“HealthyNYC” Aims to Increase Life Expectancy to 83 Years by 2030, Focuses on Reducing Chronic Disease, Overdose, Maternal Mortality Deaths, and More
Our Bureau
New York, NY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan today unveiled “HealthyNYC,” an ambitious plan to improve and extend the average lifespan of all New Yorkers. The campaign sets ambitious targets to address the greatest drivers of premature death, including chronic and diet-related diseases, screenable cancers, overdose, suicide, maternal mortality, violence, and COVID-19. Overall, the campaign aims to extend the average life expectancy of New Yorkers to 83 years by 2030, with gains across racial and ethnic groups.
“It’s time we give New York City extra life with the launch of ‘HealthyNYC,’ our campaign to help New Yorkers lead healthier, longer lives,” said Mayor Adams. “Our administration is setting out to increase New Yorkers’ life expectancy to over 83 years by 2030 — not only recovering years lost during the pandemic but also surpassing our previous high by tackling chronic disease, violence, maternal mortality, overdose, and more. By refocusing all of our public health work around the goal of helping people live longer lives, we’ll build a healthier, more prosperous city where everyone can thrive.”
“‘HealthyNYC’ is the city’s singular organizing effort to help extend life expectancy for New Yorkers,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. “We will tackle the underlying causes of lost years and lost lives, including combating the opioid crisis, reducing maternal mortality and morbidity, bringing diet-related chronic diseases into remission, and helping every New Yorker live their healthiest life. We do all this because our health is what allows us to live more and love more for ourselves and our families.”
“‘HealthyNYC’ is a game changer because in the wake of COVID-19, and while facing parallel and growing health crises, we know that, as a city and a nation, people are getting sicker and dying sooner than they should,” said DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Vasan. “Losing years of life and of good health is a unifying challenge, and getting them back is a top priority for New York City, as well as a north star for the future of public health. This announcement sets the coordinates for our collective mission to lead longer, healthier lives, and there is perhaps no more important measure of the health of our society and our democracy. The road we travel here in New York City will provide guideposts for our nation and its people, who should expect to live long and live well, for themselves and for generations to follow.”
“‘HealthyNYC’ marks a significant step forward in our commitment to the well-being of all New Yorkers,” said New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman, chair, Health Committee. “It is such a critical initiative that I am proud to be introducing accompanying legislation to require a five-year public health agenda for New York City, to improve health outcomes and address health disparities. I am proud to partner with Mayor Adams on such a comprehensive and ambitious plan to make New York City the healthiest city in the country.”
“Increasing life expectancy across our city requires all hands on deck, and ‘HealthyNYC’ is doing just that – galvanizing government, partners, and everyday New Yorkers to achieve this ambitious goal,” said New York City Chief Equity Officer and Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice Commissioner Sideya Sherman. “By addressing the core drivers of premature mortality – from chronic diseases to maternal health – and extreme inequities across racial and ethnic groups, we’re helping to build a future where all New Yorkers can live healthy and fulfilling lives.”
The “HealthyNYC” plan aims to address the life years lost during the COVID-19 pandemic to the virus and other causes and surpass life expectancy from what it was pre-pandemic. Between 2019 and 2020, overall life expectancy across demographics fell to 78 years. Recent data suggests that life expectancy in New York City has begun to improve, with 2.7 years gained back from 2020 to 2021, however, life expectancy remains well behind 2019 data. These impacts have also not been felt equally, as life expectancy fell to 76.1 years among Black New Yorkers in 2021, compared to 81.8 years among white New Yorkers.
While COVID-19 was the biggest driver of the decrease in life expectancy in 2020, other causes contributed to this decline, both locally and nationally. For example, overdose deaths increased in 2020 and 2021. Other drivers of decreasing lifespans included gun violence and chronic diseases, like diabetes.
By reaching these milestones, the city can bring life expectancy above 83 years by 2030 and reduce existing racial disparities in life expectancy.
Additionally, New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman today announced new legislation to codify the city’s population health agenda and create a healthier New York City in the years to come. Under the legislation, DOHMH will consult with stakeholders and provide regular updates to the City Council on progress made.
