While the world comes to terms with the idea of a coronavirus pandemic, there is a creeping health care crisis that has received much less attention and yet ultimately could prove more deadly.
In some rich countries, years of progress in healthcare outcomes have been going in reverse. Between 1959 and 2014, for instance, the average life span of Americans continued to rise. Then it stopped. In 2016, it started to go backwards. By the end of 2019 – for the third year in a row – life expectancy in the US declined, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
This decline in life expectancy affects a very wide age group at the most productive time of their lives – adults between the ages of 25 and 64. In those three years, from 2016 to 2019, Americans were dying earlier as a result of preventable life-style related ailments, including obesity, opioid addiction, alcoholic liver disease and suicide.
The study’s lead author, Steven Woolf, pointed out that Americans seem to believe that their country leads the world in so many ways. And yet, despite spending much more per capita on health care than any other country, American healthcare outcomes are often much worse than in poorer societies.
When it comes to infant mortality in the US, for example, there are 5.3 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births. In Cuba – a much poorer developing country – there are 4.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. Statistically it is safer for a child to be born in Cuba than in the world's richest country. Before you wonder where this anti-American propaganda comes from, here is the source: the excellent CIA Factbook, available online. Google it. The US intelligence agency's compendium of worldwide information is, by the way, a useful and accurate source of troubling health statistics.
Meanwhile in the UK, most people are proud of our National Health Service. I am, too. Our taxpayer-funded system provides much better outcomes than the American private healthcare system, and is much less costly. When I lived in the US, I timed my first consultation with an American doctor about a sports injury. My four-minute consultation cost me – or rather my insurers, $250; that is $62.50 a minute or a dollar a second.
However, a new study suggests that for many British people, things here are also going in reverse. A report by Prof Michael Marmot, one of Britain’s leading experts on health inequalities, says that for the first time in 100 years life expectancy in England stalled over the past decade. Among English women living in the poorest communities, life expectancy has declined since 2011, and health inequalities are growing.
"England has lost a decade," Prof Marmot says, adding that the damage to the nation's health is “shocking" with the largest decreases in life expectancy seen in the most deprived areas of north-eastern England. Some areas did see increases in life expectancy, but the biggest improvements were in the richest parts of London.
Read More from Gavin Esler
Some people are born into privilege, and that tends to mean statistically they are born to live longer. The rich-poor life expectancy gap in Britain is a difference of 9.5 years for men and 7.7 years for women. The rich have always lived longer than the poor, but the map of declining health outcomes more or less coincides with areas where the majority of people showed their discontent with their lives by voting for Brexit.
What is interesting about the Marmot study is the relationship it makes not merely between health and wealth, but also with public spending.
In the century before 2010, life expectancy improved dramatically by about one year every four years. This came about thanks to better nutrition, better education, better hygiene and scientific advances, such as the discovery of antibiotics. But the reversal in life expectancy in poorer areas in the past decade coincides exactly with the period when British government public expenditure dropped. In 2009-10, government spending was 42 per cent of GDP. Then under the years of austerity up until 2018-19, it fell to 35 per cent of GDP.
Is this coincidence – or cause and effect? Well, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government now claims it wants to increase public spending to “level up” the British economy. One way of demonstrating that this is happening would be to ensure that health spending rises, although bigger reforms are needed.
Child poverty, and too many families where the bread-winner has low-quality, low-paid and insecure work are also contributory factors to the drop in life expectancy in poorer areas. Health is not just a matter of diet, vitamins and exercise or high-tech medical procedures. It is also a matter of economic well-being and opportunity.
The decline in health outcomes coincides precisely with the decade in which the British Conservative party has been in government. Reacting to the figures, the UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock commented that there was "still much more to do".
It is a perceptive diagnosis, but where is the cure?
Gavin Esler is a journalist, author and presenter
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Strait of Hormuz
Fujairah is a crucial hub for fuel storage and is just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, North America and beyond.
The strait is 33 km wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just three km wide in either direction. Almost a fifth of oil consumed across the world passes through the strait.
Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, a move that would risk inviting geopolitical and economic turmoil.
Last month, Iran issued a new warning that it would block the strait, if it was prevented from using the waterway following a US decision to end exemptions from sanctions for major Iranian oil importers.
HOW TO WATCH
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Tips for taking the metro
- set out well ahead of time
- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines
- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on
- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Bib%20Gourmand%20restaurants
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SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
