The Gross National Happiness Framework and the Health System Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Bhutan

Bhutan is a lower-middle–income country with limited tertiary-care health infrastructure and shortage of human resources. The country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is guided by the principle of Gross National Happiness (GNH), which prioritizes the well-being and happiness of people over conventional socioeconomic indicators. The king’s leadership and government’s decisions based on public health science helped in the control of the pandemic and reduce economic losses. The government implemented some unique and unconventional public health measures such as facility quarantine for those with high-risk exposure, an increase in quarantine period to 21 days, free testing and treatment, and population-based screening tests. Early and extensive contact tracing, extensive testing, effective communications, zoned travel restrictions, and adoption of physical distancing and hygiene measures limited COVID-19 transmissions within the country. Community participation from voluntary groups and civil society organizations helped deliver non-health services while hospitals provided uninterrupted routine health services through its primary healthcare network. All COVID-19 cases were treated in hospitals, and the country has had zero reported COVID-19 deaths. This article describes how the concept of GNH provided the framework for the government to respond to this pandemic.