That Aids not being the leading cause of death in Africa anymore is something to be excited about. This is because it is a life-threatening disease that starts as a virus then grows into AIDS when not treated. Although, HIV is a virus that targets the immune system, creating rooms for infections and other diseases to thrive in the body. In 1992, it was discovered that the total life expectancy for a 20-year-old patient of HIV was 39 years. While in 2011 this report bumped up from age 39 to 70 years, show that more people are surviving from the AIDS epidemic.
Aside from AIDS, The Leading cause of death in Africa can be associated with a few things.
In Africa today where AIDS is no more the leading cause of death, what then can we say causes death. This has become an important question since many people still die daily from sickness and diseases in Africa. Yeah, we have often heard reports of young and old people who died of various ailments mysteriously. And then we wonder if there were no symptoms to warn them of the presence of the sickness. More so, if there were symptoms why didn’t they go for medical diagnosis and receive treatment. Africans so believe in their herbal roots and medications that most won’t report to Health centers until their health conditions grow from bad to worse. Hence, we can say that the leading cause of death in African include;
- Self Medication; the act of administering drugs without a Doctor’s prescription. Although, most engage in it in order to reduce the cost associated with Doctor’s consultation and faster relief of symptoms. However, many have lost their lives from administering wrong drugs to themselves. One who is not a Doctor can not understand the laws for drug combination, which when wrongly done can cause more harm than good. This is because some drugs react negatively when taken together with certain medicines. Also, people react to drugs differently in that what yields a Positive result for Mr. A may yield Negatively for Mr. B.
- Lifestyle Diseases; definned as those diseases associated with the way we live our lives. This is described by some people’s unhealthy choices of food, drugs, alcohol, physical activities, and smoking abuse. This category of disease from our daily lifestyle includes;
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Obesity
- Type II diabetes
- Depression
- Cirrhosis and other diseases of the liver
- Some types of Cancer.
However, the most common disease under this category is bronchitis or pneumonia. This disease is responsible for 16% of global deaths of children younger than 5 years of age. According to africanews
- Diarrhoeal; a disease caused by viral bacterial or parasitic infections. It is characterized by stooling liquids more than what is called the usual number of times in a day. As surprising as it may look, there are does who do not see the need to consult a doctor for this issue. And they would rather involve in self-medication and local treatment which is readily available in society.
Conclusion:
A very high percentage of death in Africa and the world today is a result of poor hygiene, unsafe water, and poor sanitation. This report is according to the center for disease control and prevention.
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