The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised alarm over a staggering 33-year gap in life expectancy between the wealthiest and poorest countries, underscoring the persistent and deepening global health inequalities driven by socioeconomic disparities.
In its newly launched World Report on Social Determinants of Health Equity, the WHO revealed that a child born in a high-income country can expect to live, on average, over three decades longer than one born in a low-income nation. The report was unveiled on Tuesday by WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva.
According to the report, social determinants such as access to quality education, decent employment, safe housing, and healthcare infrastructure play a crucial role in shaping health outcomes and longevity. The findings highlight that where a person is born and raised significantly influences their ability to live a healthy life.
“Our world is an unequal one. Where we are born, grow, live, work, and age significantly influence our health and well-being,” said Dr. Ghebreyesus during the report’s launch. He emphasized that addressing these disparities is critical to achieving global health equity.
The WHO report highlights that individuals living in socially and economically disadvantaged conditions—especially those in marginalized communities such as Indigenous Peoples—suffer disproportionately poor health outcomes. In both high-income and low-income countries, discrimination, exclusion, and poverty were found to be strongly correlated with shorter life spans.
“Health follows a social gradient whereby the more deprived the area in which people live, the lower their incomes are, and consequently, the worse their health outcomes,” the report stated.
Children in impoverished countries face particularly harsh realities. The data indicates that a child born in a low-income country is 13 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday compared to one born in a high-income country. Additionally, nearly two million child deaths annually could be prevented if health inequities between income groups were addressed within low- and middle-income countries.
Although maternal mortality saw a 40 percent reduction globally between 2000 and 2023, WHO noted that a vast majority—94 percent—of maternal deaths still occur in low and lower-middle-income countries. These preventable deaths are often linked to inadequate health services, poverty, and gender-based inequality.
This latest publication is the first comprehensive report since the landmark 2008 WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health report. It sets ambitious targets for 2040, aiming to reduce gaps in life expectancy, maternal deaths, and child mortality across and within nations.
However, the 2025 findings suggest that many of these goals may not be met. Despite limited data availability in some regions, the report found enough evidence to conclude that health disparities are, in many cases, widening rather than narrowing.
To address these persistent challenges, WHO is calling on governments, international organizations, and civil society to take urgent collective action. Recommendations include:
Investing in social infrastructure: Strengthen public services like education, water and sanitation, and affordable healthcare.
Combating structural discrimination: Eliminate barriers faced by women, minorities, migrants, and indigenous communities.
Tackling conflict and forced migration: Address the root causes of displacement and insecurity that disrupt health systems.
Promoting universal health coverage: Ensure that every individual, regardless of income or status, can access quality healthcare without financial hardship.
Dr. Ghebreyesus concluded that building healthier societies requires dismantling the social structures that perpetuate inequality. “Achieving health equity is not only a moral imperative—it is essential for global stability, peace, and prosperity,” he said.
As the world confronts the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic shocks, and geopolitical instability, WHO’s message is clear: narrowing the health gap is vital to ensuring a fairer, healthier future for all.