Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoWHO / WORLD HEALTH STATISTICS REPORT
Download
There is no media available to download.
Share
STORY: WHO / WORLD HEALTH STATISTICS REPORT
TRT: 05:53
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WHO ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 23 MAY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior WHO Headquarters
23 MAY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Wide shot, Dr Samira Asma speaking
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“The World Health Statistics report is the world’s report card on health, and the bottom line is that we are failing, and the world is not on track to achieve even a single one of 32 health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. So, imagine, in school, a failing grade may mean the need to repeat a year or a test. Failing our report card means that people who should be alive and healthy are sick or dying. We can’t repeat this test— we need to move forward, learn from countries that are making progress, match words of commitment to data and health with funding and specific, focused actions are needed and hold ourselves accountable for getting the world back on track.”
3. Close up, Asma’s hands
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“So, this year’s report is particularly important as we reveal the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Over a period of just 2 years, that is 2020 and 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 2 years, wiping out a decade of progress made in improving population health. This report also highlights health challenges faced by vulnerable groups – people with disabilities and refugees and migrants. For example, globally, in 2021, an estimated 1.3 billion people that is 16percent of the world population had at least one disability. People living with disability face health inequities, due to avoidable, unfair, and unjust conditions and factors. Progress requires strengthening health systems and targeting actions to increase equity.”
5. Wide shot, Asma speaking
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Life expectancy in 2021 is similar to 2012 levels, due to the pandemic. This means that babies born in 2021 are expected to live as long as people did back in 2012, reflecting a setback in health progress. However, with continued and increased investment in health, we can improve life expectancy again and make up for lost ground.”
7. Close up, Asma’s hands
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Yes, despite setbacks, we see encouraging progress in some countries and for some conditions. So, for example, New HIV infections dropped from 2.8 million in 2000 to 1.3 million in 2022, that is a 54 percent reduction, which is great.”
9. Med shot, Asma speaking
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Global tuberculosis rates decreased from 180 per 100,000 in the year 2000 to 133 per 100,000 in 2022, that is a 26 percent reduction. And these improvements show that efforts to fights these diseases are working.”
11. Close up, Asma’s hands
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There’s also been steady improvements in premature deaths from major noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. This progress is due to better prevention, better diagnosis, and treatments. So, in 2000, a 30-year-old person had a 23 percent chance of dying before age 70 and by 2019, this risk dropped to 18.2 percent. Yet, we have to remember noncommunicable diseases are responsible for 74 deaths of all deaths in 2019.”
13. Med shot, Asma speaking
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We need all hands on the deck. Health is a fundamental human right. And we have the tools to promote, provide and protect health. These need to be used along with timely, reliable, and actionable data to make progress. We cannot afford to fly blind and indeed data is WHO’s super power.”
15. Wide shot, Asma speaking
The latest edition of the World Health Statistics released today by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic reversed the trend of steady gain in life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy at birth (HALE).
The pandemic wiped out nearly a decade of progress in improving life expectancy within just two years. Between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years to 71.4 years (back to the level of 2012). Similarly, global healthy life expectancy dropped by 1.5 years to 61.9 years in 2021 (back to the level of 2012).
“The World Health Statistics report is the world’s report card on health, and the bottom line is that we are failing, and the world is not on track to achieve even a single one of 32 health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. So, imagine, in school, a failing grade may mean the need to repeat a year or a test. Failing our report card means that people who should be alive and healthy are sick or dying. We can’t repeat this test— we need to move forward, learn from countries that are making progress, match words of commitment to data and health with funding and specific, focused actions are needed and hold ourselves accountable for getting the world back on track.”
