The Lancet publishes the most up-to-date analysis on the state of the world’s health to equip governments and donors with evidence to identify national health challenges and priorities for intervention. This massive effort brings together 1870 independent experts in 127 countries and territories as part of the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factors (GBD) 2015 study collaboration, published in one special issue.
New estimates reveal the key drivers of ill health, disability, and death in individual countries. Globally, people’s health is improving, but progress has been far from universal, highlighting areas where improvements must be made. For the first time, GBD 2015 includes a measure of development (the Socio-Demographic Index, or SDI, which is based on income per capita, educational attainment and total fertility rate) in order to assess a country’s observed performance compared to their expected performance based on their stage of development.
GBD 2015 analyses 249 causes of death, 315 diseases and injuries, and 79 risk factors in 195 countries and territories between 1990 and 2015. Four capstone papers are published alongside two on child and maternal mortality. These are summarised below, followed by key regional, national findings.
“Development drives, but does not determine health,” says Dr Christopher Murray, Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in Seattle, the coordinating center for the GBD collaboration. “We see countries that have improved far faster than can be explained by income, education, or fertility. And we also continue to see countries – including the United States – that are far less healthy than they should be given their resources.”
