CONTENTS
GENERAL
The world's population has more than doubled from 2.5 billion in
More than one-fifth of the global population lives in extreme
Life expectancy in one of the world's least developed countries is
Despite gains in overall life expectancy worldwide - a rise of 4
Half the world's population still lacks regular access to treatment
CHILDREN
More than 12 million children under 5 years of age die in the
Each year more than 4 million children under 5 years die of acute
Diarrhoeal diseases kill about 3 million children a year.
Measles kills about 1.2 million children a year.
Malaria kills about 1 million children a year.
More than half a million babies die each year from neonatal tetanus.
Up to 320 out of every 1000 babies do not reach their fifth birthday
More than 200 million children - almost a third of all the children
Breast-feeding could prevent the deaths of at least 1 million
It is estimated that by the year 2000, over 5 million children will
Globally, infant mortality has fallen by 25 per cent since 1980,
The number of children under 5 dying from vaccine-preventable
ADOLESCENTS
Pregnancy in adolescence carries a high risk of death or long-term
Compared to other age groups, sexually transmitted diseases are most
Studies in Latin American and the Caribbean show that 30-60 per cent
One smoker in two will eventually die because of a cigarette habit
Suicide rates among young people are rising more rapidly worldwide
ADULTS
Of the world's 51 million deaths last year, 40 per cent were caused
Infectious diseases and parasites are the world's biggest group of
Diseases of the circulatory system kill 10 million people each year,
Cancer claims 6 million lives each year, including 1 million due to
Breast cancer is the main cause of cancer deaths among women in
The majority of cancer victims live in the developing world and
Overall smoking kills 6 people a minute. Smoking is the world's
Ninety-nine per cent of deaths from communicable diseases and from
A pregnant woman in Africa is 13.5 times more likely to die in
Twenty million women undergo unsafe abortions each year and 70,000
More than half of the world's women now use a contraceptive method
More than 7000 adults die each day from tuberculosis, and there are
Hepatitis B kills about 1 million people each year, but it is
Over 13 million adults, mainly heterosexual men and women, are
In the next 5 years, AIDS will have killed more than 8 million
In the developing world, 1 in 2 deaths is caused by communicable
Hypertension or high blood pressure, one of the major contributors
More than 100 million people will suffer from diabetes by the end of
Some 500 million people suffer from neurotic, stress-related and
In Africa, where 9 of 10 deaths from malaria occur, the social and
Schistosomiasis, or snail fever, affects 200 million people in 74
River blindness, or onchocerciasis, a parasitic disease, infects 18
Every day about 600 people die, and another 33 000 are injured
1950 to 5.6 billion today, including 4.4 billion in the developing
world.
poverty.
43 years, compared to 78 years in one of the world's most developed
countries.
years to 65 years since 1980 - at least five countries will see
their life expectancy rates drop in the next five years.
of common diseases and to the most needed essential drugs.
developing world every year, most from a combination of preventable
causes.
respiratory infections, particularly pneumonia. This is equal to one
death every 8 seconds.
in some parts of the developing world, compared to only 6 deaths
under 5 years per thousand births in some of the most developed countries.
in the world - are undernourished.
children a year.
be infected by HIV and another 5-10 million orphaned by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
from 82 per 1000 births to 62 per 1000, while deaths among children
under 5 have fallen from 115 per 1000 births in 1980 to 87 per 1000 births
today.
diseases - diphtheria, measles, neonatal tetanus, pertussis
(whooping cough) and tuberculosis - dropped from 3.7 million in 1985 to 2.4
million in 1993. Eight out of 10 children in the world have been vaccinated
against these diseases.
complications. Maternal mortality rates at ages 15-19 are double the
rates at 20-24 and the rates at ages 10-14 are five times higher in some
countries.
common in young people aged 15 to 24, and up to two-thirds of all
new HIV infections are expected to be in this age group.
of marriages take place in adolescence.
begun in adolescence.
than in all other age groups. For every successful suicide in the
developed world, some 40 adolescents attempt to kill themselves.
by communicable diseases.
killers, claiming 16.4 million lives each year.
and are the largest cause of death.
cancer of the lungs and airways. Worldwide lung cancer is the
biggest single cause of cancer deaths in men.
developed countries and the second cause in the developing world
after cervical cancer.
two-thirds of future cancer cases over the next 25 years will occur
there.
largest single preventable cause of illness and death. It already
kills 3 million people a year and is expected to kill 10 million by the year
2020.
maternal, perinatal and neonatal causes occur in the developing
world.
childbirth than one in Europe, while the mothers of more than half
of the babies born in the least developed countries have no prenatal care.
die as a result.
compared to fewer than 10 per cent in 1960.
over 1000 new cases every hour of every day.
preventable by vaccine.
infected with HIV. Up to 60 per cent of infections in females are
believed to occur by the age of 20. Some 6000 people become infected each
day and by the year 2000, the cumulative total of HIV infections worldwide
could reach 30 to 40 million.
people, most of them young adults, with women an increasing
proportion of the total.
disease, whereas in the developed world 3 out of 4 deaths are due
noncommunicable diseases, many of which are lifestyle-related, such as
cancer or heart disease.
to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure, affects 8 to 18 per
cent of adults worldwide.
this century - 90 percent of them with the form strongly linked to
lifestyle habits such as inappropriate diet and lack of exercise.
somatoform disorders, and another 200 million from mood disorders
such as chronic and manic depression.
economic costs of the diseases have reached $2 billion a year.
countries. The cost of treatment - although only 30 cents per
patient - is too expensive for widespread use in many of the most affected
countries.
million people in 34 countries in Africa and Latin America.
because of unsafe working conditions. Worldwide, 90 per cent of
workers have no access to occupational health services.