Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Oct 04, 2025

15 million excess deaths worldwide were caused by COVID over two years - WHO

15 million excess deaths worldwide were caused by COVID over two years - WHO

The WHO estimates each excess death led to a loss of more than 22 years of life and warns the world must heed the lessons of the "tragedy" of these pandemic years. This year's report includes a section on climate change and health for the first time and calls for a "strengthened response".
Almost 15 million global excess deaths by the end of 2021 were caused by COVID, according to figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

It estimates a total of 336.8 million life-years were lost globally due to the pandemic which was declared in early 2020.

This means that, on average, each excess death led to a loss of more than 22 years of life, with the highest amount lost in people aged 55-64.

The figures, included in a new WHO report, are the clearest indication yet of the devastating legacy of the pandemic on a global scale.

Earlier this month the WHO decided to lower its highest level of alert for the virus, saying it was no longer a global health emergency - but warned "that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat".

"COVID-19 has changed our world and it has changed us," it said, warning that the risk of new variants still remained.

The WHO's assessment of global health also calls for a worldwide response to the growing threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, heart disorders and diabetes - which it warns if left unchecked could account for 86% of all deaths by 2050.

Despite progress in medicine, NCDs now claim nearly three-quarters of all lives lost each year.

If this trend continues, NCDs are projected to account for about 86% of the 90 million annual deaths by mid-century, the WHO's World Health Statistics report warned.

It would mean 77 million annual deaths would be due to NCDs - an increase of nearly 90% since 2019.

The WHO calls for "decisive and collective" action to tackle what it describes as "an ever-increasing health threat for future generations".

WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: "The world must heed the lessons of the last two decades, including the tragedy of these pandemic years.

"One of the most important of those is the knowledge that we have it in our power to avoid unnecessary deaths and illness, and create stronger, more equitable and resilient health systems and societies."

There are also wider concerns about how the pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities and dented improvements in tackling Malaria, TB and so-called neglected tropical diseases.

This year's report includes a dedicated section on climate change and its impact on health for the first time and calls for a "coordinated and strengthened response".

"Climate change is one of the greatest health challenges of the 21st century," the report says.

"As climatic conditions change, we are witnessing more frequent and intensifying weather and climate events, such as storms, extreme heat, floods, droughts and wildfires.

"These weather and climate hazards affect health both directly and indirectly, increasing the risk of deaths, NCDs, the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, and health emergencies."

The WHO report says all aspects of health are affected by climate change - from clean air, water and soil to food systems and livelihoods - and warns that further delay in tackling global warming will increase health risks and undermine decades of improvements in global health.

In terms of estimating the future impact of climate change on health, it cited a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in which the UN climate scientists comprehensively reviewed current evidence and concluded that under a high emissions scenario there could be more than nine million climate-related deaths each year by the end of the century.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×