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WHO: People Living Longer, but With More Disabilities

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - New global health estimates find people are living six years
   longer now than 20 years ago, but many more people are living with
   disabilities that affect their quality of life.

   The World Health Organization reports life expectancy has gone up from
   67 years to 73 years since 2000. Over this period, it notes progress
   has been made in reducing deaths from a number of communicable
   diseases.

   For example, the WHO says HIV/AIDS has dropped from the 8th leading
   cause of death in 2000 to the 19th in 2019. And tuberculosis, it says,
   no longer figures among the global top 10 ranked diseases, falling from
   7th place to 13th position over the past two decades.

   Another big shift since 2000 is that non-communicable diseases have
   supplanted communicable diseases as the leading causes of death.

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