According to a report, the quick scale-up of HIV, TB, and malaria control efforts starting in 2005 contributed to the increase in healthy life expectancy.
The WHO said that between 2000 and 2019, the average life expectancy in the African region increased by 10 years per person, which is a bigger growth than in any other region of the world over the same time period.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s arrival at the conclusion of this time, however, raised concerns from the World Health Organization that it would destabilize these enormous accomplishments in the future.
The global health organization shared information from a report titled “Tracking Universal Health Coverage in the WHO African Region 2020” that was released during an online media briefing on Friday from its headquarters in Brazzaville, noting that the amount of time an individual spends in a good state of health increased to 56 years in 2019 from 46 in 2000.
According to the report, the global healthy life expectancy increased by only five years during the same time period, despite the fact that the growth in life expectancy in Africa is still much below the 64-year global average.
Improvements in the delivery of critical health services, advancements in reproductive, maternal, new-born, and child health, and developments in the battle against infectious illnesses were noted as factors for this rise in life expectancy in Africa.
In 2019, 46 percent of the continent of Africa had access to basic health services, up from 24 percent in 2000.
While great progress has been made in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, lifestyle disorders like diabetes and hypertension have increased dramatically while receiving little attention from the medical community.
“The region’s commitment to enhancing population health and well-being is evidenced by the sharp increase in healthy life expectancy over the previous two decades. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, explained that this essentially means that more people are living longer, healthier lives with fewer infectious disease threats and improved access to healthcare and disease preventive services.
Dr. Moeti urged people to pay more attention to other illnesses. The gains in health could be at risk if governments don’t step up their efforts to combat the threat of cancer and other non-communicable diseases, warned Dr. Moeti. According to the research, governments must make greater financial contributions to national health budgets.
According to the report, most African countries only fund about half of their national health budgets, leaving significant financing gaps. The only countries that fund more than half of their national health expenditures are Algeria, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Eswatini, Gabon, Seychelles, and South Africa.
“COVID-19 has demonstrated how important health care spending is to a nation’s security. The more resilient Africa is to pandemics and other health risks, the more prosperous our populations and economies will be. Dr. Moeti stated, “I implore governments to invest in health and be ready to confront head-on the next infection to come bearing down on us.
