According to the Kenya Newborn and Child Health Strategic Plan, deaths among children under five declined from 110,000 in 1990 to 69,000 in 2017. Scale-up of “high impact interventions,” like ORS and zinc, is among the reasons cited for this progress. Dive deeper into the data and learn how Kenya and other countries are tracking toward global goals in the Countdown to 2030. 

Deaths among children under five have declined in Kenya. But 1 in 19 children will not reach their 5th birthday. Pneumonia and diarrhea are top threats; learn how the national strategy will address these and other resilient risks to children.

In Kenya, 26 percent of children are chronically malnourished. Diarrhea is more prevalent and dangerous when children’s nutritional needs are not met.

Currently, only 42 percent of infants 4-5 months old are exclusively breastfed in Kenya. The national strategy aims for 50% coverage of exclusive breastfeeding by 2025. 

Kenya is one of six countries to include co-packaged ORS and zinc in its List of Essential Medicines for Children. But community awareness of this cornerstone diarrhea treatment remains low. Kenya has prioritized availability of ORS and zinc in clinics throughout the country.                                 

Proven tools can defeat diarrhea: vaccines; water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); nutrition; exclusive breastfeeding; and oral rehydration solution and zinc. Use our report to advocate for funding and uptake.

To address the most resilient threats to child health, PATH's country director in Kenya highlights the importance of partnerships and strategy that meets national and local needs. 

PATH’s Asset Tracker project provides information on the status of scale-up of key evidence-based interventions that improve maternal, newborn, and child health, and nutrition (MNCHN) outcomes, and save lives. The MNCHN Asset Tracker dashboards allow users to quickly and efficiently compare different indicators across or within countries.

Pneumonia is the leading cause of child death in Kenya, and interventions to prevent and treat it often overlap with diarrheal disease solutions. The Ministry of Health’s new fact sheet details the burden of pneumonia in Kenya, as well as strategies and actions that health facilities and advocates can take to help overcome it.

Kenya’s national strategy reflects goals of the UNICEF/WHO Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPP-D), which provides a framework to protect children using proven interventions that have contributed to major reductions in child deaths.