Life expectancy for New York City residents dropped by nearly five years between 2019 and 2020, and now, the health department is launching a campaign to target the contributing factors that led to the decline.
After reaching an all-time high life expectancy for New Yorkers of 82.6 years in 2019, it now sits at 78 — the largest and quickest drop in more than a century, according to a report published Nov. 1 from the city's health department. COVID-19, was a driving factor, but so were heart disease, stroke, diabetes, maternal health, drug overdoses, suicide and homicide.
Black New York City residents continue to be the population group that fares worse than their white counterparts across these categories as well.
The campaign, dubbed 'HealthyNYC,' will aim to boost life expectancy to an all-time high of 83 years by 2030 through four key approaches:
- Achieve a lifespan of 83 years by addressing inequities and reducing what has led as the primary causes of death for residents through implementing key sub-goals from data collected.
- Focus on strategies that aim at both reduction and prevention of these driving factors of earlier deaths citywide.
- Monitor results and continue to keep tabs on data associated with these factors.
- Commit to annual reporting on progress and readjust priorities every five years in the meantime.
"These plans build upon the success of past and ongoing efforts to reduce preventable deaths and disparities in health outcomes, including the city’s COVID-19 response efforts," the report explains. "This work is also underpinned by a citywide framework that treats racism as a public health crisis and the knowledge that we will not achieve gains in life expectancy without centering equity. "In the coming months and years, the city will bring together partners from across private, public and nonprofit sectors, including community- and faith-based organizations, to coordinate efforts around improving prevention strategies and the structural and environmental conditions that impact health."