Heart disease, diabetes rising in Kenya as WHO warns of changing death trends

Kenya is grappling with a mounting health crisis as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disorders, surge while infectious diseases like malaria and HIV still pose significant threats, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO has revealed that eight out of the ten leading causes of death globally in 2023 were NCDs, accounting for 47% of all deaths worldwide.

In Kenya, where health systems must handle both infectious and chronic diseases, NCDs account for a substantial share of fatalities, with cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory illnesses becoming a significant aspect of the national health agenda.

Ischaemic heart disease claimed 9.5 million lives globally in 2023, making it the leading cause of death, followed by stroke with 6.8 million fatalities. Cardiovascular diseases are influenced by factors such as high blood pressure, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful alcohol consumption. In Kenya, the concern extends beyond the sheer number of individuals affected by these risk factors; it also encompasses the strain they impose on families and the healthcare system through ongoing treatments, hospitalizations, and complications.

Diabetes, another disease witnessing a sharp global increase, caused approximately 2 million deaths worldwide in 2023, surpassing the 2000 figures by more than double. In lower-middle-income countries, the impact is even more pronounced, with the number of diabetes-related deaths tripling. Kenya has recognized diabetes as a growing public-health concern, as the condition can inflict damage on the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves when left undiagnosed or poorly managed.

Consequently, diabetes is closely linked to the rise in kidney disease deaths, with the WHO noting that kidney diseases rose from the 17th leading cause of death globally in 2000 to the ninth in 2023, marking an 86% increase in mortality over the period. Currently, around 3.1 million Kenyans suffer from chronic kidney disease, highlighting the broader challenge of disease prevention before patients require extensive, long-term treatment.

The WHO emphasizes the importance of reliable mortality data, which aid governments in identifying health risks, allocating resources, and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. However, the organization also underscores that obtaining accurate cause-of-death information remains challenging, particularly in regions with incomplete death-registration systems.

For Kenya and its East African Community neighbors, this underscores the necessity of not only treating patients but also improving access to healthcare resources by understanding who is dying, where they are dying, and what is causing their deaths. The situation in Kenya and the wider East African region is, therefore, not solely about treating patients but also about enhancing data collection to ensure that scarce health resources effectively address the growing burden of NCDs like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and kidney disorders, alongside the persistent challenges posed by infectious diseases.