Denny Vågerö, a professor of medical sociology and the founder of the Centre for Health Equity Studies explained "Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale."
In the country of Sierra Leone, for example, 316 children out of 1,000 live births will not reach their fifth birthday."What an enormous waste of human life, isn't it?" Vågerö said.
Vågerö emphasized the fourth millenium goal, which is to reduce mortality in children under age five by two-thirds by 2015.However, this goal is falling short. Currently, out of 68 monitored countries, only 16 are on track and 12 have even higher infant mortality rates.
Presently, one billion people live in poverty and, in 25 years, the number will increase to two billion, according to WHO data. Health inequality, Vågerö said, is not confined to the slums of India or Kenya. The U.S. also has social factors influencing life expectancy. People below the federal poverty level typically live six-to-seven years less than people four times above that level.
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