UHC Communicable and NCDs Dashboard

• HIV remains a major global public health issue, having claimed an estimated 42.3 million lives to date.  Transmission is ongoing in all countries globally.
• There were an estimated 39.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2023, 65% of whom are in the WHO African Region.
• In 2023, an estimated 630 000 people died from HIV-related causes and an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV.
• There is no cure for HIV infection. However, with access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, including for opportunistic infections, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic health condition, enabling people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives.
• WHO, the Global Fund and UNAIDS all have global HIV strategies that are aligned with the SDG target 3.3 of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
• By 2025, 95% of all people living with HIV should have a diagnosis, 95% of whom should be taking lifesaving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people living with HIV on treatment should achieve a suppressed viral load for the benefit of the person’s health and for reducing onward HIV transmission. In 2023, these percentages were 86%, 89%, and 93% respectively.
• In 2023, of all people living with HIV, 86% knew their status, 77% were receiving antiretroviral therapy and 72% had suppressed viral loads.

• A total of 1.25 million people died from tuberculosis (TB) in 2023 (including 161 000 people with HIV). Worldwide, TB has probably returned to being the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, following three years in which it was replaced by coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was also the leading killer of people with HIV and a major cause of deaths related to antimicrobial resistance.
• In 2023, an estimated 10.8 million people fell ill with TB worldwide, including 6.0 million men, 3.6 million women and 1.3 million children. TB is present in all countries and age groups. TB is curable and preventable.
• Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis and a health security threat. Only about 2 in 5 people with drug resistant TB accessed treatment in 2023.
• Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since the year 2000.
• US$ 22 billion is needed annually for TB prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care to achieve the global target by 2027 agreed at the 2023 UN high level-meeting on TB.
• Ending the TB epidemic by 2030 is among the health targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Globally in 2023, there were an estimated 263 million malaria cases and 597 000 malaria deaths in 83 countries.
• The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
• In 2023, the WHO African Region was home to 94% of malaria cases (246 million) and 95% (569 000) of malaria deaths.
• Children under 5 accounted for about 76% of all malaria deaths in the WHO African Region.

• Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) killed at least 43 million people in 2021, equivalent to 75% of non-pandemic-related deaths globally.
• In 2021, 18 million people died from an NCD before age 70 years; 82% of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• Of all NCD deaths, 73% are in low- and middle-income countries.
• Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths, or at least 19 million deaths in 2021, followed by cancers (10 million), chronic respiratory diseases (4 million), and diabetes (over 2 million including kidney disease deaths caused by diabetes).
• These four groups of diseases account for 80% of all premature NCD deaths.
• Tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol, unhealthy diets and air pollution all increase the risk of dying from an NCD.
• Detection, screening and treatment of NCDs, as well as palliative care, are key components of the response to NCDs.

• Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of conditions caused by a variety of pathogens (including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi and toxins) and associated with devastating health, social and economic consequences.
• NTDs are mainly prevalent among impoverished communities in tropical areas, although some have a much larger geographical distribution. In 2023, the number of people requiring NTD interventions (both preventive and curative) was 1.495 billion.
• The epidemiology of NTDs is complex and often related to environmental conditions. Many of them are vector-borne, have animal reservoirs and are associated with complex life cycles. All these factors make their public-health control challenging.

• More than 1 million curable sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are acquired every day worldwide in people 15–49 years old, the majority of which are asymptomatic.
• In 2020 there were are an estimated 374 million new infections in people 15–49 years with 1 of 4 curable STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and trichomoniasis.
• An estimated 8 million adults between 15 and 49 years old were infected with syphilis in 2022.
• More than 500 million people aged 15–49 years are estimated to have a genital infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV or herpes) (1).
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with over 311 000 cervical cancer deaths each year (2).
• 1.1 million pregnant women were estimated to be infected with syphilis in 2022, resulting in over 390 000 adverse birth outcomes.
• STIs have a direct impact on sexual and reproductive health through stigmatization, infertility, cancers and pregnancy complications and can increase the risk of HIV.
• Drug resistance is a major threat to reducing the burden of STIs worldwide.
  

References

1. James C, Harfouche M, Welton NJ, et al. Herpes simplex virus: global infection prevalence and incidence estimates, 2016. Bull World Health Organ. 2020;98(5):315-329.
2. Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal A. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018 Nov;68(6):394-424. Epub 2018 Sep 12. Erratum in: CA Cancer J Clin. 2020 Jul;70(4):313.