World Health Organization (WHO) Survey Shows Leading Cause of Death Among Teenagers

A survey by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that more than 3000 adolescents die every day of preventable causes with a majority of these deaths, at more than two-thirds, occurring in low and middle-income countries in Africa.

The leading cause of death in the world was outlined as road traffic injuries, however, in African countries such as Kenya, the leading cause of death was found to be communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

On average, more deaths of 10 to 19-year old boys were recorded than those of girls within the same age bracket where a total of 116,000 deaths out of the sum of 1.2 Million were recorded.

The second leading cause of death largely affected girls and was categorised as lower respiratory infections and pregnancy complications.

Indoor air pollution from cooking with dirty fuels was blamed for a prevalence in the occurrence of pneumonia, while pregnancy complications such as; haemorrhage, sepsis, obstructed labour and complications from unsafe abortions were listed as the top cause of death among 15–19-year-old girls.  

Suicide and accidental death from self-harm were the third cause of adolescent mortality resulting in an estimated 67,000 deaths recorded in the survey.

The research found it to occur largely among older adolescents and categorised it as the global second leading cause of death for older adolescent girls.

"Improving the way health systems serve adolescents is just one part of improving their health. Parents, families, and communities are extremely important, as they have the greatest potential to positively influence adolescent behaviour and health," observed Dr Anthony Costello the Director, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health, WHO.

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