PHM-Exch> World Health Statistics 2009 released (2)

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from: "[health-vn discussion group]" <health-vn at anu.edu.au>


World Health Statistics 2009, WHO's annual compilation of data from its 193
Member States, was published on 21 May 2009. Detailed data on hundreds of
indicators are available by country and region. Links are provided below.

Out of every 10 deaths worldwide, six are due to non-communicable
conditions;
three to communicable, reproductive or nutritional conditions; and one to
injuries. Many developing countries have mortality patterns that reflect
high
levels of infectious diseases and the risk of death during pregnancy and
childbirth, in addition to the cancers, cardiovascular diseases and chronic
respiratory diseases that account for most deaths in the developed world.

Certain risk factors are associated with increased mortality and morbidity.
The
most common preventable risks are: poor infant feeding practices, low birth
weight, being overweight or obese, childhood and maternal under-nutrition,
unsafe sex, use of tobacco, harmful use of alcohol, unsafe water and lack of
sanitation. Collectively, these preventable risks contribute to over 40% of
the
58 million deaths that occur worldwide annually and one third of global loss
of
healthy life years.

The prevalence of current tobacco smoking is an important predictor of the
future burden of tobacco-related diseases. In 36 countries, over 25% of
youths
smoke.

Globally, there are 13 physicians per 10,000 population, with large
variations
between countries and regions. In the African Region, there are only two
physicians per 10,000 compared with 32 per 10,000 in the European Region.
Globally, there are 28 nurses and midwives per 10,000 population, ranging
from a
low of 11 per 10,000 in the African Region to a high of 79 per 10,000 in the
European Region.

Expenditure on health in 2006 was about 8.7% of gross domestic product, with
the
highest level in the Americas at 12.8% and the lowest in the South-East Asia
Region at 3.4%. This translates to about US$ 716 per capita on the average
but
there is tremendous variation ranging from a very low US$ 31 per capita in
the
South-East Asia Region to a high of US$ 2636 per capita in the Americas.

External resources are becoming a major source of health funding in
low-income
countries. From a share of 12% of total health expenditure in 2000, external
resources represented 17% of low-income country health expenditure in 2006.
Some
low-income countries have two thirds of their total health expenditure
funded by
external resources. In these situations, predictability of aid is an
important
concern.

The world's population continues to grow but at a slower rate than a decade
ago.
The average annual growth rate was 1.3% for 1997-2007 compared with 1.6% for
1987-1997. There are large regional differences in growth rates. The growth
rate
in Africa is over 10 times that of the European Region, where populations
are
actually shrinking in several countries. Regions with higher growth rates
tend
to have younger populations; in the African Region, 43% of people are under
the
age of 15 compared with only 18% in the European Region and 28% globally.

The world's population is shifting towards urban areas, with an estimated
49%
living in urban areas in 2007 compared with 43% in 1990. The definition of
an
urban area varies from one country to another, making regional comparisons
unreliable.

Since 1990, the gross national income per capita has almost doubled. The
highest
percentage change over the period of 1990-2007 is in the South-East Asia and
Western Pacific Regions where it has increased by about 190%.

Full report available for free download.
PDF in English (3.19 MB):
http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241563819_eng.pdf

Download chapters in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish:
www.who.int/whosis/whostat/2009.

An online version of this publication and metadata describing the sources,
estimation methods and the quality of estimates is available at
www.who.int/statistics. The online version will be regularly updated as new
data
become available during 2009.
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