Worse than Rwanda: life prospects in Britain’s poorest areas

Babies born in the poorest parts of the UK today have worse prospects for a long and healthy life than those born in Rwanda, official figures show.

New estimates of “Healthy Life Expectancy” – the length of time people would normally expect to lead a full and active life in good health – show a gap of more than 18 years between the richest and poorest parts of England.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics also call into the question the assumption that members of the baby boom generation will enjoy a long and carefree retirement, with half of men and 40 per cent of women likely already to be in poor health before they reach pension age.

Based on current health trends and death rates, it is estimated that a baby boy living in a neighbourhood classed as being within the most deprived 10 per cent of England is likely to live 74.1 years but only 52.2 years in generally “good” health.

By contrast a boy born the same day in one of the least deprived 10 per cent of areas would have 83.1 years to live on average and 74 years in good health.

Girls born in the most deprived areas of England are expected to live 52.4 years in “good” health, compared with 71.3 years for those in the richest areas.

The gap of more than 18 years in male Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) at birth mirrors the contrast between the developed and developing worlds.

According to figures from the World Health Organisation, average male HLE in Rwanda currently stands at 55 years, almost three years longer than in the poorest parts of England.

The estimate for boys in the most deprived parts of England is on a par with those for Botswana, Gambia, Guyana and Djibouti and only two years more than that for those born in Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world.

Duncan Exley, director of the Equality Trust think-tank, said: “The UK is one of the most unequal countries in the developed world.

“This is damaging our health, our social bonds and our economy – 82 per cent of Brits think inequality has gone too far.

“Unless the government adopts a clear target to reduce inequality, it will have to deal with a country and an economy that are unnecessarily unhealthy”.

Janet Morrison, chief executive of Independent Age, the charity working with older people, said: “The huge difference in how long people can expect to live in good health demonstrates why it is meaningless to talk about a generation of wealthy, carefree pensioners.

“The reality is that many older people will be approaching retirement age having already experienced many years of poor health and will have relatively few years ahead of them.

“It demonstrates why it is essential that we focus efforts on measures to help prevent older people from becoming ill in the first place and on having excellent health and social care services for them if they do.”