For a long time, health policies advocated for funding and ensuring adequate provision of medical care as the most appropriate way of maintaining a healthy society. Emphasis was laid on the research and development in curative and preventive Medicare so that the members of the society lived a healthy life. The issue of health determinants was not given enough consideration. It remained an aspect for the academic realms but not in the practical aspect of health care provision.
However, this ceased to be the trend. After thorough research, it was ascertained that many factors played different roles in determining the health of an individual or a society as a whole. This brought the issue of health determinants into question. This paper will hence try to point out the role played by the health determinants in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The case of HIV/AIDS affliction in Kenya will be analyzed on the backdrop of the health determinants so that a clearer approach could be devised to salvage society.
What are health determinants? According to the World Health Organization (2006), health determinants are the social, economic and environmental conditions that contribute to an individual’s health status. To be precise, an individual’s economic and social environment, physical environment around him and the individual’s characteristics and how he behaves are health determinants that determine how healthy or unhealthy he becomes. These factors include poverty, unemployment, good policies concerning food and transport, drugs, working conditions and availability of social support initiatives.
This position affirms Professor Michael Marmot’s suppositions that medical care can truly prolong life. However, he purports that it is important to ensure that the social and economic conditions of an individual are appropriate so that they live healthily and consequently do not need medical care. Just like he says, the World Health Organization also highlights the importance of the socio-economic environment in maintaining a healthy society. Considering these factors, could any link be identified between them and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Kenya? Can the social and economic conditions of an individual determine his chances of contracting HIV/AIDS?
HIV/AIDS has been one of the greatest afflictions in the World for the last decade. Africa is the most affected continent. Accordingly, Kenya is one of the countries affected by the pandemic. Joint research by the UNAIDS and WHO (2008) points out that the total population of Kenyans living with this virus is between 1,500,000 million and 2,000,000 by the year 2008. This is a great increase of between 1,300,000 and 1,700,000 in 2001. This is the total population that includes males, females and children. These statistics are consistent with another study carried out by the Kaiser Foundation which also identified that by the year 2003, more than 1,200,000 were living with HIV/AIDS. This accounted for a total percentage population of 6.7%.
Considering individual population brackets, statistics point out that adults account for a total of between 1,400,000 and 1,800,000 of the mentioned population. This is compared to a total of between 130,000 and 180,000 population accounted for by the children. The children in this division were characterized by age 14 and below. The total population of women living with this virus was found to stand at between 800,000 and 1,100,000.
On their part, an estimate of between 1.3 and 5.9 of young adults who are between age 15 and 24 was estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS. Of this estimate, young adult women accounted for an estimate of between 4.6 and 8.4 while the male young adults accounted for an estimate of between 0.8 and 2.5 of the population (UNAIDS/WHO 2008). Finally, the research estimates that more than 100,000 people died of HIV/AIDS-related deaths in 2001. This population reduced to 85,000 in the year 2007.
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In their research, the Kaizer family foundation shows that in comparison, women were the most afflicted as compared to men. 65% which is two-thirds of the whole population who were living with the virus in 2007 were women. The research further points out that the prevalence of the disease in women was twice that of their male counterparts. This percentage of 655 is higher than the overall Sub-Saharan estimation of 57% women living with the virus.
Another relevant factor to be considered is that the highest number of new infections has been portrayed by young people aged between 15 and 24. Furthermore, females in this bra
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