The World Health Organization (WHO) has released interactive health inequality country profiles, offering a detailed view of inequality patterns across 195 countries, areas and territories, according to a press release. The profiles are anchored in the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 14), the agency’s principal global health strategy. They are designed to help governments and partners track progress toward health equity. The tool consolidates inequality data into a single access point, structured around GPW 14 outcome indicators.
GPW 14 aims to promote, provide, and protect health and well-being for all, while advancing health equity and building resilience. Its impact is measured through outcome indicators tied to the triple billion targets. These targets seek to ensure that 6 billion people will enjoy healthier lives, 5 billion people will benefit from universal health coverage without financial hardship, and 7 billion people will be protected from health emergencies. The new country profiles align directly with this monitoring framework.
Of the 84 GPW 14 outcome indicators, 67 can be disaggregated by dimensions of inequality such as age, sex, economic status, education and place of residence. The country profiles include 45 of these indicators, or suitable proxy indicators, alongside an overarching measure of healthy life expectancy. They cover universal health coverage, noncommunicable and communicable diseases, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, health emergencies, and determinants of health. The data is drawn from 11 publicly available sources in the WHO Health Inequality Data Repository.
The profiles offer a snapshot of the current situation and changes in inequality over time, with graphics showing how health varies across population subgroups.
“The new health inequality country profiles provide a single access point for countries to take stock of inequalities in priority aspects of health,” said Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor, Team Lead of Health Inequality Monitoring at WHO’s Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and AI.
He added that the profiles also make it obvious where inequality data are not publicly available, and where there are opportunities to strengthen health information systems. Users can tailor displays, download datasets, and consult accompanying technical notes and metadata.
The country profiles were developed through an extensive consultation process involving WHO headquarters, regional and country offices, global health partners, and health inequality and data experts. Early versions were revised based on this feedback before publication. The tool is accessible on both desktop and mobile devices. WHO has confirmed that the health inequality country profiles will be updated annually. The release marks a step toward more transparent monitoring of equity in global health.
