BEIJING, April 30 -- The life span varies a lot in different countries, with the biggest discrepancy nearing one time. The longest life span reaches 82 years, but the shortest is less than 40, according to World Health Report 2006 published by the WHO recently.

    The statistics show Japanese people enjoy the longest life in the world, with men's average life span reaching 79 and women's 86. Then come Britain, the United States, and the ROK, with average life span of 78.5, 77.5 and 77 years respectively. The life span of the Zimbabwean people is the shortest, with men's average below 40 and women's 34.

    Human life span is determined by social, economic, medical and natural factors. In the long history of human society, the life span has maintained a basic balance in different countries. The trend that people in rich countries live longer doesn't become obvious until the modern time. The fact that the ten countries with shortest life span are all in Africa is a strong proof of the trend. Thanks to the continuous economic and social progress, the life span of Chinese people, once insultingly called "sick man of East Asia", nearly doubled in past decades, surpassing 70 years now.

    Aside from life quality disparity in poor and rich countries, the extreme unbalanced medical resources are undoubtedly another reason for the great disparity in life span. There are only 2.3 medical workers for every 1,000 people in Africa, compared with Europe's 18.9 and 24.8 in America. Only 3 percent of the world's medical workers are taking care of the patients in Africa South of the Sahara, who account for 24 percent of the globe but only receive one percent medical expense. By contrast, patients in America, representing 10 percent of the world's total, use over 50 percent of medical expenses.

    It is worth mentioning that the flow of medical workers from poor to rich countries may worsen, which will further aggravate medical conditions in epidemic-stricken impoverished regions.

    A peaceful and happy life is the common aspiration of the human being. The life span disparity has sounded alarm again. People's thirst for happiness will turn into desperation in so many regions if we let the gap grow wider. The world will see increasing unrest due to intensified clashes between the North and South, rich and poor. In this sense, more attention to Africa, more help to Africa, and more aid to the impoverished mean more than humanitarian act.

    (Source: People's Daily Online)