WHO Report Highlights Shocking Health Inequities Worldwide
Geneva, Wednesday, 7 May 2025.
The WHO’s latest report reveals stark life expectancy disparities globally, driven by non-medical factors. Children in low-income nations are 13 times more likely to die before age 5.
Global Health Disparities Reach Critical Levels
The World Health Organization’s groundbreaking report, released on May 6, 2025, reveals that individuals in countries with the lowest life expectancy live an average of 33 years less than those in countries with the highest life expectancy [1]. This stark disparity extends beyond mere healthcare access, with social determinants such as housing quality, education, and employment opportunities playing crucial roles in health outcomes [2]. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasizes that these inequities stem from where people are born, grow, live, work, and age [3].
Economic Inequality as a Health Crisis
The report highlights a troubling trend in global economic disparity, with income inequality within countries nearly doubling over the past two decades [1]. This economic divide has become even more pronounced than the significant inequalities between nations, with the top 10% of individuals earning 15 times more than the bottom 50% across 201 countries [1]. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the situation is particularly dire, with more than 60% of workers in the informal sector, leaving them vulnerable to economic shocks that directly impact their health outcomes [3].
Maternal and Child Health Inequities
Despite a 40% reduction in global maternal mortality between 2000 and 2023, 94% of maternal deaths still occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries [3]. Indigenous women in some high-income countries face up to three times higher mortality rates during childbirth compared to non-Indigenous women [3]. The report also reveals that efforts to improve child health have been hampered by slower progress among poorer populations [4], with children in low-income countries facing a mortality rate 13 times higher than their counterparts in wealthy nations [1].
Call for Systemic Change
The WHO is advocating for comprehensive action across multiple fronts, including addressing economic inequality, overcoming structural discrimination, and managing climate-related challenges [1]. The report emphasizes that closing health equity gaps could prevent 1.8 million child deaths annually in low- and middle-income countries [3]. With 3.8 billion people currently lacking adequate social protection and climate change threatening to push an additional 68-135 million people into extreme poverty over the next five years [3], the WHO calls for urgent collective action from governments, academia, civil society, and the private sector to address these systemic inequities [1].