WORLD NEWS | WHO releases largest global dataset on health inequalities

Geneva [Switzerland], 20 April (ANI/WAM): The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched the Health Inequality Data Repository (HIDR), the most comprehensive collection of publicly available disaggregated data and evidence on population health and its determinants Global collection. The repository allows tracking of health inequalities across population groups and over time by disaggregating data according to group characteristics ranging from education level to race.

Data from the repository shows that in just a decade, the gap between rich and poor in access to health services for women, newborns and children in low- and middle-income countries has almost halved. They also revealed that eliminating wealth-related inequalities in under-five mortality could help save the lives of 1.8 million children in these countries.

Read also | 2023 Eid Moon Sighting Live News Update: Shawwal Crescent Not Spotted in Japan, Eid Ul Fitr April 22; Waiting for announcements from UK, US, Canada.

HIDR includes nearly 11 million data points and consists of 59 datasets from more than 15 sources. The data includes measurements of more than 2,000 indicators broken down by 22 dimensions of inequality, including demographic, socioeconomic and geographic factors. Topics covered include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); COVID-19; reproductive, maternal and child health; immunization; HIV; tuberculosis; malaria; nutrition; health care; noncommunicable diseases and environmental health.

“The ability to deliver services directly to those most in need is critical to advancing health equity and improving lives. As a one-stop shop for health inequality data, the repository will help us go beyond just counting births and deaths, by sex, age Disaggregate health data by , education level, region, etc.,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “If we are really committed to leaving no one behind, we have to figure out who is being left out.”

Read also | Space industry: Africa is ready for liftoff.

However, disaggregated data are still not available for many health indicators, and when disaggregated data are available, they are mostly disaggregated by sex only and, to a lesser extent, by age and place of residence. For example, of the 320 indicators in the Global Health Observatory, WHO’s portal of health-related statistics, only 170 are disaggregated, of which 116, or two thirds, are disaggregated by sex only.

The disaggregated data available, albeit limited, reveal important patterns of inequality. In high-income countries, high blood pressure is more common in men than in women, and rates of obesity are similar in men and women. In contrast, in low-income countries, women and men have similar rates of hypertension, but women have higher rates of obesity than men. (ANI/WAM)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)