Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread human suffering.
As of mid-2022, COVID-19 had infected more than 500 million people worldwide. The latest estimates show that global “excess deaths” directly and indirectly attributable to COVID-19 could have been as high as 15 million by the end of 2021.
The pandemic has severely disrupted essential health services, triggered an increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression, lowered global life expectancy, derailed progress towards ending HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, and halted two decades of work towards making health coverage universal.
As a result, immunization coverage dropped for the first time in 10 years, and deaths from TB and malaria increased. Urgent and concerted action is needed to set the world back on a trajectory towards achieving Goal 3.
- In 2020 and 2021, 14.9 million people were estimated to have died due to COVID-19 and its impact on health systems and society.
- Interruptions in essential health services were reported in 92 per cent of 129 countries surveyed at the end of 2021.
- As of May 2022, more than 80 per cent of people had received at least one dose of a vaccine in high-income countries but the proportion is only about 17 per cent in low-income countries.
- Between January 2020 and May 2021, the pandemic may have claimed the lives of 115,500 health and care workers worldwide.
- In 2020, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by an estimated 25 per cent, with young people and women most affected.
- In 2015–2021, an estimated 84 per cent of births were assisted by skilled health professionals, an increase from 77 per cent in 2008–2014.
- The global mortality rate of children under age 5 fell by 14 per cent from 2015 to 2020.
- 5 million children died before reaching their fifth birthday in 2020 alone, down from 5.9 million in 2015.
- From 2010 to 2020, the adolescent birth rate dropped from 47.9 births to 41.2 births per 1,000 adolescents aged 15 to 19.
- The universal health coverage improved from a global average of 45 out of 100 in 2000 to 64 in 2015 and then 67 in 2019.
- In 2020, an estimated 1.5 million people were newly diagnosed with HIV and 680,000 people died of AIDS-related causes.
- The incidence of HIV infections globally declined by 39 per cent between 2010 and 2020, far less than the 75 per cent target agreed to by the General Assembly in 2016.
- TB deaths increased from 1.2 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2020 due to disruptions associated with the pandemic.
- Between 2018 and 2020, TB treatment reached 20 million people, only half of the global target.
- In 2020, 627,000 people died from malaria, with cases estimated to have reached 241 million.
- About two thirds of the additional deaths were linked to disruptions in the provision of malaria services during the pandemic.
- The number of people requiring neglected tropical diseases (NTD) treatment and care declined from 2.19 billion in 2010 to 1.73 billion in 2020.
- By the end of 2020, at least one NTD had been eliminated in 42 countries.
- From 2019 to 2020, coverage of infant immunization slipped from 86 per cent to 83 per cent.
- 7 million children missed out on vaccinations in 2020, 3.7 million more than in 2019 and the highest number since 2005.
- 1 million older children did not receive vaccines through the routine immunization programme in 2020, an increase from 13.6 million in 2019.
3.1 By 2030, reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.
3.2 By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.
3.3 By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.
3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol.
3.6 By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.
3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
3.8 Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.
3.A Strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries, as appropriate.
3.B Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all.
3.C Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States.
3.D Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.
COVID-19 response
The World Health Organization (WHO) has been leading the global effort to tackle COVID-19. The Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan, produced by WHO and partners, outlines the public health measures that countries should take to prepare for and respond to COVID-19. The Strategy Update of April 2020 provides further guidance for the public health response to COVID-19 at national and subnational levels, and highlights the coordinated support that is required from the international community to meet the challenge of COVID-19.
People and organizations who want to help fight the pandemic and support WHO and partners can donate through the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund which supports WHO’s work to track and understand the spread of the virus, to ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information, and to accelerate research and development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them.
WHO, together with partners, also provides guidance and advice for people to look after their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic — especially health workers, managers of health facilities, people who are looking after children, older adults, people in isolation and members of the public more generally.
The pandemic is much more than a health crisis. It requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society response, matching the resolve and sacrifice of frontline health workers.
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