The World Health Organization (WHO) affirms that the “enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.” Besides keeping our body strong and alive, there are other pragmatic reasons we, especially our governments should prioritize health. Health maintains society. When people are sick, they become unproductive and unhappy. Moreover, if the illness is severe, other people, whether they are loved ones or healthcare workers, must focus more of their attention on the sick and less on themselves and other. Thus, a nation enveloped by a disease can bring down both the economy and morale. The recent COVID-19 pandemic shows that. However, even with our advancements in ethics, philosophy, and science, we still have lapses in our healthcare systems, of which COVID-19 is taking full advantage.
(World Health Organization)
(Global Burden of Disease), (Dr. Jayani Pathirana), (UNICEF), (World Health Organization), (Geobe.se)
Healthy life expectancy (HALE) also increased from 58.5 years in 2000 to 63.3 years in 2016. Unfortunately, the number of healthful years lost from living unhealthy states also increased from 8.0 to 8.6 years.
(World Health Organization)
There are several reasons behind the shorter life expectancy of men. Of the 40 leading causes of death, 33 causes contribute more to the lower life expectancy in men than in women. The top 3 of these causes are ischemic heart disease, road injuries, and lung cancer. Genetics also come into play. Some causes of death occur in one sex only, such as prostate cancer, which only occurs in men and is the fourth most common cancer. Sex and gender also influences health outcomes, because of differences in health literacy, availability of and access to health information and services, and healthcare provider knowledge and attitude.
(World Health Organization), (Dr. Gemma Renart)
In high-income countries, many of the people who pass away are old, while the opposite happens in low-income countries. Communicable diseases, injuries, and maternal conditions are the main reasons behind the lower life expectancy between men and women in low-income countries, where accessible healthcare is lacking.
(World Health Organization)
Maternal death was also the second leading cause of death for women of reproductive age, after HIV/AIDS.
(World Health Organization)
Alarmingly, 94% of these deaths occur in low-income and lower-middle-income countries.
(World Health Organization)
The rest are due to infections such as malaria or related to chronic conditions like cardiac diseases or diabetes.
(World Health Organization)
In contrast, a skilled birth attendant is present in over 90% of births the WHO Regions of the Americas, European, and Western Pacific. Many unattended births happen in low-income countries. Having a skilled birth attendant such as a doctor, nurse, or midwife can reduce maternal deaths in case complications occur.
(World Health Organization)
Some of the reasons include:
(World Health Organization)
The same minimal rise can be observed in different regions. Modern contraception use of women between the ages of 15 and 49 barely rose between 2008 and 2015. These are:
Africa: From 26.3% to 28.5%
Asia: From 60.9% to 61.8%
Latin America and the Caribbean: Stable at 66.7%
(World Health Organization)
In 2000, the death rate of children under 5 years of age was 77 per 1,000 live births. In 2017, it became 39.
(World Health Organization)
In 2017, around 5.4 million children under 5 years of age died in 2017. Of these child deaths, 2.5 million were girls, and 2.9 million were boys.
(World Health Organization)
In 2000, 31 out 1,000 infants died within one month from birth. In 2017, this became 18. In comparison, the death rate of children between the ages of 1 and 59 months dropped by 54%.
(World Health Organization)
Healthcare statistics show that the leading causes of death in children over 28 days of age are (still) pneumonia, diarrhea, birth defects, and malaria.
(World Health Organization)
Undernutrition is a type of malnutrition which encompasses:
(World Health Organization)
Similarly, hepatitis B kills men 2 times as much as women.
(World Health Organization)
Fortunately, between 2005 and 2017, the rate of HIV infection dropped from 0.40 per 1,000 uninfected to 0.25. Condoms remain as one of the most effective ways to reduce the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
(World Health Organization)
Unfortunately, 41% of people with HIV did not receive treatment. Obstacles against HIV treatment include:
(World Health Organization)
This accounts for 71% of all deaths globally.
(World Health Organization)
Over 85% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries because people from these countries cannot sustain the healthcare costs for NCDs.
(World Health Organization)
Below are the proportions of 2016 deaths from these NCDs:
(World Health Organization)
These deaths include those that are due to exposure to second-hand smoke. This rate is expected to rise over time.
