Kenya

Kenya is located in eastern Africa with a coastline on the Indian Ocean. Roughly the size of France, it is bordered by Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Uganda and Sudan. Kenya is home to many different ethnic groups, which contributes to the country's rich culture—but also causes conflict that contributes to the political, economic and social problems that keep it from moving towards stability.

Kenya's population is currently estimated at 36,914,000 and is growing at 2.8 percent annually. The birth rate is 38.94 per 1,000 and the death rate is 10.95 per 1,000. Median age is 18.6 years. Life expectancy is 55.24 years for males, and 55.37 years for females. Gross national income is $530 a year, with 23 percent of the population subsisting on less than $1 a day. Three quarters of Kenyans work in agriculture. The unemployment rate is 40 percent within the service industry.

Malaria is endemic along the coast and in the Western provinces. Respiratory illnesses follow as the second-leading cause of outpatient cases. Diarrhea is responsible for 4.7 percent of all outpatient services, with higher rates in Nairobi, the Rift Valley, and the Western provinces. Infection by intestinal worms is prevalent in the Eastern and Central districts, but low in the west.

Although the AIDS rate has stabilized in recent years, the adult prevalence rate is still high at 6.1 percent, with an estimated 1.3 million cases. AIDS-related deaths exceed 140,000 in recent years. Kenya has a robust strategic plan, and provides testing, counseling and drug therapy at all provincial and district hospitals. In the summer of 2006, the government announced that it would provide antiretroviral drug therapy free of charge. The number of patients receiving antiretroviral drugs has increased from 3,000 in 2002 to 54,000 in 2006.

Girls in Kenya marry young and begin childbearing early, and the maternal mortality rate is 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Child mortality rates have risen from 1990 levels, from 64 up to 79 deaths per 1,000 for infants younger than 1, and from 97 to 120 deaths per 1,000 for children aged 1–5. This translates to 163,000 deaths for children under five in 2005 alone. Immunization rates range from 70–85 percent. Twenty percent of children are underweight; 30 percent show signs of stunting. A quarter of Kenyan children marry in adolescence, and 27 percent go to work during their school years. The AIDS epidemic and low life expectancy among adults has created a huge population of orphans, totaling 2.3 million children under the age of 17.

Female genital mutilation is practiced in Kenya, with about 32 percent of women having had some form of the procedure. These rates vary depending on the tribe. Girls marry young and begin childbearing early, with a total fertility rate of 4.82 children per woman. Abortion is illegal, but one interest group estimates that 300,000 abortions are performed within the country each year, and at least 2,600 women die from infection. Thirty-nine percent of women use contraceptives, 88 percent have at least some prenatal care, and 42 percent give birth with the help of a trained assistant. The maternal mortality rate is 1,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.

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