New Delhi, April 7 -- The focus of global healthcare has undergone a fundamental shift, as emphasised on World Health Day 2026. Now the priority isn't just adding years to a person's life, but also ensuring that those years are lived in good health.

However, a new nationwide survey by LocalCircles has raised a significant red flag for India, which shows that while Indians are living longer, we may be spending more of those years battling illness.

The survey underscored a widening gap between Life Expectancy and Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE), primarily triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), global life expectancy rose to 73.1 years by 2019, while HALE reached 63.5 year...