Estimation or guestimation?
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Dr Pazvakavambwa put on the net interesting information on "AIDS moves
up to fourth place among world killers". He quoted the latest annual
world health report that I've not yet read. My point is that WHO and
other UN agencies need to harmonise their data so that readers (like
me) relying on data provided by the UN agencies get less confused.
I give you some examples of discrepancies and misleading information
from WHO and UNAIDS. The fact sheet of WHO during the Tuberculosis Day
(March, 24th 1999) stated that: "tuberculosis kills more youth and
adults than any other infectious disease in the world today. It is a
bigger killer than malaria and AIDS COMBINED and kills more women than
all the combined causes of maternal mortality". Who is really the big-
gest killer?
A second example from UNAIDS and UNICEF is that in early 1996, it is
stated in "Epidemiology in Sub-Saharan Africa" that "of the 7,500 new
infections that occur daily world-wide, 50% are in Sub-Saharan Africa".
In June 1997, UNAIDS estimates that "each day, over 8,000 people are
newly infected with HIV/AIDS 90% of whom in the developing world". In
December 1997, UNAIDS estimated that: "close to 16,000 new infections
occur per day world-wide". "Some 1.5 to 2.7 million people die of ma-
laria each year, and approximately one million deaths among children
under five years of age attributed to malaria alone or in combination
with other diseases. Countries in tropical Africa account for more than
90% of the total malaria incidence and the great majority of malaria
deaths." says WHO.
All these data are helpful for advocacy but when all the diseases are
"the biggest killer" and 90% of cases are in developing countries and
no calculations are shown and nothing is improving despite the efforts.
I hope some of the network members will be able to explain clearly how
to read these contradicting data.
Ouedraogo Koudaogo
mailto:koudaogo@hotmail.com
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