Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Pneumonia and malaria rated top killers last year
By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiringi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, May 17 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
•Government statistics show disease caused by mosquito bites killed 28,660 people last year, more than half of them from malaria-prone Nyanza and Western provinces
Preventable malaria defied sustained government efforts meant to keep it at bay to kill the highest number of people last year.
Government statistics released on Tuesday show the disease, caused by mosquito bites, killed 28,660 people last year, more than half of them from malaria-prone Nyanza and Western provinces.
The disease accounted for 21 per cent of all 105,547 deaths through the top 10 killer diseases and accidents last year.
Nyanza Province lost 8,565 people to the disease while neighbouring Western Province had 8,481 succumbing to the disease.
The government has been running “use-mosquito-net” campaigns yearly in an effort to contain the disease.
Health authorities have also scrapped fees by people suffering from the disease who seek treatment in public hospitals, health centres and clinics.
Additionally, although facing hiccups, an initiative started last year to provide cheap malaria medicines has been running well in some success in parts of the country.
Introduced in August last year, the Affordable Medicine Facility allows patients to get highly effective antimalarial drugs, Artemisinin Combination Therapies, at no more than Sh40 per dose up from a high of Sh600.
To protect these drugs from losing their effectiveness, the government in line with World Health Organisation’s recommendations, requires that diagnosis of all suspected malaria cases be done before prescriptions are made.
According to the 2011 Economic Survey Report launched by Planning minister Wycliffe Oparanya on Tuesday, another disease that has cost the government millions to contain, pneumonia, killed 19,508 last year.
The disease was the target of a recent government-sponsored vaccination campaign administered to children.
The report showed that the number of people dying from malaria and pneumonia was much higher than those who died from Aids-related complications.
According to the survey, HIV/Aids-related diseases killed 11,716, an average of 32 people per day.
The figure is much lower than the estimated 700 people who were dying from the disease daily a few years ago. But many other deaths go unreported and may not, thus, have been captured by the Economic Survey.
According to the report that is crucial to the preparation of the Budget, tuberculosis, killed 10,789 last year. The disease is closely associated with HIV/Aids.
Other diseases among the top 10 killer diseases included cancer (10,113), meningitis (4,165) and heart diseases (4,605), according to the statistics provided by the department of civil registration.
The survey showed that 8,500 people died from accidents, half of them on roads.
According to the report, the campaign by the Education ministry to ensure school going children obtain birth certificate last year led to a big increase on reporting of births countrywide.
The number of births reported to relevant government departments increased by 12.8 per cent — from 664716 in 2009 to 749,693 in 2010.
“The general performance is attributed to new changes in the public service and a requirement of the Education ministry that all children produce birth certificates during enrolment,” said the report.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Pneumo...illers+last+year+/-/1056/1164604/-/f20t0hz/-/
By SAMUEL SIRINGI ssiringi@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, May 17 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
•Government statistics show disease caused by mosquito bites killed 28,660 people last year, more than half of them from malaria-prone Nyanza and Western provinces
Preventable malaria defied sustained government efforts meant to keep it at bay to kill the highest number of people last year.
Government statistics released on Tuesday show the disease, caused by mosquito bites, killed 28,660 people last year, more than half of them from malaria-prone Nyanza and Western provinces.
The disease accounted for 21 per cent of all 105,547 deaths through the top 10 killer diseases and accidents last year.
Nyanza Province lost 8,565 people to the disease while neighbouring Western Province had 8,481 succumbing to the disease.
The government has been running “use-mosquito-net” campaigns yearly in an effort to contain the disease.
Health authorities have also scrapped fees by people suffering from the disease who seek treatment in public hospitals, health centres and clinics.
Additionally, although facing hiccups, an initiative started last year to provide cheap malaria medicines has been running well in some success in parts of the country.
Introduced in August last year, the Affordable Medicine Facility allows patients to get highly effective antimalarial drugs, Artemisinin Combination Therapies, at no more than Sh40 per dose up from a high of Sh600.
To protect these drugs from losing their effectiveness, the government in line with World Health Organisation’s recommendations, requires that diagnosis of all suspected malaria cases be done before prescriptions are made.
According to the 2011 Economic Survey Report launched by Planning minister Wycliffe Oparanya on Tuesday, another disease that has cost the government millions to contain, pneumonia, killed 19,508 last year.
The disease was the target of a recent government-sponsored vaccination campaign administered to children.
The report showed that the number of people dying from malaria and pneumonia was much higher than those who died from Aids-related complications.
According to the survey, HIV/Aids-related diseases killed 11,716, an average of 32 people per day.
The figure is much lower than the estimated 700 people who were dying from the disease daily a few years ago. But many other deaths go unreported and may not, thus, have been captured by the Economic Survey.
According to the report that is crucial to the preparation of the Budget, tuberculosis, killed 10,789 last year. The disease is closely associated with HIV/Aids.
Other diseases among the top 10 killer diseases included cancer (10,113), meningitis (4,165) and heart diseases (4,605), according to the statistics provided by the department of civil registration.
The survey showed that 8,500 people died from accidents, half of them on roads.
According to the report, the campaign by the Education ministry to ensure school going children obtain birth certificate last year led to a big increase on reporting of births countrywide.
The number of births reported to relevant government departments increased by 12.8 per cent — from 664716 in 2009 to 749,693 in 2010.
“The general performance is attributed to new changes in the public service and a requirement of the Education ministry that all children produce birth certificates during enrolment,” said the report.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Pneumo...illers+last+year+/-/1056/1164604/-/f20t0hz/-/