Description
This indicator measures a government's commitment to providing essential public health services and reducing death from chronic diseases.
Relationship to Economic Growth
Chronic diseases have begun to overtake infectious diseases as the primary source of the disease burden and a leading cause of death in developing countries.40 Prevalence of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease can lower economic growth by lowering labor market participation and decreasing earnings, and there is strong evidence to demonstrate the individual and household level impact of these diseases on investment, productivity, and earnings. 41 Chronic diseases both increase the likelihood of individuals falling into poverty by limiting labor productivity and increasing household costs but are also most harmful to those already in poverty who are less likely to be able to receive treatment or make lifestyle changes that would improve health.42
Methodology
Indicator Institution Methodology
MCC uses the most recent data on the probability of dying between the exact ages 30 and 70 from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease. This is estimated by using cause-specific mortality rates in each 5-year age group and the standard life table methods. They are based on household surveys and administration data on the cause of death.The data are created using methods that ensure cross country compatibility and so may not be comparable with official national estimates. This indicator is sourced from the World Bank’s Databank: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.NCOM.ZS.
MCC Methodology
MCC uses the most recent data available on this indicator across countries. For the FY26 scorecards this is data from 2021.43 Note that given the nature of the indicator, lower scores are better, so countries must score below the median in order to pass the indicator.