UPSC Articles
WHO’s 2019 Global Health Estimates
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Health
In news
- The WHO’s 2019 Global Health Estimates was released recently.
Key takeaways
- According to the report, non-communicable diseases now make up 7 of the world’s top 10 causes of death, an increase from 4 of the 10 leading causes in 2000.
- The new data cover the period from 2000 to 2019.
- Heart disease: (1) It has remained the leading cause of death at the global level for the last 20 years; (2) It now represents 16% of total deaths from all causes; (3) The number of deaths from heart disease increased by more than two million since 2000 to nearly 9 million in 2019.
- Diabetes and dementia are also among the world’s top 10 causes of death.
- HIV/AIDS dropped from the 8th leading cause of death in 2000 to the 19th in 2019.
- Tuberculosis is also no longer in the global top 10, falling from 7th place in 2000 to 13th in 2019, with a 30% reduction in global deaths.
- In 2019, people were living more than 6 years longer than in 2000, with a global average of more than 73 years in 2019 compared to nearly 67 in 2000.
- There has been a global decline in deaths from communicable diseases, which however, still remain a major challenge in low- and middle-income countries.
Do you know?
- In 2019, pneumonia and other lower respiratory infections were the deadliest group of communicable diseases and together ranked as the fourth leading cause of death.
