Foreign News
WHO Decries 33-year Life Expectancy Gap Between Rich, Poor Countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) says on Tuesday that more than 30-year difference in life expectancy between the richest and the poorest countries highlights global health inequities.
The global health body stated this in its ‘World Report on Social Determinants of Health Equity’ launched on Tuesday by its Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.
The report revealed that where one was born could be the difference between living over three decades longer than someone else from a poorer country lacking safe housing, good educational opportunities and access to decent jobs.
According to the report, people in the country with the highest life expectancy will, on average, live for 33 years more than those born in the country with the lowest life expectancy.
It further revealed that lack of safe housing, good educational opportunities and access to decent jobs could be responsible for a reduction in life expectancy in both rich and poor countries alike.
“Our world is an unequal one. Where we are born, grow, live, work and age significantly influences our health and well-being,” said Ghebreyesus.
The report found that inequities in health were closely linked to degrees of social disadvantage and levels of discrimination.
“Health follows a social gradient whereby the more deprived the area in which people live, the lower their incomes are,” the UN global health agency said.
It stated that inequities’ were exacerbated in populations that face discrimination and marginalisation, such as Indigenous Peoples, who had lower life expectancies than their non-Indigenous counterparts.
According to the report, this is the case in both high and low-income countries.
The study was the first to be published since 2008 when the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health released its final report.
The report laid out targets for 2040 for reducing gaps between and within countries in life expectancy, childhood and maternal mortality.
It showed that these targets were likely to be missed and in spite of a scarcity of data, there was sufficient evidence to show that health inequities were often widening.
“For example, children born in poorer countries are 13 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than in wealthier countries.
“Moreover, modelling shows that the lives of nearly two million children annually could be saved by closing the gap and enhancing equity between the poorest and wealthiest sectors of the population within low- and-middle-income countries.”
Additionally, while maternal mortality declined by 40 per cent between the years 2000 and 2023, the majority of deaths, 94 per cent, still occurred in low and lower-middle-income countries.
WHO called for collective action to address economic inequality and invest in social infrastructure and universal public services.
The agency also recommended other steps, including overcoming structural discrimination and the determinants and impacts of conflicts, emergencies and forced migration
U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Iran to conclude an agreement with Washington on its controversial nuclear programme, amid a series of Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities and military leaders.
“There is still time to make this slaughter come to an end,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday.
“Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” Trump continued.
“JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”Observers consider it unlikely that Iran’s leadership would opt for a diplomatic approach in light of the Israeli attacks.
Israeli media reported that Tehran had retaliated with an attack involving about 100 drones, all of which were shot down.
“I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump wrote.
“The U.S. makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come and they know how to use it,” Trump wrote. (dpa/NAN)
Pope Leo XIV said on Wednesday that he was praying for the victims of the mass shooting in a school in the Austrian city of Graz.
“I would like to express my prayers for the victims of the tragedy at the Graz school,” Leo said during his weekly audience in the Vatican.
Leo added that he is keeping the families, teachers, and fellow pupils in his thoughts.
According to police, a 21-year-old former pupil at the school entered the grounds on Tuesday and opened fire, killing 10 pupils aged between 15 and 17 as well as a teacher.
He then shot himself.
Eleven people remain in the hospital, most of them in intensive care.
All are now reported to be in a stable condition.
Graz, in south-eastern Austria, is home to around 300,000 people. (dpa/NAN)
The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NiDO)-Worldwide has appointed Mr Chibuzo Ubochi, as its new Coordinating Chairman of NIDO-Europe.
Ubochi succeeds Dr Victor Ubani, the Chairman of NIDO Americas and outgoing coordinating chairman of NiDO-Worldwide.
Ubani disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, against backdrop of the end of his tenure as coordinating chairman and inauguration of Ubochi’s tenure as the new chairman of the organisation.
He congratulated Ubochi over his recent electoral victory where he emerged chairman of the organisation, saying it was a closely contested NIDO-Europe election against Dr Johnson Odibo.
According to him, the process which was conducted with robust participation, ushered in a new era for NIDO-Europe.
Ubani said: “It is one marked by renewed strength, unity and purpose. I write in my capacity as the outgoing Coordinating Chairman of NIDO-Worldwide, having had the honour of serving in this rotational role on behalf of the Americas.
“I am deeply grateful for the cooperation and commitment demonstrated by our continental bodies throughout my tenure.
“Together, we pursued the vision of a more effective, united and relevant NIDO across all regions. I believe we made notable progress in advancing our collective mandates.
“As is the custom within our global structure, which comprises five continental bodies, I will now be handing over the rotational leadership of the Coordinating Chairmanship to the current Chairman of NIDO Europe, Sir Chibuzo Ubochi”.
Ubani explained that he had observed Ubochi’s leadership as Chairman of NIDO UK South and his previous tenure as Legal Adviser to the NIDO-Worldwide Coordinating Platform, to express confidence in the latter’s ability to lead the organisation.
“I am confident in his capacity to fulfill this responsibility with vision, integrity and diplomatic skill.
“He is well acquainted with the complexities of our global structure and is well-positioned to continue strengthening and advancing a more focused and impactful NIDO Worldwide.
“As he assumes this role, I urge all continental chairs, executives and members to extend the same cooperation and collegiality accorded me to him.
“The task ahead requires a united front, focused energy and shared commitment free from unnecessary distractions and geared solely toward the progress of our global diaspora, and the development of our homeland,” he said. (NAN)
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