Why Kenyan women live longer, but still die from preventable diseases

Kenya’s latest Population Situation Analysis (PSA) confirms what many suspect but rarely examine closely: Kenyan women are outliving men. Overall mortality for women is declining and life expectancy has risen to nearly 67 years. These are hard-won gains that signal fewer premature deaths, better childhood survival, and steady improvements in public health.

The survival gap has a familiar pattern. Men die more in adolescence and adulthood, when injuries and road accidents bite hardest. In everyday Kenya, the difference plays out in small, unrecorded moments: the young man who jumps off a moving motorbike, the late-night dash across a highway, the bravado that turns a short trip into an emergency. The PSA notes that injury burdens fall heavily on adolescents and young adults, with males consistently recording higher mortality.

Angela Nguku, Founder and Executive Director of White Ribbon Alliance Kenya, says women’s longevity advantage is built as much in behaviour and community as in biology.

“Women tend to seek care earlier, engage less in high-risk behaviours, and build stronger social networks that protect them. Across communities, I have seen how women organise, share information, and show up for one another. Those patterns matter because they contribute to longer life,” she says.

Genetic disorders

Biology also plays a role. Women carry two X chromosomes, offering genetic redundancy, and oestrogen appears to protect cardiovascular health before menopause. Men, with XY chromosomes, carry fewer protective genes on the Y chromosome and are more vulnerable to genetic disorders. Higher testosterone levels in men are also linked to greater cardiovascular risk and risk-taking behaviour in younger years.

The way women use healthcare compounds these advantages. Antenatal visits bring regular contact with clinicians. Family planning services create additional touchpoints. Women often take children for immunisations and absorb health information along the way. They are more likely to consult community health promoters, ask neighbours about functioning clinics, and take symptoms seriously.

“Women also tend to consciously take care of their health. They drink more water, eat more vegetables, and are receptive to supplements. Men especially dread hospitals and may ignore a serious issue until it is too late, while women will seek medical attention even for the flu or a headache,” Ms Nguku observes.

The PSA’s broader picture helps explain how this social fabric translates into extra years. Kenya has expanded health infrastructure, with facility-to-population ratios meeting global benchmarks and community health platforms widening access to preventive services. Quality and readiness vary widely — the report is clear on that — but the system has improved enough to shift the average.

Only after the headline statistic settles does the PSA reveal its uncomfortable underside: preventable deaths remain unacceptably high, particularly among mothers, newborns, children, adolescents and the poor.

Ms Nguku does not soften the contradiction. Biology may give women a modest advantage, she says, “but chromosomes and hormones cannot shield them from preventable risks, weak systems and structural gaps that still cost too many women their lives.”

Kenya’s maternal mortality ratio stands at 355 deaths per 100,000 live births, far above the Sustainable Development Goal target of 70, with some counties recording rates above 500.

Dr Grace Kanyi, an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist working in Tharaka Nithi and Meru counties, calls maternal health the loudest contradiction in Kenya’s longevity story. The causes of death are not mysterious, she says: severe bleeding after delivery, infection, obstructed labour and hypertensive disorders — all emergencies that modern healthcare is designed to anticipate and manage.

“This is where the idea of care stops being a slogan and becomes a chain of events that must hold. A pregnant woman needs skilled staff who are present, not overwhelmed or absent. She needs essential medicines and supplies that do not run out. If she begins to bleed, she needs blood available immediately, not after relatives have been sent out to search. If her condition escalates, she needs a referral that works: transport, fuel, a receiving facility ready to act,” she says.

The PSA’s health systems chapter shows why that chain still snaps. Kenya has far fewer doctors and nurses than universal health coverage requires, and uneven distribution between counties means shortages hit rural, arid and marginalised areas hardest. Stock-outs remain common. Overall health coverage declined between 2018 and 2024, a sign of systemic stress even as infrastructure expands.

Non-communicable diseases

Chronic disease adds another layer of risk. Non-communicable diseases now account for nearly 40 per cent of deaths in Kenya, while communicable diseases still cause over 40 per cent. For many women, this means carrying risk in both hands: infections that have not disappeared and long-term conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer that demand screening, follow-up and continuity of care.

Ms Nguku sees how this plays out in families. “Many delay screening and treatment for chronic illness because family needs come first,” she says.

In the White Ribbon Alliance Kenya’s What Women Want findings, drawn from nearly four million women and girls, the ask is consistent: respectful care, skilled providers, essential medicines, blood in emergencies, mental health support, safety from violence and facilities that actually function.

“These are not big asks,” Ms Nguku says. “They are the basics.”

Adolescents and young women sit at the sharpest intersection of risk. The PSA notes rising threats from anaemia and cancers among young people. Dr Kanyi adds that teenage pregnancy stands at about 15 per cent and contributes significantly to maternal mortality, a reality shaped not only by biology but by poverty, violence, harmful norms, early marriage and limited decision-making power that delays care-seeking.

Even when women die, Kenya does not always count them properly. The PSA flags weak civil registration and incomplete cause-of-death data, with death registration completeness recorded at 45.1 per cent, meaning most deaths occur without documented causes. When deaths are not fully recorded, accountability weakens and policy responses arrive late or miss their target entirely.

There are efforts to respond. Dr Kanyi notes that the Ministry of Health, through the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health division, has launched a Rapid Response Initiative under the Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere framework, targeting a reduction in preventable maternal and newborn deaths between January and June 2026.

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