By Joke Kujenya
GLOBAL LIFE expectancy plunged by 1.8 years between 2019 and 2021—wiping out a decade of progress, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s newly released World Health Statistics (WHS) 2025 report.
The sharp drop, the steepest in recent history, reflects the far-reaching toll of the year 2020 COVID-19 pandemic on longevity, mental health, and access to care worldwide.
The reports also notes that beyond the virus’s immediate lethality, widespread disruptions to health systems have stalled or reversed gains in maternal survival, childhood immunisation, and Non-communicable Disease (NCD) prevention.
It further states that healthy life expectancy, a key measure of years lived in good health, fell by six weeks during the same period—mainly driven by pandemic-linked surges in anxiety and depression.
This offset previous improvements gained through reductions in NCD-related mortality, the report alerts.
Moreover, the WHO warns the fallout has exacerbated existing inequalities and left the world critically off course in achieving its global health targets going forward to 2030.
In addition, the report outlines persistent disparities in access to essential health services, especially in low-resource settings.
Noting that only 431 million more people globally gained access to essential services without financial hardship since the last reporting period, well short of WHO’s coverage goals, the organisation reveals that maternal and under-five child deaths are no longer declining fast enough to meet 2030 targets, thereby jeopardising the lives of women and children in the most vulnerable regions.
Rather, despite a 40% drop in maternal deaths and a halving of child mortality from 2000 to 2023, the WHO says progress has now stalled due to health worker shortages, underfunded primary care systems, and critical service gaps including immunisation and safe childbirth support.
Data in the report also show that chronic illnesses are fuelling an increasing share of global deaths.
For NCDs such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer these now account for the majority of premature deaths among those under 70.
Although some progress has been made, the WHO alerts that tobacco use continues to decline, and global alcohol consumption fell from 5.7 litres to 5.0 litres per capita between 2010 and 2022 just as air pollution and mental health burdens remain key threats.
That said, the world remains off track to cut premature NCD deaths by a third by the end of the decade, the report also cautions.
Furthermore, the report highlights the importance of accurate, real-time health data for policy and decision-making. WHO is actively supporting member states through its SCORE strategy and the World Health Data Hub to bolster national health information systems.
According to WHO’s Health Data and Analytics unit, these initiatives are central to improving responsiveness, accountability, and performance across all health sectors.
It still notes that infectious disease control shows mixed trends.
Saying that global incidence rates for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and tuberculosis are continuing to fall, the WHO adds that fewer individuals now require treatment for neglected tropical diseases.
However, malaria has resurged since 2015, and antimicrobial resistance remains a growing public health threat. Thus, it outlines childhood immunisation rates—such as for DTP3 which have yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, with malnutrition, pollution, and unsafe living conditions compounding foundational health risks.
One of the report’s starkest warnings actually concerns the looming shortage of healthcare professionals.
Reflecting back to 2030, the report says the world is projected to face a shortfall of 11.1 million health workers, with nearly 70% of that deficit concentrated in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, which is already happening is some nations of the world.
But without urgent investment in training, recruitment, and retention, WHO cautions that health systems in the hardest-hit regions could face collapse under rising demand and weakening infrastructure.
Meanwhile, recent disruptions to global aid flows threaten to reverse hard-won gains in countries most reliant on external health financing, the WHO also alerts, and urgently calling for immediate and predictable funding both domestically and internationally to stabilise its systems, reinforce its resilience, and counter the mounting threats against global health responses, it urges.
The WHO report however concludes that the global health outlook remains sobering.
It is therefore insisting on accelerated support adding that progress is still achievable.
The report notes that countries that prioritise universal coverage, invest in frontline services, and adopt data-driven policy frameworks have demonstrated measurable improvements.
The WHO report therefore emphasises that a coordinated, well-financed response anchored in equity and evidence is essential to ensure that no population is left behind.
