Health experts are pointing out that Malawi’s life expectancy has notably increased from 63 years in 2019 to 66 years in 2024, despite the country experiencing COVID 19 pandemic over the same period.
This comes in the wake of the latest World Health Statistics by the World Health Organization which show that between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years to 71.4 years while global healthy life expectancy dropped by 1.5 years to 61.9 years in 2021.
It adds that the COVID 19 pandemic wiped a decade of progress on life expectancy across the globe.
Dr Bridget Malewezi has told MBC Digital that the life expectancy increase for Malawi is due to reduced child mortality rate, owing to malaria vaccine for under five children which has been administered in the country and reduction in HIV and AIDS related deaths, among other health interventions.
She further said introduction of HPV vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer has also helped in the overall increase of people life expectancy as previously, cancer was one of the deadly diseases claiming a lot of lives per year.
Country Director for Promoting Results and Outcomes through Policy and Economic leavers (PROPEL) health, Sandra Mapemba, however pointed out that there is need to put measures that can help in reducing road accident-related injuries and deaths as these may put a dent on Malawi’s life expectancy upward trajectory.
Life expectancy refers to number of years a person is expected to live before she/he dies.
By Alufisha Fischer
