Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
20 May 2008
Geneva — The global burden of disease is shifting from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases, with chronic conditions such as heart disease and stroke now being the chief killers globally, according to a new World Health Organisation report.
The shifting health trends indicate that leading infectious diseases - diarrhoea, HIV, tuberculosis, neonatal infections and malaria - will become less important causes of death globally over the next 20 years.
The World Health Statistics 2008 released on Monday is based on data collected from WHO's 193 member states. The annual report is the most authoritative reference for a set of 73 health indicators in countries around the world, according to the UN health agency.
"We are definitely seeing a trend towards fewer people dying of infectious diseases across the world," said Dr Ties Boerma, Director of the WHO Department of Health Statistics and Informatics. "We tend to associate developing countries with infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. But in more and more countries the chief causes of death are non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease and stroke."
The statistical report documents in detail the levels of mortality in children and adults, patterns of morbidity and burden of disease, prevalence of risk factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption, use of health care, availability of health care workers, and health care financing. It also draws attention to important issues in global health, such as maternal mortality.
In developed countries, nine mothers die for every 100 000 live births, while in developing countries the death rate is 450 and in sub-Saharan Africa it is 950.
The report says high health costs are worsening poverty levels, with some 100 million people impoverished every year by paying out of pocket for health care.
Coverage of key maternal, neonatal and child health interventions is still low. Four out of 10 women and children do not receive basic preventive and curative interventions and at current rates of progress it will take several decades before this gap is closed.
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