WHO Warns Global Health Progress Remains Fragile

The World Health Organization has warned that the world remains off track to achieve most health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, despite significant progress in several critical areas over the past decade.

In its newly released World Health Statistics 2026 report, the UN health agency said global health gains are becoming increasingly fragile due to widening inequalities, weak health systems, funding pressures and growing environmental and public health risks.

The report noted that while millions of people have benefited from improved healthcare services, prevention programmes and access to essential treatment, progress remains uneven across countries and regions, with some indicators even moving backwards.

WHO said urgent action, stronger health systems and improved health data are needed to accelerate progress towards the 2030 global health targets.

Gains in HIV, Water and Sanitation

According to the report, new HIV infections declined by 40 percent globally between 2010 and 2024. Tobacco use and alcohol consumption have also fallen during the same period.

The number of people requiring interventions for neglected tropical diseases dropped by 36 percent between 2010 and 2024.

Access to essential services also improved significantly between 2015 and 2024. During this period:

961 million people gained access to safely managed drinking water

1.2 billion gained access to sanitation services

1.6 billion obtained basic hygiene facilities

1.4 billion gained access to clean cooking solutions

WHO said the African region achieved faster-than-average reductions in HIV and tuberculosis, while the South-East Asia region remains on track to meet malaria reduction targets for 2025.

Major Health Risks Persist

Despite these improvements, WHO warned that major health challenges continue to threaten global progress.

Malaria incidence has increased by 8.5 percent since 2015, moving the world further away from international targets.

The report said preventable health risks continue to affect millions globally:

Anaemia affects 30.7 percent of women of reproductive age

Overweight prevalence among children under five reached 5.5 percent in 2024

One in four women globally experiences intimate partner violence

“These data tell a story of both progress and persistent inequality,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Many people, especially women, children and underserved communities, are still denied the basic conditions required for a healthy life,” he added.

Tedros stressed the importance of investing in stronger and more equitable health systems, including resilient health data systems, to improve accountability and close existing gaps.

Universal Health Coverage Slowing

WHO also warned that progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) has slowed significantly.

The global UHC service coverage index increased only slightly, from 68 to 71, between 2015 and 2023.

At the same time, one quarter of the global population experienced financial hardship due to healthcare costs, while 1.6 billion people were pushed into or trapped in poverty because of out-of-pocket medical expenses in 2022.

Childhood vaccination rates also remain below target levels, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

Although global maternal mortality has declined by 40 percent since 2000 and under-five mortality has fallen by 51 percent, many countries are still unlikely to meet the 2030 targets.

WHO said progress in reducing premature deaths from non-communicable diseases has also slowed since 2015.

Air pollution contributed to an estimated 6.6 million deaths worldwide in 2021, while poor water, sanitation and hygiene conditions caused around 1.4 million deaths in 2019.

WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Yukiko Nakatani said the world must urgently strengthen primary healthcare systems, invest in prevention and secure sustainable health financing to reverse current trends.

COVID-19 Exposed Health System Weaknesses

The report said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep vulnerabilities in global healthcare systems.

Between 2020 and 2023, the pandemic was linked to an estimated 22.1 million excess deaths worldwide, including indirect deaths caused by disrupted health services.

WHO noted that this figure is more than three times higher than officially reported COVID-19 deaths, highlighting the pandemic’s far-reaching global impact.

The crisis also reversed years of progress in life expectancy, with recovery remaining incomplete and uneven across regions.

Serious Gaps in Health Data

WHO also expressed concern over major gaps in global health data collection and reporting.

As of the end of 2025, only 18 percent of countries were reporting mortality data to WHO within one year, while nearly one-third had never submitted cause-of-death data.

Only one-third of countries currently meet WHO standards for high-quality mortality reporting.

Of the estimated 61 million deaths worldwide in 2023, only around one-third were officially reported with cause-of-death information.

WHO data chief Dr Alain Labrique warned that weak health data systems severely limit countries’ ability to track disease trends, compare outcomes and design effective public health responses.

He called for greater investment in digitalisation, reporting systems and data integration to improve evidence-based health policymaking worldwide.