Photo by Billy Miaron/WHO
Geneva: The World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Statistics 2025 report, released today, reveals a significant slowdown in global health progress, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on life expectancy, mental health, and essential services. The report, tracking WHO’s Triple Billion targets, warns that pre-existing trends of slowing progress, combined with incomplete recovery, threaten global health goals, urging immediate action to meet 2030 targets.
Between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years, the largest drop in recent decades, reversing a decade of gains. The pandemic also reduced healthy life expectancy by six weeks due to heightened anxiety and depression, erasing most gains from reduced noncommunicable disease (NCD) mortality during the same period. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the human cost, stating, “Behind every data point is a person—a child who didn’t reach their fifth birthday, a mother lost in childbirth, a life cut short by a preventable disease.” He called for urgent government action to address gaps in access, protection, and investment, particularly for women and girls.
The report details mixed progress on WHO’s Triple Billion targets, which aim to improve health for billions by 2030. By 2024, 1.4 billion more people were living healthier lives, exceeding the 1 billion target, driven by declines in tobacco use, improved air quality, and better access to water, hygiene, and sanitation. However, progress lagged in other areas: only 431 million more people gained access to essential health services without financial hardship, and 637 million more were better protected from health emergencies, falling short of goals.
Maternal and child mortality rates have stalled after two decades of progress, with maternal deaths dropping over 40% and under-5 deaths halving between 2000 and 2023. Underinvestment in primary health care, shortages of skilled health workers, and gaps in immunisation and safe childbirth services now jeopardise further gains. Without urgent action, WHO projects an additional 700,000 maternal deaths and 8 million under-5 deaths by 2030.
Premature deaths from NCDs—such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer—are rising due to population growth and ageing, accounting for most deaths under age 70 globally. The world is off track to reduce NCD mortality by one-third by 2030. However, progress has been made where action was prioritised: global alcohol consumption fell from 5.7 to 5.0 litres per capita between 2010 and 2022, and tobacco use is declining. Air pollution remains a leading cause of preventable death, and poor mental health continues to hinder progress.
Infectious disease trends are uneven. HIV and tuberculosis incidence rates are falling, and fewer people require treatment for neglected tropical diseases. However, malaria has resurged since 2015, and antimicrobial resistance remains a growing challenge. In 2023, childhood vaccination coverage, including the third dose of diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DTP3) vaccine, had not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Foundational health risks like malnutrition, air pollution, and unsafe living conditions further complicate progress in many countries.
Recovery of essential health services remains incomplete, with a projected shortfall of 11.1 million health workers by 2030, nearly 70% concentrated in WHO’s African and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Recent disruptions in international aid threaten to destabilise gains, particularly in high-need countries. WHO emphasises the need for sustained and predictable financing from both domestic and international sources.
Dr. Haidong Wang, WHO Unit Head for Health Data and Analytics, underscored the importance of data, stating, “Strong health systems rely on strong health information. Timely, trusted data drives better decisions and faster results.” WHO is supporting countries through its SCORE strategy to strengthen health information systems and the World Health Data Hub to standardise and enhance data across systems.
Dr. Samira Asma, WHO Assistant Director-General for Data, Analytics, and Delivery for Impact, emphasised the potential for recovery: “This report shows that the world is failing its health checkup. But countries have shown that rapid progress is possible.” She advocated for faster, smarter investments to reduce premature deaths and improve health programs.
The report highlights the fragility of global health gains and calls for coordinated efforts to strengthen health systems, address inequities, and protect vulnerable populations to achieve a world where premature deaths are rare.
– global bihari bureau
