LIFE expectancy in the world’s poorest countries is falling to “medieval”
levels, according to the World Health Organization. These new figures reflect
how long you can expect to live without succumbing to serious illness. At the
top of the scale, the Japanese can expect to enjoy 74.5 years of life, but at
the bottom, babies born in the stricken West African state of Sierra Leone can
anticipate fewer than 26 years free of disease or disability.
“Health life expectancy in some African countries is dropping back to levels
we haven’t seen in advanced countries since medieval times,” says Alan Lopez,…
