WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2014

What a political week in Kenya! But as usual, no one was better off for it

PHOTO | FILE An adult anopheles Mosquito.

An adult anopheles Mosquito. In 2012, there was not a single death in Cape Verde caused by malaria. PHOTO | FILE  NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

  • The continent accounts for 85 per cent of the world's malaria infections and 90 per cent of the nearly one million deaths the disease causes globally.
  • Cape Verde, by far, was the A+ student. It has beaten malaria down so badly, in 2012 there was not a single death in Cape Verde caused by malaria!
  • The island nations, that are most at risk, seem to do particularly well. In São Tomé and Príncipe, the incidence of malaria decreased by over 75 per cent in the past decade.
By Charles Onyango-Obbo
More by this Author

Phew, it was a VERY political week in Kenya! A lot of energy, ink, and TV hours were spent the past week on the return of Opposition leader Raila Odinga.

His Cord party's criticism of President Kenyatta's government, their demands for electoral reform and national dialogue, and Kenyatta's "rejection" of their demands, and the president's tour of the Rift Valley to calm the base of his restive URP allies, all hogged our attention.

It was interesting stuff, yes, but did any of it make a difference and move Kenya forward? And what did any of it tell us about Kenya and its institutions? Little to nothing, I suspect.

At the height of all the drama, I edited a story on malaria in Africa — and the top 10 countries that have achieved over 75 per cent reduction in malaria cases. This is important because malaria takes a very heavy toll on the poor.

First of all, at an Africa level, the continent loses an estimated $12 billion annually in the fight against the disease.

The continent accounts for 85 per cent of the world's malaria infections and 90 per cent of the nearly one million deaths the disease causes globally.

Studies have found that Africa's poor spend up to 35 per cent of their annual income on malaria, compared to 1 per cent of the amount spent by the better off folks.

In Kenya, there are an estimated 6.7 million new malaria clinical cases every year and 46,000 deaths (20 per cent of them children under five years of age).

The 2014 Kenya Economic Survey reported malaria as the country's leading cause of death. Some years back the Ministry of Health estimated that Kenya was losing 170 million working days to malaria each year.

In Tanzania, malaria kills 60,000 a year and 80 per cent of those deaths are children under five years. However, Tanzania is on course to reduce those deaths by 50 per cent by the end of 2015.

BORING, BUT VERY CRITICAL

And there is something else — the most important research work on malaria in Africa, and in the top ranks in the world, today is taking place in Tanzania.

Therefore, one of the best measures of how much a government and other political actors are doing for the people (the masses), and whether the state is effective in Africa, is their record on malaria.

Now let us look at the scorecard of some of the top 10 performers against malaria in Africa in that article I was dealing with.

Cape Verde, by far, was the A+ student. It has beaten malaria down so badly, in 2012 there was not a single death in Cape Verde caused by malaria!

Then there is Eritrea, that nation led by strongman Isaias Afewerki, who does not allow his people to even squeak. He actually does run a very effective state.

By last year, the malaria burden on the population had dropped by 89 per cent and deaths caused by the disease by 96 per cent between 1998 and 2012.

And on to South Africa: Between 2000 and 2012, the number of malaria cases in the country declined by 89 per cent.

Rwanda made nearly the same level of pushback against the disease, as cases of malaria fell by 86 per cent between 2005 and 2011.

The island nations, that are most at risk, seem to do particularly well. In São Tomé and Príncipe, the incidence of malaria decreased by over 75 per cent in the past decade.

Zanzibar Island had greater success than mainland Tanzania in controlling the disease, reducing cases by over 75 per cent in the past 12 years.

The other stars are the usual suspects — Botswana, Namibia, odd man Algeria, and the very unlikely Swaziland that is ruled by a champion polygamous king.

What is the difference between these countries and Kenya? Some are autocratic, but a few are ranked more democratic than Kenya, and you have the same kind of loud politics (South Africa for one).

Whatever the case, it seems politics is not breakfast, lunch, and dinner in these countries as it is in Kenya.

That allows for some quiet and peace to do the boring, but very critical, stuff like fighting malaria and spending more time building railways and roads than fighting over tenders in court.

It also insulates critical government functions against the ping-pong of divisive partisan politics.

The author is editor, Mail & Guardian Africa (mgafrica.com) Twitter: @cobbo3