WASHINGTON, May 14 (WNM/Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security) - WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus discussed the recently published 2020 World Health Statistics Report, which monitors health statistics for the Sustainable Development Goals (https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332070/9789240005105-eng.pdf?ua=1).

The report indicates that significant progress has been made globally, with some of the biggest gains in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). From 2000 to 2016, life expectancy increased by 21% in LMICs and approximately 4% in higher-income countries. Access to preventative health and treatments for common illnesses like HIV and malaria facilitated much of the improvement (https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-05-2020-people-living-longer-and-healthier-lives-but-covid-19-threatens-to-throw-progress-off-track).

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to stall or reverse some of this progress. Vulnerable aspects of global health, such as maintaining routine immunization coverage and access to other common essential health services, are being negatively impacted by the pandemic and associated response measures.

In addition to effects on the provision and availability of health services, the ability to pay for healthcare is likely to be impacted as well. The WHO estimates that 1 billion people worldwide (13% of the global population) could be 10% or more of their income on health services by the end of 2020, the majority of which will be from LMICs.