With a relatively high number of doctors and nurses compared with other Asia-Pacific countries, Japan has a greater capacity to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said Friday.
There are about 12 nurses and 2.5 doctors for every 1,000 people in Japan, according to data in the report. Low-income countries, such as Papua New Guinea and Cambodia, have fewer doctors and nurses and therefore, in principle, less capacity to respond to health care challenges, officials from the OECD and the World Health Organization wrote in the biennial report, titled “Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific 2020.”
While many health systems in the region lack critical intensive care unit beds and critical care capacity, more than 10 beds for every 1,000 people are available in Japan, South Korea and North Korea, whereas the stock of beds is fewer than one per 1,000 in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Cambodia and India.
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