Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that half of the world lacks access to the health services they require. Eight hundred million people report spending at least 10 percent of their household budget on health expenses annually.¹ Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.² Nearly 18 million people around the world die as a result of cardiovascular disease (CVD) each year, accounting for 31 percent of all deaths. Over 75 percent of CVD deaths occur in middle or low income nations, and 85 percent of CVD related deaths are attributed to a heart attack or stroke.³ A quarter of all deaths in the United States are caused by cardiovascular disease.⁴ Recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus between 2014 and 2016 were the largest outbreaks in world history, with 28,610 cases and 11,308 fatalities in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Outbreaks in previous years had not exceeded 318 casualties in a region.⁵ Globally, as few as 37 million and as many as almost 44 million people are living with HIV/AIDS today.⁶ In 2017, 21.7 million people were receiving antiretroviral treatment.⁷ Two hundred seventy five million people worldwide use illicit drugs annually, which include cannabis, amphetamines, opioids and cocaine, with cannabis being the most popular; ⁸ Twenty percent of the world, or one billion people, smoke tobacco.⁹ Eleven million people worldwide use intravenous drugs, and another 5 million have hepatitis C.¹⁰