Evidence Record

Kenya

East Africa

Leading cause: Cancer · 80% plant-based · 66.7 yr life expectancy · UHC 57/100

Heart Disease

51 / 100k

Plant-Based Score

80%

Life Expectancy

66.7 yr

Alzheimer's Prevalence

1.4%

What People Eat

Whole-plant-food score 80%

Animal foods

11%

Plant foods

88%

Added sugars

11%

% of dietary energy (calories) · Diet breakdown: share of dietary energy supply by food group, FAO Food Balance Sheets via Our World in Data.

Traditional Kenyan highland diet (legumes, dark leafy greens, root vegetables) shows very low CVD in communities maintaining this eating pattern.

Disease Burden

Leading cause of death: Cancer · 117 / 100k

Cancer

117

Respiratory

Heart Disease

Stroke

Diabetes

Kidney Disease

Bars show each rate against the global range; the tick marks the world median.

Kenya's traditional highland diet (legumes, dark leafy greens, root vegetables) keeps cardiovascular disease low, but cancer (117/100k) and respiratory disease lead mortality and health spending is very limited (~$80/person). Rapid urban dietary change is beginning to raise CVD in cities.

Healthcare System

Universal health coverage index 57/100

Health spending per person $80

Sources: WHO UHC Service Coverage Index (SDG 3.8.1) & WHO Global Health Expenditure Database. Latest available year.

What Could Improve

Protect the traditional plant-rich highland diet against the processed-food shift in growing cities.
Expand healthcare access and chronic-disease screening, currently thin (UHC index ~57).
Address indoor smoke and infection behind the respiratory burden.

Explore the evidence: Cancer

Africa Heart Failure Registry · Sliwa et al., 2019

→ Traditional plant diet: very low CVD

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