Austria, Belarus, Germany, Russia, Netherlands, And The USA

June 20 2020

I just came from a month long working trip to Europe. I spent time in 4 countries, as well as passed through Netherlands on my way back to California.

Out of 5 countries I visited, plus the US, Belarus - was the only one with virtually no restrictions during this turbulent time, thanks to its strong-willed, no nonsense, common sense President of 26 years - Mr. Lukashenko. How do they compare? Here you are, apples to apples…

The bottom line:

1. Belarus has the least deaths and deaths per million;

2. Austria has the least cases and cases per million, but twice as many deaths and deaths per million than Belarus;

3. Russia did the most tests per million and has almost twice the death toll per million comparing with Belarus.

The looming question is WHY Belarus, landlocked, natural resource-poor country, did the best of all 6, while imposing no restrictions? Here is why:

1. Robust (>100 y.o.) healthcare system inherited from the USSR based on Prof. Semashko principles, which was NOT “optimized” to make profit but rather remained focused on public good:

   • The major principle of the Semashko model is the financial accessibility of care. This has not been questioned in modern Belarus. All citizens are entitled to free health care;

   • The Semashko model considers prevention, a major area of primary care and the scope of preventive activities, which includes a wide range of checkups and screenings;

   • A special characteristic of the Semashko model is the “method of dynamic dispensary surveillance”. This method presumes that every detected case of a serious disease is subject to a certain set of protocols, including planning curative activities, documenting them, ensuring the required number of contacts with GPs and specialists, a monitoring process, and outcome indicators.

2. Strong vertical of power;

3. Well educated population;

4. Ethnically homogenous population, small number of migrants, no “ghettoes”;

5. No homelessness, sometimes spartan but very livable accommodations;

6. Negligible unemployment;

7. Multigenerational families, where “shipping out” elders to a nursing home, etc. is socially unacceptable, even although there is no official taboo for doing it.

Note: Nikolai Aleksandrovich Semashko was a Russian statesman and academic who became People's Commissar of Public Health in 1918, and served in that role until 1930.