The World Health Organization (WHO) has said its World Health Statistics 2026 report shows uneven progress toward global health targets, warning that a mix of setbacks and gains has left every Sustainable Development Goal off track.
According to the report released on Wednesday, millions of people benefited over the past decade from improved prevention, treatment, and essential health services. However, persistent and emerging challenges continue to threaten progress toward the organisation’s 2030 objectives.
“New HIV infections fell 40 per cent between 2010 and 2024,” the report stated. It added that tobacco and alcohol consumption declined, while interventions for neglected tropical diseases increased by 36 per cent.
Between 2015 and 2024, 961 million people gained access to safely managed drinking water, WHO said, while billions more gained access to improved sanitation, basic hygiene services, and cleaner cooking solutions.
The WHO African Region achieved faster-than-global reductions in HIV and tuberculosis cases. Meanwhile, the South-East Asia Region remains on track to meet its 2025 malaria reduction milestone despite uneven progress against the disease.
“Anaemia affects 30.7 per cent of women of reproductive age and has not improved in a decade,” the report said. It added that intimate partner violence affects one in four women globally.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the findings reflect both progress and deep inequality, with women, children, and underserved communities still lacking the basic conditions necessary for healthy lives and access to care.
Ghebreyesus noted that the Universal Health Coverage service index increased only slightly between 2015 and 2023, while one in four people experienced financial hardship due to healthcare costs and out-of-pocket spending in 2022.
“Global maternal mortality has fallen 40 per cent since 2000 but remains nearly three times higher than the 2030 target,” he said, adding that reductions in under-five mortality remain insufficient across countries.
He added that COVID-19 contributed to 22.1 million excess deaths between 2020 and 2023, reversing gains in life expectancy, while poor mortality reporting continues to undermine efforts to strengthen health accountability systems.
