LIFE expectancy in the world鈥檚 poorest countries is falling to 鈥渕edieval鈥�
levels, according to the World Health Organization. These new figures reflect
how long you can expect to live without succumbing to serious illness. At the
top of the scale, the Japanese can expect to enjoy 74.5 years of life, but at
the bottom, babies born in the stricken West African state of Sierra Leone can
anticipate fewer than 26 years free of disease or disability.
鈥淗ealth life expectancy in some African countries is dropping back to levels
we haven鈥檛 seen in advanced countries since medieval times,鈥� says Alan Lopez,
senior epidemiologist at the WHO.
Disability adjusted life expectancy is a new way of measuring lifetimes.
Years of serious illness are taken into account and subtractions are made from
the average age at which a person dies. 鈥淲ith the DALE we鈥檙e trying to get out
of the trap of thinking of health only in terms of how long someone lives,鈥� says
Christopher Murray, a WHO executive director.
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The survey of 191 countries, due to form a centrepiece of the World
Health Report to be published on 21 June, shows that years lost to serious
disability are much higher in poor countries, where accidents, blindness,
tropical diseases, wars and famine take a heavy toll. These factors and the
ravages of AIDS ensure the 10 bottom countries are all in sub-Saharan
Africa.
The US, with an average DALE score of 70, trails most developed nations in
24th place. WHO says high rates of heart disease, violent death,
tobacco-related cancers and AIDS explain the poor showing of the world鈥檚 richest
nation. 鈥淭he position of the US is one of the major surprises of the new rating
system,鈥� says Murray.
