Trends in global health inequalities are worrying

Each year brings advances in science and progress in fighting deadly diseases, but one indicator is proving much more difficult to shift: health inequality.

The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) annual snapshot of global health breaks indicators down by sex for the first time, shining a light on some glaring discrepancies.

Men, for example, are much more likely to die from preventable diseases, suffer road accidents and commit suicide. Women, on the other hand, outlive men everywhere, particularly in wealthier countries with better access to maternal health services.

Deaths from maternal causes highlight another huge rift: the gap between rich and poor. One in 3,300 women in richer countries is a victim, compared with one in 41 in low-income countries. Deaths from Caesarean sections are 100 times higher in poorer countries and overall life

expectancy is 18 years lower. One child in every 14 will die before their fifth birthday.

Solutions include better access to services through universal health care; more control for women over their sexual and maternal health; and better data collection. But as the WHO acknowledges, much of this is beyond the remit of traditional health ministries.

Without multisectoral approaches and the political will to tackle underlying gender and socioeconomic inequalities, the struggle will remain an uphill one.