Each year, the World Health Organization publishes its World Health Statistics report that assesses health data for its 194 member states. This year’s report, released this week, focuses on progress made against the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nation’s development agenda for 2030. Here are a few findings that illustrate progress thus far and challenges for the years ahead.
1. Typically, individuals in high-income countries pay proportionately less in out-of-pocket health care expenses than those in low- or middle-income countries do. These expenses pushed an additional 5 percent of the world’s population below the poverty line.
2. Japan continues to lead the world in life expectancy, with an average lifespan of 83.7 years. This jumps up to 86.8 years for females in Japan. Singapore and Switzerland also have average life expectancies that are greater than 83 years, compared to the global average of 71.4 years. Life expectancy is lowest in Africa, reaching just over 50 years in conflict-ridden Sierra Leone and 52 years in Angola.
3. HIV treatment an malaria prevention measures through the use of insecticide-treated bed nets have risen dramatically between 2010 and 2015. About half of individuals are now covered, compared to less than 10 percent a decade ago. Immunization coverage also saw an increase.
4. In the same time period, cardiovascular disease declined as a cause of death. Deaths due to cancer have become more common than those due to cardiovascular disease in high-income countries. In Europe, mortality rates due to these noncommunicable diseases are especially high in Russia, Ukraine and other post-Soviet states.
5. In the U.S., access to family planning services falls behind Zimbabwe, the Dominican Republic and Colombia, among others. Access is highest in France and Brazil.
6. Kenya ranks No. 6 globally when it comes to research and development expenditure on health as a percentage of gross domestic product, just behind Denmark and the Netherlands. A report from global consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. notes that there is awareness of the importance of this spending across Africa and that empowering local scientists is key to sustainable development.
7. In 2014, more than 90 percent of the world’s population was living in places where air quality fell below WHO standards, leading to millions of deaths. Air quality is particularly deadly in Bulgaria, China and India, where an average of 171 deaths per 100,000 were due to air pollution in 2012.
8. Suicide was the second leading cause of death in 2015 in South Korea, after road traffic injuries. Suicide prevalence in the country has historically been about twice the global average, but after banning the sale of a particular pesticide — a leading method for self-harm — suicide rates in the country immediately declined.
9. Much of Europe consumes more alcohol than the global average, with Hungary, the U.K. and Belgium among the countries where individuals consume nearly double the 6.4 liter average annually.
10. In 2015, more than half of the deaths around the world had a recorded cause, up from a third in 2005. “If countries don’t know what makes people get sick and die, it’s a lot harder to know what to do about it,” Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO’s assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, said in a statement.
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10 Findings from WHO’s Annual World Health Statistics Report originally appeared on usnews.com
