The World Health Organisation (WHO) says global life expectancy for both sexes has increased from 46 to 73 years, with the biggest gains in the poorest countries.<\/p>\n
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Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, said this during an online media conference.<\/p>\n
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Mr Ghebreyesus said after years of war, the organisation realised that it was better to work with one other than fight with one another.<\/p>\n
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He said that the organisation also realised that a healthier world was a safer world.<\/p>\n
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\u201cTheir vision was clear, but bold: the highest possible standard of health, for all people. To achieve that vision, they agreed to set up a new organisation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThey debated and agreed what this organisation would be and do in a document called the Constitution of the World Health Organisation,\u201d Mr Ghebreyesus said.<\/p>\n
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According to him, the organisation marked the 75th anniversary of the day that constitution came into force.<\/p>\n
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He said that the organisation\u2019s constitution was the first document in history to formally recognise health as a human right.<\/p>\n
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The WHO boss said that since then, the world has made significant progress towards realising that vision.<\/p>\n
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He said that smallpox had been eradicated and polio was on the brink.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThese are actually two of the important highlights during the 75 years of existence of the Organisation.<\/p>\n
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\u201c42 countries have eliminated malaria, the epidemics of HIV and TB have been pushed back.<\/p>\n
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\u201c47 countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Mr Ghebreyesus said in the past 20 years alone, smoking has fallen by a third, maternal mortality has fallen by a third and child mortality has halved.<\/p>\n
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According to him, just in the past five years, new vaccines for Ebola and malaria have been developed and licensed.<\/p>\n
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He said that just in the past five years, new vaccines for Ebola and malaria have been developed and licensed.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd for the past 3 years, WHO has coordinated the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic \u2013 the most severe health crisis in a century.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe can\u2019t claim sole credit for these achievements, but we have played a leading role in all of them. Partnering with many partners, especially our Member States.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd although we have many achievements of which to be proud, we still face many challenges \u2013 some old, some new.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAround the world, people still face vast disparities in access to health services, between and within countries and communities,\u201d Mr Ghebreyesus said.<\/p>\n
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According to him, since 2000, access to essential services has increased significantly, but at least half the world\u2019s population still lacks access to one or more services like family planning, basic sanitation, or access to a health worker.<\/p>\n
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He said that often it was because of where people live, their gender, their age or who they are, people living in poverty, refugees and migrants, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMeanwhile, since 2000, the number of people who experience financial hardship from out-of-pocket health spending has increased by a third, to almost two billion.<\/p>\n
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\u201cNoncommunicable diseases now account for more than 70 per cent of all deaths globally. Rates of diabetes and obesity have increased dramatically, driven by unhealthy diets and physical inactivity.<\/p>\n
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\u201cProgress against malaria and TB has stalled, antimicrobial resistance threatens to unwind a century of medical progress.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAir pollution and climate change are jeopardising the very habitability of our planet;<\/p>\n
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\u201cAnd as COVID-19 has exposed so brutally, there remain serious gaps in the world\u2019s defences against epidemics and pandemics.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor all these reasons and more, the world needs WHO now more than ever,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
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(NAN)<\/p>\n
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