Most Kenyans living with non-communicable diseases are now below 40 years, the Ministry of Health says.
They account for 53 per cent of all NCDs patients, contrary to common belief that such diseases mostly affect the elderly.
The ministry is blaming poor lifestyle choices and polluted environment for the growing burden among young people.
The non-communicable diseases now cause 39 per cent of all deaths.
The four commonest NCDs in Kenya are cancers, heart diseases, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases.
“This implies that NCDs will soon be a leading cause of ill health, disability, and premature death in the region,” the ministry said on Tuesday when it launched the 2022-2026 Kenya National Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable diseases.
Dr Gladwell Gathecha from the department of non-communicable diseases said the major risk factors include tobacco use, consumption of unhealthy diets, insufficient physical activity and harmful use of alcohol.
She noted that 19 per cent of all Kenyans are now either obese or overweight.
"The prevalence is higher among women than men at a rate of 17.5 per cent for men and 38.5 per cent for women being overweight and 4.7 per cent of men and 13.7 per cent of women being obese,” she said during the report launch in Nairobi.
At least 13 per cent of Kenyans also smoke tobacco, a habit linked to a chain of NCDs. Current alcohol drinkers comprise 19 per cent of the population, while 6.5 per cent of Kenyans do not exercise at all.
The strategy places emphasis on prevention and control measures, as well as strengthening health systems.
The ministry said this would cost Sh377 billion over five years, but only about Sh20 billion is available.
Dr Zipporah Ali, who chairs the NCD Alliance-Kenya, a local non-profit organisation, challenged the government to provide drugs to treat NCDs for free.
“Most people with NCDs cannot access essential medicines, so a strategy is just one thing. We also need to look at control of food because many cannot afford special diets,” she said.
Past household surveys show NCDs cause a greater decrease in household income (28.6 per cent) and a higher rate of catastrophic expenditures than communicable diseases.
Poor people and those in rural areas are most affected by catastrophic spending when they fall sick.
The other less prevalent NCDs include epilepsy, sickle cell disease and other haematological disorders, alzheimer’s disease, lupus, psoriasis, genetic conditions, and congenital anomalies.
These account account for 43 per cent of all deaths by NCDs.
“These NCDs have a crippling economic impact. Acting against NCDs is both a moral and economic imperative,” said Health CAS Mercy Mwangangi, who launched the report on behalf of Health CS Mutahi Kagwe.
-Edited by SKanyara
