News outlets report on a new study, led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and published in The Lancet, showing a global increase in life expectancy.

Agence France-Presse: Global life expectancy rises: study
“People around the world lived on average to a ripe old age of 71.5 in 2013, up from 65.3 in 1990, a study said Thursday, noting the gains came despite big increases in liver cancer and chronic kidney deaths…” (12/17).

Bloomberg News: It’s the Best Time to Be Born as Life Expectancy Tops 70
“…Much of the gain has come from poor countries, where better health infrastructure has helped people live dramatically longer lives, according to a paper published today in the journal Lancet. In rich countries, new drugs and other advances are stretching lifetimes, the study’s authors said…” (Bloomfield, 12/17).

Reuters: Global population living six years longer than in 1990: study
“…In an analysis from the 2013 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, health researchers said, however, that while life expectancy is rising almost everywhere in the world, one notable exception is southern sub-Saharan Africa, where deaths from HIV/AIDS have erased some five years of life expectancy since 1990…” (Kelland, 12/18).

TIME: This Is Now the Average Life Expectancy Worldwide
“…Importantly, medical funding for fighting infectious diseases has grown since 1990 and helped drive the improvement, according to [Christopher Murray, a University of Washington professor]…” (Worland, 12/17).

Wall Street Journal: Global Life Expectancy Increases by About Six Years
“…But there are worrying signs, too. While global deaths from infectious disease dropped by about 25 percent over the past two decades, the number of deaths linked to noncommunicable diseases has jumped by about 40 percent. Noncommunicable maladies, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, tend to be chronic in nature and often more expensive to treat…” (Naik, 12/17).