The most likely way you will die, if you are over the age of 5 and live in a slum in Nairobi, is as a result of HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis, and the second most likely way is by homicide, according to the results of a recent study by the African Population and Health Research Centre. Around 71% of Kenya’s urban population live in slums, and the population density of the area measured by the study over a period of 3 years was 60,000 people per square kilometre.
The most likely causes of death for persons aged 5 and over, ranked according to years of life lost, were HIV/AIDS and TB 49.9%, interpersonal violence injuries (homicides) 12.1%, road traffic accidents 5.8%, meningitis 3.5%, direct maternal causes 3.3%, pneumonia 2.3%, malaria 1.9%, cancer 1.7%, renal disorders 1.6% and malnutrition and anaemia 1.4%. This compares with the most prevalent causes of death in Australia over the same period: cancer (around 37% years of life lost), heart disease (around 10%), accidents (around 12%) and intentional self-harm (around 7%).
The mortality rate for infants under 5 years in Nairobi slums is around 140 to 150 per 1,000 live births, compared with the Australian rate of 6 per 1,000 live births. This means that around 1 in 7 children in Nairobi’s slums die before the age of 5, compared with 1 in 167 for Australia. The main causes of infant deaths in the slums are pneumonia 22.8%, diarrhoeal diseases 19.5%, still births 16.3, and malnutrition and anaemia 8.4%.