On World Health Day, Tanzanian peacekeepers in UN peacekeepers diagnose noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) for residents of the village of Nzuma, North Kivu province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Against the backdrop of increased global humanitarian health needs due to conflict, climate change and disease outbreaks, the World Health Organization (WHO) today released its 2023 Results Report in Geneva, showcasing landmark achievements in public health around the world.
The report comes on the eve of the 77th World Health Assembly. The world is off track to achieve most of the "triple billion" goals and health-related Sustainable Development Goals, the report says. However, some of these substantive objectives can still be achieved if concrete and coordinated action is taken to accelerate progress.
"Three billion" goals
The "three billion" targets are at the heart of WHO's strategic plan for the past five years: 1 billion more people benefiting from universal health coverage; 1 billion more people better protected from health emergencies; An additional 1 billion people have seen improved health and well-being.
With regard to healthier populations, current trajectories suggest that it is possible to achieve the goal of better health and well-being for 1 billion people by 2025, thanks to improved air quality and universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene measures.
In terms of universal health coverage, 30 per cent of countries have made progress in coverage of basic health services and the provision of financial protection. This is largely due to the expansion of HIV service coverage.
In terms of protection against health emergencies, vaccination coverage for high-priority pathogens has improved compared to the height of the pandemic, but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2023, the Pandemic Fund's first allocation, totalling $338 million, supports 37 countries to finance initial responses to acute events and scaling up life-saving health operations in ongoing crises.
WHO will continue to work with countries and partners to strengthen genome sequencing capacity and strengthen global laboratory and surveillance systems, increasing surveillance capacity for COVID-19 by 62% between February 2021 and December 2023.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Our goal is to dedicate more resources to the local level that matters most, while ensuring sustainable and flexible financing to support our mission. ”
Outstanding achievements
The 2023 Results Report also lists key achievements in public health around the world.
Between 2022 and 2023, more than 2 million children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi were vaccinated with the world's first malaria vaccine, RTS, S/AS01, reducing eligible child mortality by 13%. WHO's prequalification of the second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, is expected to further advance malaria control efforts.
In 2022, the first all-oral treatment regimen for MDR-TB was introduced, bringing the number of TB patients receiving treatment to the highest level since surveillance began nearly 30 years ago.
The total number of countries implementing WHO's Trans Fat Elimination Initiative, which aims to eliminate industrially produced trans fatty acids from the food supply, now stands at 53.
More than 75% of people living with HIV are on antiretroviral therapy, and most of them are viral-suppressed, meaning they cannot infect others. WHO's guidance and support have helped countries such as Botswana make significant progress in controlling HIV transmission.
In addition, tobacco use rates are declining in 150 countries, and 56 of them are on track to meet the global goal of reducing tobacco use by 2025.
Between 2022 and 2023, 29 countries developed multisectoral national action plans on antimicrobial resistance, bringing the total to 178 countries.
Following the Director-General's call to eliminate cervical cancer, HPV vaccines were introduced in 25 countries, bringing the total number of countries that have introduced the vaccine since WHO launched the initiative in 2020 to 58.
The way forward
The report acknowledges that there are large disparities in health outcomes, including disruptions caused by the pandemic, ongoing shortages of health workers, and the need to invest in education and employment.
Looking ahead, WHO's programme budget for 2024-2025 aims to balance investment in organizational normative functions with the need to strengthen country offices. Member States have committed to providing sustainable funding to WHO and ensuring funding for the organization's core work over the next four years (2025-2028).
WHO will also host a high-level financing event in the fourth quarter of 2024 through an inclusive participatory process, working with existing and new donors and other partners.
