Healthy life expectancy in Africa rises by almost ten years.

Healthy life expectancy in the African region has increased on average by 10 years per person between 2000 and 2019, a World Health Organization (WHO) assessment reports. This rise is greater than in any other region of the world during the same period. The report also notes that the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could threaten these huge gains.

The Tracking Universal Health Coverage in the WHO African Region 2022 report shows that healthy life expectancy-or the number of years an individual is in a good state of health-increased to 56 years in 2019, compared with 46 in 2000. While still well below the global average of 64, over the same period, global healthy life expectancy increased by only five years.

The sharp rise in healthy life expectancy during the past two decades is a testament to the region's drive for improved health and well-being of the population. At its core, it means that more people are living healthier, longer lives, with fewer threats of infectious diseases and with better access to care and disease prevention services.

Improvements in the provision of essential health services, gains in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, as well as progress in the fight against infectious diseases-thanks to the rapid scale-up of HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria control measures from 2005-helped to extend healthy life expectancy. On average, essential health service coverage improved to 46% in 2019, compared with 24% in 2000. The most significant achievements were in preventing and treating infectious diseases, but this was offset by the dramatic rise in hypertension, diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases and the lack of health services targeting these diseases.

'The sharp rise in healthy life expectancy during the past two decades is a testament to the region's drive for improved health and well-being of the population. At its core, it means that more people are living healthier, longer lives, with fewer threats of infectious diseases and with better access to care and disease prevention services,' said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. 'But the progress must not stall. Unless countries enhance measures against the threat of cancer and other noncommunicable diseases, the health gains could be jeopardized.'

Progress in healthy life expectancy could also be undermined by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic unless robust catch-up plans are instituted. On average, African countries...