In stark contrast to global trends, life expectancy in SA was worse in 2023 than two decades earlier, as a rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) undermined the country’s gains against HIV/Aids.

Life expectancy in SA fell to 66.55 years in 2023 compared with 67.73 in 1990, according to The Lancet’s Global Burden of Disease study, launched on Sunday at the World Health Summit in Berlin. Global life expectancy increased by almost 10 years over this period, rising from 64.64 years in 1990 to 73.84 years in 2023. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi is in conversation with an extraordinary professor of global health at Stellenbosch University, Prof, Charles Wiysonge.