Life expectancy for women in Zimbabwe has plummeted to just 34 years, by far the lowest in the world according to data released on Friday by the World Health Organisation.
Women in the Southern African nation and in nearby Swaziland are the only ones in the world who are not expected to live into their forties, the 2006 World Health Report indicated. Both countries are among the hardest hit by HIV/Aids.
Male life expectancy at birth in Zimbabwe was 37 years in 2004, the most recent reference year used for all 192 countries in the report.
While the prospects for men were unchanged in Zimbabwe, life expectancy for women had dropped by two years in the space of 12 months.
Swaziland offered the lowest life expectancy for men — 36 years — of the states included in the WHO indicators, and 39 years for women.
The figures were nonetheless an improvement on the 33 years recorded for men and 36 for women in Swaziland a year earlier.
By contrast, Japan offered the healthiest outlook for its citizens, the WHO data indicated.
Life expectancy for men there was 79 years, while newborn girls could on average aim to live for 86 years. Both figures have improved by a year over the last WHO report. – Sapa-AFP