Death can be a very philosophical subject,
but for today, we’re going to take a look at the statistics behind death in
Namibia. Specifically, we’re taking a look at the data collected by the World
Health Organization’s Department of Information, Evidence and Research, and
published in April 2018. This reveals the age-standardized death rates by cause
of morbidity per 100 000 population.
It reveals that the all-cause death rate
for Namibia is 1 237 per 100 000 population, or to put it another
way, that 1 in 81 people in Namibia will die each year. Subdivided further, it
shows that non-communicable diseases are the biggest killer in the population,
which will kill 1 in 149 persons, then communicable conditions that kill 1 in
209 people, followed by injuries, that kill 1 in 1 131 people.
If we dig even deeper into non-communicable
diseases, we find that the biggest killer in that category is cardiovascular
diseases, which kills 1 in 317 people. In particular, the biggest killers are
Ischaemic heart disease (where the blood supply to the heart is reduced) which
kills 1 in 723 people annually, strokes which kill 1 in 935 people annually,
and hypertensive heart disease (caused by high blood pressure) which kills 1 in
2 941 people annually.
The second biggest killer in the category
is malignant neoplasms (or cancers), which kill 1 in 1 332 people
annually, but the cancers with the highest death rate are prostate cancer (1 in
10034), breast cancer (1 in 14982), cervix cancer (1 in 21 645), mouth
cancer (1 in 21822), colon cancer (1 in 22685) and lung cancer (1 in 25803).
The third biggest killer is diabetes
mellitus, which kills 1 in 1359 people annually, with respiratory diseases
fourth, killing 1 in 1492. Fifth is digestive diseases, with a death rate of 1
in 2667, with cirrhosis of the liver the biggest killer there, killing 1 in
8166 annually. Neurological diseases kill 1 in 2128 annually, with Alzheimer’s
disease and other dementia’s claiming 1 in 2927 of Namibians each year.
Let’s then dig deeper into communicable
conditions. The number one killer in this category is infectious and parasitic
diseases, which kill 1 in 300 people annually. It should therefore be no
surprise to find out that in its subcategories, HIV/AIDS is the biggest killer,
which deaths amounting to 1 in every 447 people in Namibia annually. Tuberculosis
is a distant second, with deaths of 1 in 1937 people, and diarrhoeal diseases
killing 1 in 2514 people annually.
The second biggest killer here is
respiratory infections, claiming 1 in 1039 people yearly, with almost 99% of
those being lower respiratory infections. Third would be neonatal conditions,
claiming 1 in 3386, with 1 in 7420 dying due to preterm birth complications.
Next is maternal conditions, which kill 1 in 10868 annually. Finally,
nutritional deficiencies result in the death of 1 in 11 064 annually,
which 1 in 12763 being due to protein-energy malnutrition.
Finally, we can take a look at injuries.
Unintentional injuries kill 1 in 1732 people annually, with 1 in 3365 dying
from road injuries suffered. Intentional injuries kill 1 in 3261, with
interpersonal violence accounting for 1 in 5223 deaths, while self-harm
accounts for 1 in 8685 death annually.
So what other interesting statistics can we
see when we take an overview of the data? Well, besides those causes which no
Namibian dies from, the lowest causes of death are Thassaemias (where the blood
does not produce haemogoblin) which kills 1 in 19 876 764, and eating
disorders, which kill only 1 in 17 865 438. Also interesting is the
fact that alcohol use disorders kill more people ( 1 in 42 128) and drug
use disorders (1 in 45 820).
When we take an overall view of the
country, however, a clear picture emerges of the biggest killers in our nation.
HIV/AIDS is the cause of 18% of deaths, with heart disease a close second at
14%. Strokes claim 9% of lives, with respiratory infections claiming 8% and
diabetes 6%. Together, these diseases and conditions account for more than 50%
of deaths in the country yearly.
These are the numbers the life insurance
companies use to calculate premiums, but more importantly, these are numbers
that every citizen should be aware of. The old saying goes that being
forewarned is forearmed. Ask your doctor about your risk factors for the
biggest killers in Namibia, and you might be able to save your life, or the
life of your child, or your parents. Every avoidable death is a tragedy.
Very interesting Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete