The WHO study found that the COVID-19 pandemic had reversed a steady increase in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. Global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years to 71.4 years, the same as in 2012. The study added that healthy life expectancy had also fallen by 1.5 years to 61.9 years in 2021, also the same as in 2012.
The findings are more serious than those of a study published in the Lancet in January that found life expectancy had fallen by 1.6 years during the pandemic. In the study published in the Lancet, scientists said COVID-19 had a “more profound impact” on life expectancy than any other event in the past half-century.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said these figures underscore the importance of the global pandemic security agreement being negotiated in Geneva (Switzerland) to strengthen global health security, while protecting long-term investments in health and promoting equity within and between countries.
Lancet researchers estimate that COVID-19 was responsible for more than 15.9 million deaths in 2020-2021, either from the virus itself or from health system disruptions caused by the disease.
However, the WHO study said that the decline in life expectancy varied by region. The Americas and Southeast Asia were the worst affected regions, with life expectancy falling by about three years, the report said. The Western Pacific was the least affected region, with life expectancy falling by just 0.1 years.
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