According to “2019 World Health Statistics,” published on the WHO website, yesterday, the global health body said the trend is similar in low and high-income countries as men often seek healthcare services less than women.
The health statistics, which according to the report, was disaggregated by sex for the first time, stated that women outlived men everywhere in the world; particularly in wealthy countries. The report said where men and women faced the same disease, men often seek healthcare less than women.
It said only by intensifiying efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can countries close this health gap and improve the health and wellbeing of everyone. Women outlive men everywhere in the world, particularly in wealthy countries and the World Health Statistics 2019 disaggregated by sex for the first time explains why.
“Attitudes to healthcare differ. Where men and women face the same disease, men often seek health care less than women.
“In countries with generalised HIV epidemics for example, men are less likely than women to take an HIV test, less likely to access antiretroviral therapy and more likely to die of AIDS-related illnesses than women.
“Similarly, male Tuberculosis (TB) patients appear to be less likely to seek care than female TB patients. “Where women can access health services, maternal deaths decrease thereby lengthening women’s life expectancy.
“In many circumstances, men access health care less than women.” The report also highlighted the difference in causes of death between men and women. “Some are biological, some influenced by environmental and societal factors while some are impacted by availability of and uptake of health services.”
The WHO report also said that, of the 40 leading causes of death globally, 33 causes contribute more to reduced life expectancy in men than in women.
The report stated that in 2016, the probability of a 30-year-old dying from a non-communicable disease before 70 years of age was 44 per cent higher in men than women.
Again, according to the report, global suicide mortality rates are 75 per cent higher in men than in women; in 2016. It revealed that death rates from road injury were more than twice as high in men than in women from age 15 adding that mortality rates due to homicide were also four times higher in men than in women.
The report quoted the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, as having said that breaking down data by age, sex and income group was vital to understanding who was being left behind and why.
Ghebreyesus said behind every number in the World Health Statistics was a person, a family, a community or a nation and that the task of the organisation is to use the data to make evidence-based policy decisions that would move everyone closer to a healthier, safer and fairer world.
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