Global life expectancy at birth increased from 66.8 years in 2000 to 73.3 years compared to 2019, and healthy life expectancy at birth increased from 58.3 years to 63.7 years. However, the pandemic has had a detrimental impact on life expectancy and healthy life expectancy and global inequalities remain a challenge. [World Health Statistics 2022, WHO]
Whilst the data confirms that we are living longer, those years are not necessarily spent in good health. The pandemic was a significant cause of an increase in mortality, but as we age the risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes,…