Pandemic reversed progress in global health – UN

A decline in almost every key indicator of health around the world has been found in a new report by the United Nations.

This regression is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, and the climate crisis, say the authors, whose report focuses mainly on childhood and adolescent prospects and women’s rights.

Recent measurements are compared against the previous ‘Every Woman Every Child’ progress report in 2020, covering food insecurity, hunger, child marriage, risks from intimate partner violence, and adolescent depression and anxiety.

Each of these markers for ill health has risen, as have many key indicators of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, commented: “At the core of our unkept promise is the failure to address the gaping inequities at the root of global crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to conflicts and the climate emergency.

"The report describes the impacts of these crises on women, children and adolescents, from maternal mortality to education losses to severe malnutrition.”

For example, 10.5 million children have lost a parent or caregiver since the start of the COVID pandemic.

The report also highlights the enduring disparity in healthy life expectancy based on country of birth and family economic circumstances. In sub-Saharan Africa, a woman has around a 130 times higher risk of dying from causes relating to pregnancy or childbirth than a woman in Europe or North America.

The report, Protect the Promise, was published yesterday. It was jointly compiled by the UN and the World Health Organisation, and UNICEF.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “As the world emerges from the pandemic, protecting and promoting the health of women, children and young people is essential for supporting and sustaining the global recovery.”

[Report]

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