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 Causes of mortality in Africa (WHO estimates for 1999)

Rank
 Condition Disease Number of deaths % Cumulative %
1
*Communicable Diseases HIV/AIDS 2154264 19.7% 20%
2
*Communicable Diseases Acute lower respiratory infections 1073384 9.8% 30%
3
*Communicable Diseases Malaria 953315 8.7% 38%
4
*Communicable Diseases Diarrhoeal diseases 764941 7.0% 45%
5
*Communicable Diseases Childhood diseases 740380 6.8% 52%
6
Maternal Perinatal conditions Perinatal conditions 615025 5.6% 58%
7
*Communicable Diseases Measles 514359 4.7% 62%
8
*Communicable Diseases Tuberculosis 357026 3.3% 66%
9
Non communicable conditions Cerebrovascular disease 332874 3.0% 69%
10
Non communicable conditions Ischaemic heart disease 312350 2.9% 71%
11
Maternal Perinatal conditions Maternal conditions 255627 2.3% 74%
12
Non communicable conditions Digestive diseases 209658 1.9% 76%
13
Injuries Road traffic accidents 188273 1.7% 77%
14
Injuries Homicide and violence 137412 1.3% 79%
15
Communicable Diseases Pertussis 132749 1.2% 80%
16
Injuries War 114138 1.0% 81%
17
Non communicable conditions Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 109458 1.0% 82%
18
Nutritional deficiencies Protein-energy malnutrition 109410 1.0% 83%
19
Injuries Other unintentional injuries 108681 1.0% 84%
20
Non communicable conditions Liver 99852 0.9% 85%
21
All other Conditions There are over 80 other conditions 1661977 15.0% 100%

 

Total

 

10945153

100%

100%


*Communicable diseases account for over three in five deaths in Africa. All of these diseases, including HIV/AIDS are preventable. In many cases they are treatable and with the implementation of low cost, prevention programs could be controlled

Listing HIV/AIDS as the number one cause of mortality is slightly misleading as HIV does not actually kill its victims. They eventually succumb to opportunistic infections of which the major killer is TB accounting for for up to 50% of deaths in AIDS.

When Tuberculosis HIV/AIDS deaths are combined with non HIV/AIDS related TB deaths, TB jumps to number one to become the greatest single killer in Africa followed by malaria. Together TB and Malaria accounted for over one in five deaths.