Beyond the Headlines: 5 Surprising Truths from Kenya and Uganda's Landmark 2022 Health Reports
The stories you don't hear about public health in East Africa
Stop me if this sounds familiar: someone mentions "health challenges in Africa" and your mind jumps to undernutrition, malaria, or lack of access to hospitals. And sure, those challenges still exist — but if you dig into the 2022 Kenya and Uganda Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS and UDHS), a more complex story unfolds.
These two reports, each built from massive nationwide efforts, are like time capsules of everyday life: how people eat, raise children, use healthcare, and even what they believe. But buried in hundreds of pages of stats and charts are unexpected, even eye-opening truths that tell us more about how these nations are changing — and what new challenges lie ahead.
Here are five findings that might just flip what you thought you knew.
1. Overweight is Now a Bigger Problem Than Undernutrition — in Urban Kenya
If you think nutrition challenges in East Africa are all about food scarcity, think again.
In urban Kenya, more than half of women aged 20–49 are now overweight or obese (53%), while just 5% are classified as thin. That's a huge shift — and one with serious health implications.
Compare that to rural areas, where 39% of women are overweight or obese and 9% are thin. What's behind the urban trend? Lifestyle.
Urban women in Kenya now get half the weekly physical activity of their rural counterparts — just 104.9 minutes per week, compared to 209.8 minutes in rural areas. It's a textbook example of the "double burden" of malnutrition: undernutrition and overnutrition now exist side by side.
2. Child Mortality Has Dropped — Quietly and Dramatically
You probably didn't see this on the front page — but you should have.
In both Kenya and Uganda, child survival rates have skyrocketed over the past two decades. Under-five mortality has dropped by about 65% in each country:
- Kenya: From 115 deaths per 1,000 live births (2003) → 41 in 2022
- Uganda: From 151 per 1,000 (2000–01) → 52 in 2022
This is one of East Africa's greatest public health victories — driven by smarter vaccination campaigns, better maternal care, malaria prevention, and more accessible treatment for childhood illnesses. But it rarely makes headlines.
3. Almost Half of Ugandan Women Stop Using Contraceptives Within a Year — and Not Because They Want Kids
Family planning services have expanded across Uganda, but there's a problem you might not expect: high dropout rates.
According to the 2022 Uganda DHS, 49% of women stop using contraception within a year — and most don't stop because they want to get pregnant. Instead, the top reason is side effects and health concerns.
It's a stark reminder that access alone isn't enough. What's missing is support: counselling, side-effect management, and real conversations that treat women as partners in their care — not just numbers in a coverage report.
4. Everyone Has a Mosquito Net — But Fewer Are Using Them
Uganda has nearly nailed the logistics of malaria prevention. According to the 2022 DHS, 99% of households have access to an insecticide-treated net (ITN).
Sounds like a win, right?
Here's the twist: actual use of those nets is falling. In 2022, 37% of people with access to a net weren't sleeping under one.
This behavioural gap is now the biggest hurdle in malaria control. It's no longer about supply — it's about human behaviour. Closing that gap means tackling habit, perception, and awareness — not just handing out more nets.
5. A Third of Ugandans Still Think Domestic Violence Is Justified
This one hits hard.
According to the 2022 Uganda DHS, 1 in 3 women (33%) and nearly 1 in 3 men (30%) believe it's acceptable for a husband to beat his wife under certain circumstances — like arguing or burning food.
And when violence does happen? Only 32% of women and 31% of men who've experienced physical or sexual violence ever seek help — and most turn to family, not the police or health services.
These numbers aren't just statistics — they reflect deeply entrenched social norms. Tackling them requires more than laws; it demands a cultural shift and a support system survivors can trust.
What This Means: From Scarcity to Complexity
The 2022 health surveys from Kenya and Uganda tell a story far more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
Yes, major progress is happening — fewer children are dying, more people have access to essential health tools, and awareness around family planning is high. But the challenges now go deeper.
Instead of resource scarcity, the focus is shifting to behavioural change, lifestyle shifts, and social norms:
- People have mosquito nets but don't use them.
- Women have contraceptives but stop due to side effects.
- Urban life brings economic opportunity — but also obesity and inactivity.
- Deep-rooted beliefs still justify violence — and silence victims.
In this new era, success won't come from simply building more clinics or distributing more supplies. It will come from meeting people where they are, listening to their lived experiences, and designing solutions that make sense in their real, messy, beautiful lives.
The next frontier of public health in East Africa is not just saving lives — it's helping people live better ones.