Cause of death
Preventable diseases continue to account for most deaths in Kenya, with tuberculosis, HIV/Aids and lower respiratory infections among the leading killers.
The World Health Organization says communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions accounted for about 50 per cent of all deaths in Kenya in 2021, compared with 37 per cent attributed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
The figures present a different picture from the global trend, where NCDs now account for nearly three out of every four deaths.
Worldwide, NCDs accounted for 74 per cent of all deaths in 2023, up from 58 per cent in 2000. Eight of the world's 10 leading causes of death were NCDs, including heart disease, stroke and chronic respiratory disease.
The figures are contained in the WHO Global Health Estimates, released on October 2, which track changes in deaths and disease burden across countries from 2000 to 2023.
“The value of these estimates is not only in the numbers themselves,” said Dr Alain Labrique, director of WHO's Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and AI.
“By showing how causes of death and disease burden are changing over time and across populations, they give countries evidence to help shape health policies and priorities. They also help WHO support countries in building resilient, essential digital and data infrastructure while strengthening national capacity to analyse health data and generate timely, actionable insights.”
In Kenya, TB, HIV/Aids and lower respiratory infections were the three leading individual causes of death in the WHO's 2021 estimates.
Globally, ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in 2023, followed by stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower respiratory infections.
Alzheimer disease and other dementias ranked fifth globally, followed by diabetes, lung cancers, hypertensive heart disease, kidney diseases and diarrhoeal diseases.
Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death worldwide, while kidney diseases rose from 17th place in 2000 to ninth in 2023.
The WHO estimates also show that global life expectancy has recovered following the disruption caused by Covid-19.
Life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, close to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019. However, healthy life expectancy has recovered more slowly.
The estimates show how the causes of death have changed over the past two decades, with chronic illnesses accounting for a growing share of deaths globally.
Covid-19, meanwhile, dropped out of the world's 10 leading causes of death for the first time since the pandemic began.
Mental health conditions are also contributing to the global disease burden. Between 2019 and 2023, the global age-standardised disease burden increased by about 20 per cent for depressive disorders and nearly 45 per cent for anxiety disorders.
Together, the two conditions accounted for an estimated 110 million years of healthy life lost through premature death and disability in 2023.
“Living longer is one of the great achievements of public health,” said Dr Alain Labrique, director of WHO's Department of Data, Digital Health, Analytics and AI.
“The next challenge is to ensure that those additional years are lived in good health, while health systems are equipped to respond to the changing needs of populations.”
The WHO estimates for Kenya differ in scope from the latest figures published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
WHO's figures are statistical estimates of deaths across the population, drawing on multiple sources, while KNBS reports registered deaths.
The KNBS 2024 Kenya Vital Statistics Report shows that 113,379 deaths were registered in health facilities during the year.
Pneumonia was the leading recorded cause among these deaths, accounting for 9,682, followed by cancer with 8,954 and cardiovascular diseases with 7,478.
Hypertension accounted for 5,035 registered deaths, followed by injuries at 4,574 and anaemia at 4,572. Kidney diseases accounted for 4,247 deaths, prematurity and birth asphyxia for 4,223, diabetes for 3,822 and heart disease for 3,730.
The two sets of figures measure different things and cover different periods, so they should not be treated as directly comparable.
The latest WHO Global Health Estimates cover the period from 2000 to 2023.
