According to the UN health agency, during the initial years of the global health emergency, between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy worldwide fell by 1.8 years, to 71.4 years, the same as in 2021.
WHO Director-General Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to the figures, drawing attention to the weakness of global health progress in the face of extraordinary health disasters such as the Covid pandemic.
More than 70 lakh deaths have been recorded worldwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out a decade of progress in life expectancy in just two years,” he said. “That is why the new pandemic agreement is so important: not only to strengthen global health security, but also to preserve long-term investments in the health sector and promote equity within and between countries.”
Regional difference
Regionally, coronavirus had the greatest impact in the Americas and the South-East Asia region, where life expectancy declined by nearly three years.
In contrast, countries in the Western Pacific region had the least impact during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, with modest losses in life expectancy and health life expectancy.
WHO’s 2024 world health data shows that the COVID-19 pandemic was the third-leading cause of deaths worldwide in 2020 and the second-leading cause the year after.
The World Health Organization said, significant improvements in life expectancy were being seen in the last decade. However, it has declined due to Covid-19. The United Nations Health Agency said in its report that the Covid-19 pandemic has seriously affected overall health; many types of diseases have also been seen developing in people due to the infection. These circumstances have caused great harm to life expectancy.
