Why Africa Is Worse Hit By Health Problems
Land of some of biggest cats and ancient tribes, Africa is said to have the poorest quality of health care facilities. Degrading environmental factors are one of the root cause of growing rates of death, disease and disability in the continent. About 25% of death and disease globally are registered from sub-Saharan Africa.
Below are some of the main causes and estimates of deaths happening across various nations of Africa:
1. Unsafe water, and poor sanitation and hygiene kill an estimated 1.7 million people annually, particularly as a result of diarrhoea .
2. Indoor smoke primarily from the use of solid fuels in domestic cooking and heating kills an estimated 1.6 million people annually due to respiratory diseases.
3. Malaria kills over 1.2 million people annually, mostly African children under the age of five. Poorly designed irrigation and water systems, inadequate housing, poor waste disposal and water storage, deforestation and loss of biodiversity, all may be contributing factors to the most common vector-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis.
4. Urban air pollution generated by vehicles, industries, and energy production kills approximately 800,000 people annually.
5. Climate change impacts including more extreme weather events, changed patterns of disease and effects on agricultural production are estimated to cause over 150,000 deaths annually.
6. Unintentional poisonings kill 355,000 people globally each year. In developing countries, where two-thirds of these deaths occur such poisonings are associated strongly with excessive exposure to, and inappropriate use of, toxic chemicals and pesticides present in occupational and/or domestic environments.
Initiatives in health campaign in Africa by various private and global organizations like UN have helped in bringing down these statistics and provide better living conditions for the people.
Below are some of the main causes and estimates of deaths happening across various nations of Africa:
1. Unsafe water, and poor sanitation and hygiene kill an estimated 1.7 million people annually, particularly as a result of diarrhoea .
2. Indoor smoke primarily from the use of solid fuels in domestic cooking and heating kills an estimated 1.6 million people annually due to respiratory diseases.
3. Malaria kills over 1.2 million people annually, mostly African children under the age of five. Poorly designed irrigation and water systems, inadequate housing, poor waste disposal and water storage, deforestation and loss of biodiversity, all may be contributing factors to the most common vector-borne diseases, including malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis.
4. Urban air pollution generated by vehicles, industries, and energy production kills approximately 800,000 people annually.
5. Climate change impacts including more extreme weather events, changed patterns of disease and effects on agricultural production are estimated to cause over 150,000 deaths annually.
6. Unintentional poisonings kill 355,000 people globally each year. In developing countries, where two-thirds of these deaths occur such poisonings are associated strongly with excessive exposure to, and inappropriate use of, toxic chemicals and pesticides present in occupational and/or domestic environments.
Initiatives in health campaign in Africa by various private and global organizations like UN have helped in bringing down these statistics and provide better living conditions for the people.
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