Gokul Kumar

It has been a year of colossal efforts in global health. Countries battled COVID-19, which claimed more lives in 2021 than in 2020, while struggling to keep other health services running. Health and care workers have borne the lion’s share of these efforts but often received little recognition or reward. Life-saving COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments were rolled out, but overwhelmingly in the richest countries, leaving many populations unprotected, especially in lower-income countries. Across other health areas, from diabetes to dementia, there have been both setbacks and hard-won successes.