The Global Burden of Disease: Generating Evidence, Guiding Policy – East Asia and Pacific Regional Edition

The Global Burden of Disease: Generating Evidence, Guiding Policy – East Asia and Pacific Regional Edition presents regional findings for the East Asia and Pacific region and summarizes intraregional differences in diseases, injuries, and risk factors. The report finds that countries in the East Asia and Pacific region show mixed progress in combating health challenges. Published by the World Bank and IHME, the report is based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010), a collaborative effort of researchers from 50 countries around the world led by IHME at the University of Washington.

Demographic changes, such as population growth and increasing average age, have contributed to the rise of non-communicable diseases and injuries in the region. Non-communicable diseases such as ischemic heart disease and lung cancer are rising in many countries, and as countries in the East Asia and Pacific region have become more developed, road injuries have taken a growing toll on health. Despite improvements across many countries in the region, diseases affecting young children persist in low- and lower-middle-income countries. HIV/AIDS has emerged as a growing challenge for some countries in the East Asia and Pacific region.