through evidence-based investments in capacity building and the establishment of biosecurity best practices for life science research, the private sector can play a critical role in strengthening biosecurity and advancing pandemic preparedness.
2023
New Study Shows Robust Pandemic Preparedness Strongly Linked to Lower COVID-19 Mortality Rates
New study published in BMJ Global Health finds the pandemic was less deadly in countries that rank high on the Global Health Security Index.
2022
NTI | bio experts address G7 Global Partnership Working Group in Berlin
NTI experts briefed government representatives at a G7 working group meeting in Berlin.
The Global Health Security Index: Real-World Examples of Driving Progress
Examples from around the world of the Global Health Security Index in-use.
NTI | bio Experts Celebrate Launch of Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Fund
The World Bank launches a new fund to support pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
Investing in Global Health Security: How to Build a Fund for Pandemic Preparedness in 2022
On April 21, 2022, immediately after G20 finance ministers and central bank governors reached consensus to establish a new Fund for preparedness at the World Bank, a group of leading experts and stakeholders from met to review progress and offer advice on next steps. This paper aims to inform next steps to structure, approve, and launch a new Fund, including the forthcoming consultative process led by the World Bank.
NTI Commits Funding and Expertise to Further Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
NTI joined governments and organizations from around the world for the 2nd Global COVID-19 Summit on May 12, 2022 and committed to provide $35,000 to the pandemic preparedness and global health security financial intermediary fund.
2021
The Global Health Security Index
The first comprehensive assessment of global health security capabilities in 195 countries.
2021 Global Health Security Index Finds All Countries Remain Dangerously Unprepared for Future Epidemic and Pandemic Threats
Report calls on national and global leaders to sustain and expand upon preparedness capacities developed to fight COVID-19
2021 GHS Index: Advancing Collective Action and Accountability Amid Global Crisis
Despite significant steps taken by countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries remain dangerously unprepared to meet future epidemic and pandemic threats.
Past Event
2021 Global Health Security Index Launch Event
Virtual | GHSIndex.org/2021launch
|
9 AM EST - 10:30 AM EST
NTI Statement for White House Virtual Global COVID-19 Summit
NTI submitted a statement to the virtual COVID-19 Summit convened by President Biden, calling for bold, decisive action to stem the devastating impacts of COVID-19 globally.
Top New Zealand Health Official Cites GHS Index as Key to Country’s Successful COVID-19 Response
A leading biochemist and top health advisor to New Zealand’s government says the 2019 Global Health Security (GHS) Index was key to the country’s successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NTI | bio Expert Joins Discussion on Global Health Security Index for Latin American Decision Makers
The webinar aimed to inform Latin American decision makers about the GHS Index and the depth of research and international collaboration behind it.
Global Health Security Index International Panel of Experts 2021 Meetings
Panel members discussed the importance of laboratory capacity, contact tracing, and political risks in expanding and weighting the pandemic-conscious report.
2020
NTI | bio Hosts Side Events on the GHS Index, Biosafety, and Biosecurity in support of the Global Health Security Agenda Ministerial Meeting
NTI and partners hosted virutal side events on using the GHS Index as a guide for responding to COVID-19 and on strengthening biosafety and biosecurity.
GHS Index Website Receives Awards for Creativity and Digital Excellence
The Global Health Security Index website has been awarded for its creativity and digital excellence from leading communicators and creative professionals.
GHS Index Team Highlights Value of Tool in Article for The BMJ
A 2020 commentary highlights the value of the Global Health Security Index as a practical tool that can help inform global policy makers and practitioners.
NTI | Bio Experts Address U.S. Response to COVID-19 in Context of GHS Index Ranking in New JAMA Article
The U.S. was ranked first due to its high-quality labs and scientific staff, Strategic National Stockpile, and emergency distribution and communication plans.
COVID-19: Identifying the Most Vulnerable Countries Using the GHS Index and Global Flight Data
To identify countries that are more vulnerable to the spread of an outbreak like COVID-19, the GHS Index team analyzed a subset of indicators within the GHS Index against global flight data.
2019
Inaugural Global Health Security Index Finds No Country Is Prepared for Epidemics or Pandemics
The inaugural GHS Index finds severe weaknesses in countries’ abilities to prevent, detect, and respond to significant disease outbreaks and that no country is fully prepared.
Global Health Security Index
The first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across the 195 countries that make up the States Parties to the International Health Regulations.
NTI | bio Releases New Article on Measuring Global Health Security
An NTI-Johns Hopkins article examines the full scope of academic literature to better identify evidence for measuring health security at the country level.
Past Event
London International Panel of Experts Meeting
London, UK
2018
NTI to Launch Global Health Security Index with New Grant from the Open Philanthropy Project
NTI | bio will create a Global Health Security Index to serve as an assessment of all countries’ capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to biological events.
NTI Events at the 71st World Health Assembly Highlight Significance of Global Health Security
NTI experts Beth Cameron and Michelle Nalabandian will join hundreds of government officials and experts for the 71st World Health Assembly in Geneva.
New NTI Video Calls for Protecting U.S. Commitment to Global Health Security
New video makes the case for protecting America’s commitment to global health security.
Open Philanthropy Project’s $6 Million Grant To Transform NTI’s Biosecurity Mission
New Funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Accelerates Global Health Security Index.
2017
How to Better Prepare the World for a Biosecurity Crisis – Beth Cameron on The 80,000 Hours Podcast
The interview covers the current state of play in disease control and offers advice on how to find a job where it’s possible to make an impact.
Call for Proposals: Next Generation for Biosecurity in GHSA Competition
NTI's Biosecurity Program is partnering with the Next Generation GHS Network to launch a competition in preparation for the 4th Annual High Level GHSA Ministerial Meeting.
NTI Supports Continuation of the GHSA to Advance Biosecurity and Effective Detection and Response for Biological Threats
The Global Health Security Agenda is an irreplaceable and proven mechanism for promoting measurable change in preparedness to prevent and combat biological disease.
NTI Reviews Report from World Bank International Working Group on Financing Pandemic Preparedness
NTI's Beth Cameron was one of five advanced reviewers of the report which recommends aggressive action to analyze and finance gaps to stop outbreaks at the source.
NTI Initiates Global Health Security Index Project with Generous Funding from the Open Philanthropy Project and the Robertson Foundation
NTI will partner on the Index with the Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Economist Intelligence Unit.