03 October 2011
Life expectancy gap
Today, there is a 36-year gap in life expectancy between countries. A child born in Malawi can expect to live for 47 years while a child born in Japan could live for as long as 83 years. In Chad, every fifth child dies before they reach the age of 5, while in the WHO European Region, the under-five mortality rate is 13 out of 1000. There is no biological or genetic reason for these alarming differences in health and life opportunity. [Source: World Health Statistics 2011]