SDG Goals
Good health and well-being
A nurse in the Dominican Republic offers counseling and contraceptives from her home – a community approach helping reduce adolescent births and protect women’s health (see Success Stories for more).
© UNFPA/Francesco SpotornoMaternal health outcomes are improving, but women in the poorest and most fragile settings continue to be left behind
On the whole, maternal health improved over the past two decades. The global maternal mortality ratio fell from 328 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 228 in 2015 and 197 in 2023. Access to skilled care during childbirth also improved, with the share of births attended by a skilled health professional from 80 per cent to 87 per cent between 2015 and 2025, putting the world on track to meet the 90 per cent target by 2030.
Despite improvement, more needs to be done. Worldwide, maternal mortality remains over two and a half times the SDG target of 70 per 100,000 live births. In 2023, approximately 260,000 women still died from pregnancy-related causes – one every two minutes.
Progress has also been deeply uneven. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia reduced their maternal mortality ratios by 25 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, since 2015, yet together still accounted for 87 per cent of global maternal deaths in 2023. The gap between rich and poor countries remains stark: low-income countries recorded 346 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births compared with just 10 in high-income countries. The deficit is also increasingly striking in fragile and conflict-affected settings, which accounted for 61 per cent of global maternal deaths in 2023.
Healthcare access has been similarly disparate, with LDCs reporting just 77 per cent of births attended by a skilled professional. Even in higher-performing countries, significant gaps persist, leaving poor and rural women without adequate care. Targeted investments in equitable access and quality maternal health services will be essential to close these gaps and accelerate progress.
Contraceptive use is rising and adolescent birth rates are falling, but progress is uneven across regions
Two encouraging trends are emerging in global reproductive health: contraceptive use is rising and adolescent birth rates are falling. In 2026, 77.2 per cent of women of reproductive age who wanted to avoid pregnancy were using modern contraceptive methods, up from 76.4 per cent in 2015. Worldwide, over 886 million women or their partners use a modern method of contraception – 78 million more than in 2015 – with that number projected to grow by a further 31 million by 2030. Nearly half of that increase has been in sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of users rose by 35 million between 2015 and 2026 and is projected to grow by a further 17 million by 2030.
The adolescent birth rate also continued to fall worldwide, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. From 2015 to 2025, the rate dropped from 45.9 births to 37.6 births per 1,000 adolescents aged 15–19, and from 1.5 to 1.0 births in girls aged 10–14. Despite progress, regional disparities remain stark, notably in sub-Saharan Africa, where the adolescent birth rate is still much higher than that of other regions in 2015, underscoring how much ground remains to be covered.
Adolescent birth rates aged 15-19, 2015 and 2025 (births per 1,000 girls and young women)
* Excluding Australia and New Zealand.
More children are surviving past their fifth birthday despite ongoing challenges
The world has made significant progress in reducing child mortality since 2000. By 2024, the global under-5 mortality rate had fallen to 37.4 deaths per 1,000 live births – a decline of 51 per cent since 2000 and 13 per cent since 2015. Neonatal mortality also dropped substantially, reaching 17.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024, down 43 per cent since 2000 and 11 per cent since 2015. As a result, 134 countries had already achieved the SDG target for under-5 mortality by 2024, with 6 more on track to meet it by 2030.
Yet the pace of progress has slowed significantly since 2015. The annual rate of reduction in under 5 mortality fell from 3.9 per cent in 2000–2015 to 1.5 per cent in 2015–2024. For neonatal mortality, the rate fell from 3.0 per cent to 1.3 per cent. Sixty countries still need to accelerate to meet the SDG target. Despite overall gains, 4.9 million children still died before their fifth birthday in 2024. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in fragile and conflict-affected settings, where under-5 mortality rates are almost three times higher than in other countries.
Under-5 and neonatal mortality rate, 2000‒2024 (deaths per 1,000 live births)
Strong global gains against HIV are at risk from growing funding shortfalls
The world is at a critical juncture: within sight of ending AIDS by 2030, yet at risk of seeing decades of progress stall in the wake of international funding cuts. Since 2015, new HIV infections fell by 30 per cent and AIDS-related deaths fell by 35 per cent by 2024. Still, gaps in HIV prevention persist. In 2024, 1.3 million new infections were recorded – almost unchanged from the previous year – while over 9 million people living with HIV were not on treatment, and 11 million had unsuppressed viral loads..
Cuts in international assistance have started to chip away at this progress, weakening prevention programmes for young people and key populations, as well as community-led services that often rely heavily on external funding. The impact on HIV prevention is already visible, including reduced uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in countries such as Uganda and Viet Nam, and sharp drops in condom distribution in Nigeria. More than 60 per cent of women-led HIV organizations worldwide have also lost funding or suspended essential programmes, leaving many communities without critical support.
Following steep cuts, countries have acted quickly to address funding gaps. Through the African Union Roadmap to 2030 and Beyond, African leaders committed to securing diversified and sustainable financing for HIV and other health programmes. Treatment initiations remained stable through the first half of 2025. Developments involving major global HIV funders in the second half of 2025 may create new opportunities to expand investments and reach those most in need of services.
