Thanks To Medical Aid, HIV/AIDS Is No Longer The Leading Cause Of Death In Africa

HIV/AIDS are no longer the major cause of death for the people of Africa, latest statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed.

A fact-checking organization in Africa, Africa Check, has found out that lifestyle diseases have taken over as the leading causes of death on the continent – lower respiratory tract infections top the list. These are caused by viruses and bacteria that target airways and lungs and is responsible for almost for 16% of global deaths of children younger than five.

An estimated 760,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS and related complications were recorded in Africa in 2015, compared to the 1 million deaths in 2010.

Although the number has gone down, experts opine that the number is still quite high considering the preventive methods and education efforts have improved.

Third on the list was diarrhea caused by viral, bacterial or parasitic infections in the bowels.This is also the second leading cause of death in children under five across the world and Africa, according to WHO.

Diarrheal infections are mostly caused by dirty and unsafe water, poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation in and around where people are living and eating.

Fourth on the list was people dying from strokes, which has increased since 2010. A stroke is caused when the blood flow to the brain is stopped or reduced.Brain cells are not able to get enough oxygen and nutrients, so they begin to die.

Heart attacks are fifth on the list, thus pushing malaria out of the top five for the first time in years.

Most of the above diseases are preventable with sufficient funding and access to better health care.

However, poverty is a persisting problem in Africa, and that has affected residents ability to get the care needed to treat these diseases. But, poverty levels have been improving in Africa since 1990.

In 2012, only 43 percent of the population lived in poverty compared to 56 percent in 1990, according to World Bank.

The Logical Indian community appreciates the preventive and educative measures that have been taken by WHO to reduce the number of deaths due to HIV/AIDS. However, without any doubt, a lot more is still left to be done.