Sierra Leone, Niger and Mali rank among the 10 countries worldwide with the lowest life expectancy, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a report published on Sunday.
Babies born in 1999 can expect to live healthy lives of no longer than 25.9 years in Sierra Leone, 29.1 years in Niger and 33.1 years in Mali. Where previously malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases were the leading killers, AIDS has now taken the lead in sub-Sahara Africa, WHO says.
"Healthy life expectancy in some African countries is dropping back to levels we haven't seen in advanced countries since the Medieval times," said Alan Lopez, Coordinator of WHOs Epidemiology and Burden of Disease Team.
At the opposite end of the scale, Japan ranks first among the 191
countries listed with a life expectancy of 74.5 years, followed by Australia with 73.2 years and France, 73.1.
[The WHO LIFE EXPECTANCY INDEX can be viewed at
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-2000/en/pr2000-life.html ]
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