(World Health Organization)
The kidneys struggle to process excess sodium in the blood. As sodium builds ups, the body holds onto water to dilute the sodium. This situation increases both the amount of fluid surrounding the cells and the volume of blood in the bloodstream. As a consequence, not only does the heart has to work harder to pump the blood, but the pressure on the blood vessel increases. Over time, the extra work and pressure can stiffen blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. It can also lead to heart failure.
(World Health Organization), (Harvard School of Public Health)
About 3.3 million deaths occur due to alcohol. The alcohol-related NCDs include liver disease, cancers, cardiovascular disease.
(NCD Alliance)
More than 5 million people die from injuries every year. The top 3 injuries and their number of deaths (in 2016) are:
(World Health Organization)
(World Health Organization)
Interestingly, these countries only have about 60% of the world’s vehicles. Such a staggering number may be a reflection of the road-safety policies, knowledge, and culture, or the lack thereof, of these countries.
(World Health Organization)
On the other hand, more than 9.2 million are treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries.
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
Males are also likelier to be involved in road traffic crashes. Males under the age of 25 are involved in about 73% of all road traffic deaths.
(World Health Organization)
Unfortunately, about 646,000 of these falls lead to death. Over 80% of these fall-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
(World Health Organization)
However, much of the costs are shouldered by private individuals or private health insurance. Some of the reasons healthcare is expensive in the US are drug prices, population size, and aging population.
(Investopedia), (USA today)
Administrative costs account for about 34% of total healthcare expenditures in the US, which is twice that in Canada. If the US removed the administrative spending, the country could save more than $600 billion in just that one year.
(Dr. David U. Himmelstein)
Healthcare providers refer patients to other providers within the same hospital or health network with whom the patients’ insurance company contracted. Referral leakage is when the patients are referred to other providers in another health network. Healthcare systems are can lose on between $200 to $500 million per year because of referral leakages.
(OSP Labs), (Referral MD)
In contrast, European hospitals consume an average of between 182.5 and 365 L per hospital bed per year.
(Justo Garcia Sanz Calcedo)
However, less than 12% enter clinical trials.
(Joseph A. DiMasi)
Healthcare turnover is the 2nd worst after hospitality. These costs include hiring, training, and productivity losses.
(Beacker’s Hospital Revie), (Deane Waldman, MD)
Healthcare is a fundamental human right that everyone should get. Unfortunately, situations such as conflict, distance, and economics act as obstacles that keep this right away from people. Providing proper healthcare to people is extremely challenging, but it is attainable. Therefore, despite the height of these hurdles, the world must endeavor to jump over them.
References
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/fundamental-human-right/en/
Global Burden of Disease:
http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/policy_report/2019/GBD_2017_Booklet.pdf
Pathirana et al., 2016:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5139812/
UNICEF:
https://data.unicef.org/topic/maternal-health/maternal-mortality/
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/health-topics/cardiovascular-diseases/
World Health Organization:
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/324835/9789241565707-eng.pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y
UNICEF:
https://data.unicef.org/topic/nutrition/malnutrition/
Geoba.se:
http://www.geoba.se/country.php?cc=MC&year=2019
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-12-2017-world-bank-and-who-half-the-world-lacks-acc
Investopedia:
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/020915/what-country-spends-most-healthcare.asp
USA today:
Vicens et al., 2016:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4287549/
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/family-planning-contraception
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/gho/ncd/mortality_morbidity/en/
Harvard School of Public Health:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/salt-and-sodium/
NCD Alliance:
https://ncdalliance.org/why-ncds/ncd-prevention/harmful-use-of-alcohol
OSP Labs:
https://www.osplabs.com/insights/50-surprising-statistics-every-healthcare-stakeholder-must-know/
Referral MD:
https://getreferralmd.com/2016/06/patient-referral-leakage-how-to-manage/
Garcia-Sanz-Calcedo et al., 2017:
https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v10y2017i4p479-d94869.html
DiMasi et al., 2016:
hhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629616000291?via%3Dihub
Himmelstein et al., 2020:
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M19-2818
Becker’s Hospital Revie:
Waldman et al. 2004:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14992479/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
https://www.cdc.gov/safechild/child_injury_data.html
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/road-traffic-injuries
World Health Organization:
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/149798/9789241508018_eng.pdf?sequence=1
World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/falls
© 2025 Rest Right Mattress. All Rights Reserved.