Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Mar 2024
Key facts Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death worldwide, causing 3.23 million deaths in 2019. Nearly 90% of COPD deaths in those under 70 years of age occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). COPD is the seventh leading cause of poor health worldwide (measured by disability-adjusted life years) Tobacco smoking accounts for over 70%...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Mar 2024
Key facts Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally with around 660 000 new cases and around 350 000 deaths in 2022. The highest rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality are in low- and middle-income countries. This reflects major inequities driven by lack of access to national HPV vaccination, cervical screening and treatment services and social and econom...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Mar 2024
Key facts Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and resulting diet-related noncommunicable diseases. In 2022, 2.5 billion adults were overweight, including 890 million who were living with obesity, while 390 million were underweight. Globally in 2022, 149 million children under 5 wer...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Mar 2024
Key Facts: Over 1.5 million adolescents and young adults aged 10–24 years died in 2021, about 4500 every day. Young adolescents aged 10–14 years have the lowest risk of death among all age groups. Injuries (including road traffic injuries and drowning), interpersonal violence, self-harm and maternal conditions are the leading causes of death among adolescents and young adults. Half...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
01 Mar 2024
Key facts In 2022, 1 in 8 people in the world were living with obesity. Worldwide adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, and adolescent obesity has quadrupled. In 2022, 2.5 billion adults (18 years and older) were overweight. Of these, 890 million were living with obesity. In 2022, 43% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight and 16% were living with obesity. I...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
31 Jan 2024
In February 2022, the @MATES4Kids movement - a coalition of like-minded organisations and individuals committed to collaborative action aimed at identifying, implementing, and monitoring practical solutions to reduce the preventable mortality associated with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) - prepared a briefing paper for WHO outlining the ambitious goals and three objectives proposed to suppo...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
31 Jan 2024
The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child clearly states all children with special health requirements have a right to the care needed to enable them to live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Despite this, the sad reality is that in resource-poor countries any child with any non-communicable disease (NCD) or other chronic health condition is susceptible to entirel...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
24 Jan 2024
Key facts Trans fat, or trans-fatty acids (TFA), are unsaturated fatty acids that come from either industrial or natural sources. More than 278 000 deaths each year globally can be attributed to intake of industrially produced trans fat. Trans fat clogs arteries, increasing the risk of heart attacks and deaths. Industrially produced trans fat can be found in margarine, vegetable s...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
22 Jan 2024
Living with and managing a chronic condition can be challenging in any circumstances. However, people living with NCDs face even greater challenges when living in a humanitarian setting. Humanitarian emergencies threaten the health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of people.They include natural disasters, public health emergencies and armed conflict, and may combine multiple...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Jan 2024
Even though the prevalence and absolute number of current tobacco users aged 15 years old or older has declined steadily in the 20 years since the adoption of the WHO FCTC, the journey is far from over. Over 8.7 million lives continue to be lost each year due to tobacco use, with 1.3 million of those deaths due to environmental tobacco smoke, leading to enormous economic losses. This investment ca...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Dec 2023
Key facts HIV remains a major global public health issue, having claimed 40.4 million [32.9–51.3 million] lives so far with ongoing transmission in all countries globally; with some countries reporting increasing trends in new infections when previously on the decline. There were an estimated 39.0 million [33.1–45.7 million] people living with HIV at the end of 2022, two thirds of whom...
Briefs & Fact Sheets
07 Dec 2023
Key facts Depression is a common mental disorder. Globally, an estimated 5% of adults suffer from depression. More women are affected by depression than men. Depression can lead to suicide. There is effective treatment for mild, moderate and severe depression. Overview Depressive disorder (also known as depression) is a common mental disorder. It involves a depressed m...
