The world is falling short on health targets, with progress uneven, slowing, and in some areas reversing, according to the World Health Statistics 2026 report, published today by the World Health Organization (WHO).
While there have been meaningful improvements in global health over the past decade, with millions benefiting from better prevention, treatment and access to essential services, persistent and emerging challenges mean that the world remains off track to achieve any of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (...
Access to services that shape health outcomes expanded rapidly between 2015 and 2024.
During this period, 961 million people gained access to safely managed drinking water, 1.2 billion to sanitation, 1.6 billion to basic hygiene, and 1.4 billion to clean cooking solutions.
Encouragingly, the WHO African Region has achieved faster-than-global reductions in HIV (-70%) and tuberculosis (-28%), and the South-East Asia Region is on track to meet its 2025 milestone for malaria reduction.
For example, malaria incidence increased by 8.5% since 2015, moving the world further away from global targets while overall progress remains highly uneven across regions.
Preventable risks continue to undermine health, slowing progress.
Anaemia affects 30.7% of women of reproductive age, with no improvement over the past decade.
The prevalence of overweight among children under five reached 5.5% in 2024.
Violence against women remains widespread, with intimate partner violence affecting 1 in 4 women globally.
These persistent risks highlight the urgent need for stronger prevention and social protection policies.
“These data tell a story of both progress and persistent inequality, with many people – especially women, children and those in underserved communities – still denied the basic conditions for a healthy life,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Investing in stronger, more equitable health systems, including resilient health data systems is essential to target action, close gaps and ensure accountability.”.
Progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) has slowed sharply.
The health significance of the development depends on confirmed data, public advisories and the response of medical or public-health authorities. Any claim involving risk to patients, medicines, outbreaks or hospital systems should be read alongside official guidance.
For India and other large public systems, such updates are useful when they connect global or national figures with practical questions of access, affordability, prevention, district readiness and communication to vulnerable groups.
