They say health is wealth; – which
simply means our good health is our real wealth. Good health enables us to face
the challenges of life. If we are not in a good state of physical, mental and
social well-being, we will not be able to create wealth and the wealth we have
will not mean much to us.
We spoke to Dr. Timothy Kingondu, a physician
specializing in infectious diseases on a wide array of issues pertaining to our
health.
Q:
What, in your view, ails Kenya’s health sector today?
A: The biggest problem affecting our health
sector has to do with resource allocation, or should I say, misallocation. We
have a sizeable budget allocated to health, but the money is not always spent
on priority areas, leading to a lot of wastage and less than desired end results.
Q: So where do you
think more resources should be channeled in order to ensure a healthy and
wealthy Kenyan population?
A: I have four
main points in that regard and I think the first and most important is the
provision of
Clean water for all; – it will not matter how many hospitals
we build, so long as a majority of the population does not access clean drinking
water, which does go a long in curbing the spread of diseases.
Secondly, I think we should ensure proper nutrition –a
person exposed to poor nutrition has a very low immune system hence stands a
higher chance of falling sick
The there’s health education; – it’s time people took responsibility
of their own health, being in control over their own lives, this way we will be
able to stop most of these chronic diseases
And finally, there is need to strengthen government
regulations; – the Government needs to strengthen public health policies so as
to ensure harmful or suspect quality products do not find their way into the
market.
Q: Specifically,
given changes in society, what challenges do you think lifestyle diseases pose?
A: No, personally
I don’t think lifestyle diseases pose the biggest threat but infectious
diseases do.
For example in children you find diseases like diarrhea,
pneumonia, typhoid and cholera and in
trying to combat infectious diseases, water quality is the
first thing.
I believe poor quality water is responsible for the spread
of most of these diseases we are facing including major ones like cancer. If
the water we consume daily has impurities there are high chances that people
will end up with cancer at their old age, and even before cancer kills you, you
will die of
Diarrhea so it important to take into consideration the
quality of the water we consume.
Q: Take us through
some of the major diseases affecting Kenyans today, starting with HIV/Aids,
what do you have to say concerning the HIV menace?
A: I think the
HIV menace is not gone and it is driving cancer in our population because you
find
that illness like cervical cancer are on the increase
because of HIV infections.
We should also not focus on treatment alone as the way to
get rid of HIV but also consider other
Preventative measures like health education, even before
treatment comes into the
picture. Young people should be educated on the importance
of abstinence and condom use during sexual contact as some of the ways of
ensuring they do not contract HIV.
Q: The prevalence of
cervical cancer, as you have said is on the increase, why is this so?
A: Cervical
cancer is mainly caused by HPV which is a sexually transmitted infection,
especially if
One are infected with HPV 16 and 18 which is responsible for
70% of all cancer cases, but this is
not to mean that we are doomed because WHO is actually
advising and advocating for young
girls to get vaccinated against HPV, but this should happen
before sexual contact for it to be
effective.
Q: Hepatitis B is also
on the rise….
A: Well, first of
all 6% of Kenyans have it, and it is a liver infection. It can either be caused
by a
virus or intake of substances like alcohol. Hepatitis that
is viral is either hepatitis B or C which is the worst, Hepatitis B is
transmitted through body fluids such as saliva, semen, sweat, and even water… it severely affects the liver causing
inflammation and when it gets to the chronic stage it leads to liver cirrhosis.
Some of the symptoms of hepatitis are
– Fever
– Weakness of the joints
– Shaking
– Vomiting
– Yellow eyes and in severe conditions, swollen face and
abdomen
For chemical hepatitis during treatment one will be advised
to withdraw from alcohol as for the
Viral, one yes there is treatment but it really takes a long
time to heal.
Q: Is malaria still
one of biggest killer diseases in the country?
A: Yes, it is
still a major killer disease but there have been interventions like
distribution of mosquito nets and drugs to mitigate its risks
Q: Earlier on, you made reference to the
prevalence of low quality, sometimes even dangerous products in the market….how
can this be contained?
A: I’m not saying
that Kenyans are killing themselves because of greed but continued production
of
Low-quality foods and other products is increasing the
clinical burden. The regulatory authorities have
to realize that if you pass down products of low quality
they will be responsible for diseases
spreading and they, themselves will get sick in the process.
Q: You have stated
that infectious diseases pose a greater risk than lifestyle diseases…please
elaborate
A: I think that
people are, so to speak planting these lifestyle diseases on themselves. They
are found mostly in urban areas, primarily because people in rural Kenya consume
natural food hence they are healthy, so you will find someone living in Turkana
very healthy and free from diseases like hypertension but if brought to the
urban in 5 years they might suffer from it due to a change in environment.
Q: Your parting shot,
matters health?
A: I think that, instead
of waiting for people to get sick and hospitalized, we should take the
initiative of going to meet them, in their places of residence, examine factors
which may lead to them contracting diseases and address these factors ….
Remember, prevention is better that cure!
Come Sunday and another shocker, this time in London, at the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium to be specific. Straight from holding champions Manchester City 2-2 at their own stadium, Spurs were left ruing missed chances as Newcastle beat them 1-nil, with manager Mauricio Pochettino appearing to blame an ‘unsettled squad’ (star midfielder Christian Eriksen is thought to still ‘want out’ with the European transfer window still open) for the lackluster display, despite spurs boasting of a 79.8% ball possession. Just like for Man Utd, the win was new Newcastle manager Steve Bruce’s first of the season. 
On Sunday, champions Manchester City won 3-1 at Bournemouth to move within two points of early pace-setters Liverpool who had walloped Arsenal by a similar margin 24 hours earlier. Raheem Sterling helped himself to a goal to take his season’s tally to 5, his goal sandwiched in between Sergio Aguero’s brace. 
