Martin Endjala
A report by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) indicates that 55 percent of deaths were recorded among men, compared to 45 percent of deaths recorded among women.
The Mortality and Causes of Deaths 2018-2021 second series report was launched yesterday in Windhoek, containing data collected from the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.
The deaths are attributed to one of the ten leading causes of death in 2021, which include COVID-19 and self-inflicted injuries, such as suicides.
According to the report, injuries and external causes increased from 4.4 percent in 2018 to 6.9 percent in 2022 and then decreased to 5.1 percent. Notably, the report indicates that external causes and injuries were found to be more frequent among males than females.
According to Dr. Paulina Ingo, the head of Demographical Social Statistics at NSA, who presented the report, these numbers are very alarming and call for immediate interventions to understand the root causes of deaths in men.
She also indicated that there was an increase in the number of deaths between 2018 and 2021, rising from 18,939 to 24,117. Generally, the report shows that there were more male deaths than female deaths, as well as more deaths among infants and the elderly.
Most deaths occurred during June, July, August, and December, with a consistent pattern across the years 2018-2021. However, there was an increase observed between 2020 and 2021, rising from 17.7 percent to 24.4 percent.
In 2021, more deaths, estimated at 25 percent, were recorded in June and July when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. In 2021, deaths among adults aged 15-59 years increased from four deaths per 1000 in 2020 to six deaths per 1000 population in 2021.
The leading cause of death for the economically active group (15-59 years) was HIV at 13.5 percent in 2022, while COVID-19 was ranked as the leading cause with 15.1 percent.
Most elderly people died due to hypertensive disease 17.6 percent in 2020, and COVID-19 ranked as the leading cause with 25 percent.
Overall, the report revealed that most deaths were due to non-communicable diseases. Deaths due to communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional conditions consistently declined from 29.8 percent in 2018 to 17.7 percent in 2020.
Death completeness rates are said to have improved between the years, from 62.3 percent in 2018 to 81.4 percent in 2021.
However, Kavango West, Ohangwena, and Oshikoto regions recorded completeness rates of less than 60 percent.
Meanwhile, civil death registration increased between 2018 and 2021 from 81 percent to 10.8 percent of deaths per population.
The Oshana and Khomas regions recorded the highest death rates due to referrals to hospitals, while the Kavango West and Oshikoto regions recorded the lowest rates for both years.
NSA Statistician-General and Chief Executive Officer Alex Shimuafeni stressed the importance of collecting accurate data, stating that vital statistics are a critical national information resource for understanding public health and examining key indicators such as fertility, mortality, and causes of death.
