New Global Analysis Reveals Higher Anaemia Burden Worldwide

Ho, April 11,  – A new global analysis by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) has revealed that anaemia affects significantly more people than previously estimated, with nearly 200 million additional cases identified worldwide in 2023.

The study, conducted under the World Health Organization’s (WHO) updated 2024 elevation adjustment method, provides a more accurate assessment of haemoglobin levels among populations living at varying altitudes. The revised approach replaces the earlier 2001 method with a robust, evidence-based equation, improving the precision of anaemia measurement across different geographical settings.

According to a release shared with the press, IHME researchers applied both the 2001 and 2024 adjustment methods to the same dataset and compared the results across 204 countries and territories. The findings, to be published in The Lancet Haematology, offer the first comprehensive evaluation of how global anaemia estimates change under the updated WHO methodology.

Key Findings

Using the WHO 2024 elevation adjustment method, the study revealed that:

• More than 2.1 billion people were living with anaemia globally in 2023, compared with 1.9 billion under previous estimates.
• The condition has shifted from the third to the second leading cause of disability worldwide.
• Nearly 200 million additional cases of anaemia were identified, with global prevalence increasing from 24.0 per cent to 26.4 per cent.
• About 120 million additional moderate and severe cases were recorded, including over 19 million severe cases.
• Women and young children bear a disproportionate burden, with anaemia affecting nearly 40 per cent of children under five and one in three women aged 10 to 54 globally.
• The largest increases were observed in mid-elevation regions (500–2,000 metres), particularly in parts of eastern sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
• A greater burden was identified in low- and middle-income countries, where prevalence was higher than previously recognised.
• There is wide global variation, with prevalence ranging from 7.6 per cent in Scotland to nearly 59 per cent in Yemen.

The findings highlight a substantially higher global burden of anaemia than previously recognised and underscore the need for strengthened monitoring systems and targeted public health interventions, particularly in regions where the condition has been historically underestimated.

Health experts emphasised that improved measurement techniques are essential for guiding policy decisions, resource allocation, and the design of effective prevention and treatment strategies.

GHBUSS
April 11, 2026