WHO: COVID-19 Caused Global Life Expectancy To Dip By 2 Years; Reversed A Decade Of Progress

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that COVID-19 has caused global life expectancy to drop by two years. According to them, the average age that a person is expected to live at is 71.4 years – the lowest recorded since 2012. This is especially concerning because this has “eliminated a decade of progress in the global level of life expectancy.”

Global Life Expectancy Dropped By 2 Years Due To COVID-19

If you thought that the bad of COVID-19 was behind us, then we have some news for you. WHO said that the COVID-19 pandemic was able to erase a decade of advancements in enhancing life expectancy in just two years. As per the data shared by them, between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years to 71.4 years. Meanwhile, healthy life expectancy declined by 1.5 years to 61.9 years. The report further highlighted that the American and Southeast Asia regions were worse hit, with life expectancy dropping by about 3 years.

COVID-19 has been one of the top causes of death between 2020-21. It ranked third globally in 2020 and second in 2021 and claimed nearly 13 million lives. The report further stated that non-communicable diseases like 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. These diseases were responsible for 74% of all deaths in 2019.

The report also highlighted the concerning trends in malnutrition and obesity. According to data, over 1 billion people aged 5 and up had obesity in 2022, while on the other hand, more than half a billion were underweight.

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What WHO Had To Say About This

In a press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the issue of global life expectancy dropping due to COVID-19. He said, “There continues to be major progress in global health, with billions of people who are enjoying better health, better access to services, and better protection from health emergencies. But we must remember how fragile progress can be. In just two years, the COVID-19 pandemic erased a decade of gains in life expectancy. That’s why the new Pandemic Agreement is so important: not only to strengthen global health security, but to protect long-term investments in health and promote equity within and between countries.”

This is indeed a concerning report and shows how much COVID-19 has affected our lives. Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section.

Cover Image Courtesy: Canva (representative image)