The
United Nations health agency today reported that by the end of 2015, the world will have met the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for turning around the
epidemics of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, and boosting access to drinking
water, but will likely fall short of reaching other health-related goals in
areas such as child and maternal deaths and basic sanitation.
“The
MDGs have been good for public health. They have focused political attention
and generated badly needed funds for many important public health challenges,”
Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said
on the release of this year’s World
Health Statistics. While progress has been very encouraging, there are still
wide gaps between and within countries, she added.
“Today’s
report underscores the need to sustain efforts to ensure the world’s most
vulnerable people have access to health services,” Dr. Chan said.
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Health workers carrying out a spraying operation to eradicate
infected Anopheles mosquitoes which spread malaria. Photo: WHO. |
Summarizing
today’s report, which assesses progress towards the health-related goals in
each of the 194 countries for which data are available, WHO noted that “results
are mixed” for reaching the landmark MDG’s set by governments 15 years ago to
guide global efforts to end poverty.
Noting that by the end of the year the world would likely have met
targets on turning back pandemics and maternal and child deaths, and increasing
access to basic sanitation, the report shows that “progress in child survival worldwide is one of the greatest
success stories of international development.”
“Since 1990, child deaths have almost halved – falling from an estimated
90 deaths per 1000 live births to 46 deaths per 1000 live births in 2013,”
according to the report.
“Despite great advances, this is not enough to reach the goal of
reducing the death rate by two-thirds,” it said. “Less than one third of all
countries have achieved or are on track to meet this target by the end of this
year.”
The top killers of children aged less than 5 years are: preterm birth
complications, pneumonia, birth asphyxia and diarrhoea.
The report also reveals that the number of women who die due to
complications during pregnancy and childbirth has almost halved between 1990
and 2013, but “the rate of decrease won’t be enough to achieve the targeted
reduction of 75 per cent by the end of this year.”
“In the WHO African Region, one in four women who wants to prevent or
delay childbearing does not have access to contraceptives, and only one in two
women gives birth with the support of a skilled birth attendant,” it said.
”Less than two-thirds (64 per cent) of women worldwide receive the recommended
minimum of four antenatal care visits during pregnancy.”
On a positive note, according to the report, the world has begun to
reverse the spread of HIV, with new infections reported in 2013 of 2.1 million
people, down from 3.4 million in 2001.
“At current trends, the world will exceed the target of placing 15
million people in low- and middle-income countries on antiretroviral therapy
(ARTs) in 2015,” it said.
While the global target for increasing access to safe drinking water was
met in 2010, the report noted that “the world is unlikely to meet the MDG
target on access to basic sanitation.”
“Around 1 billion people have no access to basic sanitation and are
forced to defecate in open spaces such as fields and near water sources,” it
said. “Lack of sanitation facilities puts these people at high risk of
diarrhoeal diseases (including cholera), trachoma and hepatitis.”
WHO also drew attention to the following 10 facts from the report:
1.Life expectancy at birth has increased six years
for both men and women since 1990.
2.Two-thirds of deaths worldwide are due to non-communicable
diseases.
3.In some countries, more than one-third of births
are delivered by caesarean section.
4.In low- and middle-income countries, only
two-thirds of pregnant women with HIV receive antiretrovirals to prevent
transmission to their baby.
5.Over one-third of adult men smoke tobacco.
6.Only one in three African children with suspected
pneumonia receives antibiotics.
7.15 per cent of women worldwide are obese.
8.The median age of people living in low-income
countries is 20 years, while it is 40 years in high-income countries.
9.One quarter of men have raised blood pressure.
10.In some countries, less than five per cent of total
government expenditure is on health.
Source: United Nations.
For more information:
2015: World health statistics 2015.