The 2024 report also highlights how the effects have been felt unequally across the world. The WHO regions for the Americas and South-East Asia were hit hardest, with life expectancy dropping by approximately 3 years and healthy life expectancy by 2.5 years between 2019 and 2021. In contrast, the Western Pacific Region was minimally affected during the first two years of the pandemic, with losses of less than 0.1 years in life expectancy and 0.2 years in healthy life expectancy.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“So, this year’s report is particularly important as we reveal the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Over a period of just 2 years, that is 2020 and 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 2 years, wiping out a decade of progress made in improving population health. This report also highlights health challenges faced by vulnerable groups – people with disabilities and refugees and migrants. For example, globally, in 2021, an estimated 1.3 billion people that is 16percent of the world population had at least one disability. People living with disability face health inequities, due to avoidable, unfair, and unjust conditions and factors. Progress requires strengthening health systems and targeting actions to increase equity.”
COVID-19 rapidly emerged as a leading cause of death, ranking as the third highest cause of mortality globally in 2020 and the second in 2021. Nearly 13 million lives were lost during this period. The latest estimates reveal that except in the African and Western Pacific regions, COVID-19 was among the top five causes of deaths, notably becoming the leading cause of death in the Americas for both years.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Life expectancy in 2021 is similar to 2012 levels, due to the pandemic. This means that babies born in 2021 are expected to live as long as people did back in 2012, reflecting a setback in health progress. However, with continued and increased investment in health, we can improve life expectancy again and make up for lost ground.”
The WHO report also highlights that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as ischaemic heart disease and stroke, cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and diabetes were the biggest killers before the pandemic, responsible for 74 percent of all deaths in 2019. Even during the pandemic, NCDs continued to account for 78 percent of non-COVID deaths.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Yes, despite setbacks, we see encouraging progress in some countries and for some conditions. So, for example, New HIV infections dropped from 2.8 million in 2000 to 1.3 million in 2022, that is a 54 percent reduction, which is great.”
The world faces a massive and complex problem of a double burden of malnutrition, where undernutrition coexists with overweight and obesity. In 2022, over one billion people aged five years and older were living with obesity, while more than half a billion were underweight. Malnutrition in children was also striking, with 148 million children under five years old affected by stunting (too short for age), 45 million suffering from wasting (too thin for height), and 37 million overweight.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“Global tuberculosis rates decreased from 180 per 100,000 in the year 2000 to 133 per 100,000 in 2022, that is a 26 percent reduction. And these improvements show that efforts to fights these diseases are working.”
The report further highlights the significant health challenges faced by persons with disabilities, refugees, and migrants. In 2021, about 1.3 billion people, or 16 percent of the global population, had disability. This group is disproportionately affected by health inequities resulting from avoidable, unjust, and unfair conditions.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“There’s also been steady improvements in premature deaths from major noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. This progress is due to better prevention, better diagnosis, and treatments. So, in 2000, a 30-year-old person had a 23 percent chance of dying before age 70 and by 2019, this risk dropped to 18.2 percent. Yet, we have to remember noncommunicable diseases are responsible for 74 deaths of all deaths in 2019.”
Access to healthcare for refugees and migrants remains limited, with only half of the 84 countries surveyed between 2018 and 2021 providing government-funded health services to these groups at levels comparable to their citizens. This highlights the urgent need for health systems to adapt and address the persisting inequities and changing demographic needs of global populations.
SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, Data, Analytics and Delivery, World Health Organization (WHO):
“We need all hands on the deck. Health is a fundamental human right. And we have the tools to promote, provide and protect health. These need to be used along with timely, reliable, and actionable data to make progress. We cannot afford to fly blind and indeed data is WHO’s super power.”
Despite setbacks caused by the pandemic, the world has made some progress towards achieving the Triple Billion targets and health-related indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Since 2018, an additional 1.5 billion people achieved better health and well-being. Despite gains, rising obesity, high tobacco use, and persistent air pollution hinder progress.
Universal Health Coverage expanded to 585 million more people, falling short of the goal for one billion. Additionally, only 777 million more people are likely to be adequately protected during health emergencies by 2025, falling short of the one billion target set in WHO’s 13th General Programme of Work. This protection is increasingly important as the effects of climate change and other global crises increasingly threaten health security.
