NEWS: WHO’s World Health Statistics 2026 was released.

ABOUT

World Health Statisticsà WHO’s annual compilation of the latest health data= tracks progress towards the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Key Findings of the Report

·         New HIV infections fell by 40% (2010-2024) + number of people needing interventions for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) fell by 36%.

·         Malaria incidence has increased by 8.5% since 2015.

·         Over 1 billion people gained access to safe drinking water and sanitation between 2015 and 2024.

·         Air pollutionà Caused 6.6 million deaths annually, with 2.0 billion people reliant on polluting cooking fuels.

·         Maternal and under-five mortality have declined by 40% and 51%, respectively, since 2000.

·         Anaemia in women has not improved, while the prevalence of childhood overweight has reached 5.5%.

·         Universal Health Coverage (UHC) service index rose from 68 to 71 (2015–2023), but 1.6 billion people fell further into poverty due to out-of-pocket health costs.

·         COVID-19 caused approximately 22.1 million excess deaths between 2020 and 2023, more than three times the officially reported 7 millionà The pandemic reversed the global life expectancy to 2011 levels.

·         Key Recommendations: Secure sustainable financing to strengthen primary healthcare, invest heavily in disease prevention, and modernize digital health data systems.