Kenyans live longer despite rise in Aids

Kenyans are living two years longer than they did 13 years ago despite the rising challenge of the HIV scourge that continues to ravage the mostly middle-aged productive population.

A report published in this month’s Lancet Scientific magazine — Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2010 — says Kenyans now live an average of 65 years unlike in 1990 when the average life span was 63 years.

The survey involved 50 countries, 500 researchers and was co-ordinated by University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and Valuation.

In terms of the number of years of life lost due to premature death in Kenya, Aids, lower respiratory infections and malaria were the highest ranking causes.

The report says major gains were made in reducing all-cause mortality rates, but proceeded to mourn the drastic increase in the high mortality rate of women aged 25-29 years that currently stands at 84 per cent mainly during childbirth.

FREE TREATMENT

The malaria campaign as well as provision of free treatment services for mothers and children aged under five was hailed for the 3.3 per cent increase in life span years while a reduction on lifestyle diseases added 1.1 years to Kenyan lives.

Lifestyle diseases also known as non-communicable diseases (NCD) are blamed on smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diets (high consumption of sugar, salt, saturated fats, and trans-fatty acids) and physical inactivity.

While in 1990, Lower Respiratory infections was the major killer followed by malaria. HIV move from position 11 to the first position at 18.4 per cent, followed by malaria at 10.9 per cent and diarrheal diseases (6.6 per cent).

Road accidents have increased, self-harm as well as inter-communal conflict have also increased.

“The three risk factors that account for the most disease burden in Kenya are childhood underweight, household air pollution from solid fuels, and sub-optimal breastfeeding. The leading risk factors for children under five and adults aged 15-49 years were childhood underweight and alcohol use, respectively,” it adds.

SPECIAL MENTION

The report says that child weight loss was as a result of the HIV scourge as well as nutritional deficiencies while household pollution was blamed for cardio vascular and other respiratory diseases.

Alcohol and drug abuse gets a special mention since it is blamed as a trigger for a myriad of illness among them mental, diabetes, cancer, HIV, self-harm, accidents, cirrhosis and behavioral disorders.

Clean water and nutritious foods could address a myriad of causes of death especially among children who are susceptible to illness due to low immunity.

The report notes that children aged below five years are the hardest hit with lower respiratory infections blamed for 14.39 per cent of the deaths reported followed by diarrheal diseases at 9.16 per cent.

Preterm babies has 8.67 per cent while multiple cases of blood poisoning (sepsis) has also been blamed for 9.9 per cent of the deaths.