Ending AIDS by 2030, as laid out by the new Global AIDS Strategy 2026–2031, remains within reach but only if countries scale up prevention and treatment services to meet global targets. Doing so could avert an estimated 3.3 million additional new HIV infections compared with maintaining services at 2024 levels.
New HIV infections, 2000-2025 with projection to 2030 (population)
Tuberculosis cases are falling again, but funding cuts put 2030 goals at risk
TB remains one of the world’s most persistent public health challenges, and progress toward ending it by 2030 is falling far short in most regions. In 2024, an estimated 10.7 million people fell ill with TB, of whom 8.3 million were reported as newly diagnosed, highlighting persistent gaps in case detection, diagnosis and reporting.
There are signs of recovery after a three-year spike in TB cases triggered by COVID-19. For the first time since 2020, TB cases declined, and TB deaths also fell from 1.27 million in 2023 to 1.23 million in 2024. But the overall trajectory remains insufficient. TB incidence declined only by 12 per cent since 2015 – far from the World Health Organization’s End TB Strategy milestone of 50 per cent by 2025 and 80 per cent by 2030.
With international donor funding cuts in 2025, political commitment and domestic investment in high-burden countries have never mattered more. Intensifying these efforts will be essential in eliminating TB globally.
Childhood hepatitis B prevalence is falling globally, with Africa still far behind
Global efforts to prevent early-life hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection continue to make progress, driven largely by expanded hepatitis B vaccination. In 2024, the global prevalence of chronic HBV infection among children under five fell to 0.6 per cent, down from 0.8 per cent in 2015. However, this remains far above the 2030 SDG target of 0.1 per cent or lower. At the country level, 85 countries have achieved the target, demonstrating that eliminating early-life HBV infection is feasible.
Regional disparities remain stark. Africa continues to record the highest prevalence at 1.4 per cent. Accelerating progress will require expanding coverage of hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination within 24 hours of birth, strengthening maternal screening and treatment, improving health systems, increasing political commitment, and financing, particularly in high-burden countries.
Malaria has been eliminated from 47 countries, but rising incidence requires accelerated strategic action
Since 2000, an estimated 2.3 billion malaria cases and 14 million deaths have been averted worldwide. Forty-seven countries and one territory have been certified malaria‑free by WHO, with several others nearing elimination. Yet malaria remains a serious global public health challenge, with an estimated 282 million cases in 2024 and an incidence rate of 64 cases per 1,000, up from 59 in 2015. With trends reversing, the world is off track to end malaria by 2030, with incidence nearly three times the level required to meet global targets.
Gains have also been deeply uneven. In 2024, most cases and deaths occurred in a small number of countries, and 75 per cent of deaths were among children under five. The burden of disease remains high especially in sub-Saharan Africa due to gaps in health services and malaria interventions coverage, conflict, extreme weather events, biological threats such as antimalarial drug resistance and limited access to care faced by the most vulnerable populations.
Malaria incidence rate, 2000–2024 (cases per 1000 population at risk)
Significant reductions in neglected tropical diseases highlight the importance of coordinated global action
Coordinated efforts across governments, pharmaceutical manufacturers, development partners and global health organizations have measurably reduced the burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) over the past two decades. By December 2025, 59 countries, areas and territories had eliminated at least one NTD, marking important progress toward the global target of 100 countries by 2030.
The number of people requiring NTD interventions declined from 2.19 billion in 2010 to 1.41 billion in 2024, a 36 per cent reduction, achieved even as the global population grew by more than 1 billion over the same period. In LDCs, the share of the population requiring NTD treatment and care fell from 79 per cent in 2010 to 42 per cent in 2024. At 502 million people, this represented a 24 per cent reduction since 2010. Over 907 million people outside LDCs still required NTD treatment and care in 2024.
While substantial progress has been achieved in combating NTDs, significant service gaps remain, highlighting that many populations are still unreached.
Reduction in the number of people requiring interventions for NTDs, 2010-2024 (percentage)
Global health emergency preparedness continues to improve, but major gaps remain
Global participation in health security monitoring has reached near-universal levels. In 2024, 195 of 196 States Parties submitted International Health Regulations self-assessment reports – which measure countries’ capacity to detect and respond to public health emergencies – with 73 per cent using coordinated, multisectoral approaches that span human, animal and environmental health.
Global scores for detecting, assessing and responding to public health emergencies trended upward between 2015 and 2024, stabilizing around 64 in recent years. Disease surveillance, the systematic monitoring for outbreaks and health threats, was the strongest area, scoring 80. Chemical events preparedness and policy and legal frameworks lagged at 53 and 55, respectively, though the latter showed the largest global gain, rising 3 points between 2021 and 2024.
Despite progress, the gap between rich and poor countries persists. Developed regions averaged a capacity score of 77, compared with 59 in developing regions and just 49 in LDCs. Closing the gap will be essential if the world is to respond effectively to future health emergencies.
