Kenya

Figure 6.4 Trends in anaemia prevalence by malaria endemicity zone
Percent
43
33 32
38
35
32
25
21
26
24
20
16
Total
Highland
epidemic
Lake
endemic
Coast
endemic
Semi-arid,
seasonal
Low risk
2010 KMIS 2015 KMIS
Table 6.5 shows the malaria and anaemia test results
among the 9,026 children age 6 months to 14 years for whom
outcomes of both the malaria (microscopy) and anaemia tests
conducted in the 2015 KMIS were available. As expected,
anaemia was more common among children found to have
malaria than among children who did not have malaria. Four
hundred of the 737 children who had malaria (54 percent) were
anaemic, while 1,852 of the 8,289 children who did not have
malaria (22 percent) were anaemic.
Although having malaria more than doubled the
likelihood that a child would be anaemic, it is also important to
note that most of the children who were anaemic did not have
malaria. More than 80 percent (1,852/2,252) of the children
who were anaemic did not have malaria. This reflects the fact
Table 6.5 Comparison of malaria and anaemia
prevalence
Percent distribution of children 6 months to 14
years who had a result from both the malaria
(microscopy) and anaemia tests by the outcome of
the tests, Kenya 2015
Outcome of anaemia
and malaria tests Percent Number
Malaria positive 8.1 737
Anaemic 4.4 400
Not anaemic 3.7 337
Malaria negative 91.8 8,289
Anaemic 20.6 1,852
Not anaemic 71.3 6,437
Total 100.0 9,026
Note: Table is based on children who stayed in the
household the night before the interview.
Undetermined slide microscopy results were
excluded.
that anaemia among young children in Kenya has diverse causes, including dietary deficiencies as
well as malaria and other childhood illnesses.
Finally, a comparison with the results of the 2010 KMIS (see Table D.6 in Appendix D)
suggests that children who suffered from malaria were slightly more likely to be anaemic in 2015 than
in 2010 (54 percent and 52 percent, respectively). On the other hand, among children who did not
have malaria, the anaemia rate dropped from 29 percent in 2010 to 22 percent in 2015.
6.3 CONCLUSIONS
Nationally malaria prevalence has been reduced to less than 10 percent. Malaria rates are
twice as high among children age 5-14 compared with younger children. The malaria rate remains
markedly higher in the lake endemic zone than in the other epidemiological areas. However, the rate
has clearly decreased; just over one-quarter of children age 6 months to 14 years in the lake area had
malaria in 2015 compared with more than one-third in 2010.
76 • Malaria and Anaemia in Children