WHO Report: Reducing Risks,
Promoting Healthy Life

October 31, 2002 sees the official publication of this year's World Health Report, which is the outcome of one of the largest research projects ever undertaken by the World Health Organization. The report measures the amount of disease, disability and death in the world today that can be attributed to some of the most important risks to human health. It then goes on to calculate how much of this present burden could be avoided in the next 20 years.

Although the report carries some ominous warnings, it also opens the door to a healthier future for all countries - if they are prepared to act boldly now.

The findings are exciting. The report shows that a relatively small number of risks cause a huge number of premature deaths and account for a very large share of the global burden of disease. Reducing these risks would result in significant gains in healthy life expectancy for people in all countries. These gains could be achieved through the greater use of existing cost-effective interventions and population-wide risk reduction strategies.

More than 20 major risks are examined in the report. They range from underweight and unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene, to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, tobacco and obesity. The findings give an intriguing - and alarming - insight into not just the current causes of disease and death and the factors underlying them, but also into human behaviour and how it may be changing around the world.

Reference Source: WHO website

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