The world is making steady but uneven progress in reducing alcohol consumption and tobacco use
People are drinking less alcohol, putting the world on track to meet the 20 per cent reduction target, between 2010 and 2030, set out in the Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030. Per capita annual consumption among adults aged 15 and older fell 13 per cent between 2010 and 2024, from 5.6 litres to 4.9. Still, progress hasn’t been consistent across regions. Alcohol consumption rose in Central and Southern Asia from 3.4 to 3.8 litres over the same period, while Australia and New Zealand recorded the highest levels at 10.2 litres.
Tobacco use also declined among adults aged 15 and older, falling from 26.2 per cent in 2010 to 19.5 per cent in 2024 – a 26 per cent reduction. Yet progress hasn’t been universal, with use increasing in 12 countries and showing no significant change in 14 others between 2015 and 2024. Men continue to use tobacco at much higher rates than women, with the male-to-female ratio widening from fourfold to fivefold over the period.
Declining global suicide rates mask wide regional and gender disparities
The global crude suicide rate fell by 6 per cent between 2015 and 2021, from 9.8 to 9.2 deaths per 100,000 population – a meaningful reduction, though an estimated 727,000 lives were still lost to suicide in 2021.
Men face a consistently higher risk than women, with male suicide rates double those of women globally, 12.4 compared with 5.9 deaths per 100,000 in 2021. The gender gap varies significantly by region, from 1.4 to 1 in Central and Southern Asia to 3.6 to 1 in Europe and Northern America, where men recorded the highest rates globally at 23 deaths per 100,000, nearly double the global male average. Among women, Central and Southern Asia recorded the highest rates at nearly 50 per cent above the global female average. These regional and gender disparities point to the need for targeted prevention efforts and mental health services tailored to the populations most at risk.
Suicide death rates, by sex, 2021 (deaths per 100,000 population and male‑to‑female crude death rate ratio)
* Excluding Australia and New Zealand.
Millions of children are still missing out on routine vaccinations
Vaccines averted an estimated 17 million deaths between 2021 and 2024, a reminder of what coordinated immunization efforts can achieve. But the COVID-19 pandemic dealt routine immunization a serious blow, disrupting health systems at a critical moment and leaving millions of children unprotected. Five years on, recovery is underway, but incomplete.
Routine coverage remains below pre-pandemic levels: 14.3 million children worldwide received no vaccinations at all, an increase from 12.9 million in 2019. Coverage for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) – a standard benchmark for immunization systems – stands at 85 per cent in 2024, unchanged from 2015, with wide regional gaps continuing to drive outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
The picture varies by disease. At the global level, measles vaccination is slowly recovering toward pre-pandemic levels, with first-dose coverage reaching 84 per cent in 2024, but still below the 2019 level of 86 per cent, and second-dose rising from 70 to 76 per cent between 2021 and 2024. Yet 20.6 million children remained unvaccinated, with overall coverage remaining insufficient to interrupt measles transmission.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has shown the fastest growth, more than doubling from 12 per cent in 2021 to 28 per cent by 2024, though starting from a low baseline.
Over the next five years, the priority must be reaching children who have received no vaccinations at all, preventing outbreaks and embedding sustainable immunization within primary healthcare.
Declining health aid threatens progress in global health and preparedness
While health financing surged during the pandemic, it contracted sharply in 2024. Net ODA for medical research and basic health fell 12.4 per cent between 2023 and 2024 to $11.4 billion, returning to levels last seen in 2015. A further decline of 14–29 per cent is projected for 2025.
The cuts are landing hardest in low- and lower-middle-income countries. A March–April 2025 assessment of 108 WHO country offices found that around 70 per cent reported disruptions to health services following reductions in external assistance. While many countries are working to reallocate domestic funding and find alternative funding to fill gaps, 24 per cent reported that cuts have already pushed up out-of-pocket health costs, a burden that falls disproportionately on the poor and vulnerable.
COVID-19 showed how quickly health gains can unravel when systems are underfunded or unprepared. Without sustained financing and political commitment, health gains could reverse and leave the world less prepared for future crises.
Universal health coverage is stalling, and the poorest are paying the price
Universal health coverage (UHC)—the goal of ensuring everyone has access to quality health services without financial hardship—remains out of reach for billions, with progress slowing after earlier gains. The UHC service coverage index rose just three points between 2015 and 2023, from 68 to 71. In 2023, 4.6 billion people worldwide lacked access to essential health services. Lack of coverage also comes with a financial cost. Out‑of‑pocket health spending pushed 2.1 billion people into financial difficulty in 2022, down from 28 per cent of the global population in 2015 to 26 per cent in 2022, but still an enormous burden.
Poorer and marginalized populations face the greatest barriers to care and the highest financial burden. Although some low-income countries have made faster progress than the global average , they still experience the largest gaps in coverage and financial protection. Closing both those gaps will require stronger investment in primary health care, expanded financial protection, and targeted support for vulnerable populations, as well as sustained political commitment. Otherwise, at the current pace, nearly one in four people worldwide will face health-related financial hardship by 2030.