Kenya, a developing country, should take keen interest in the WHO review on effects of unemployment and education on public health in Britain, a member of the G10. It states that young people who are not in
employment or education in Britain are “a public health time bomb waiting to explode”. ‘Neets’ – or young people not in
employment, education or training – were likely to have worse health than their
employed counterparts and the Government needed to act to ensure health
inequality does not become entrenched, the authors of a report by the
organisation claimed.
The review also found that children and women would be better off living in
many other European countries, including Eastern European states, than in the
UK. “Unemployment may be falling in the UK, but persistent high levels of the
number of young people over 18 not in employment, education or training is
storing up a public health time bomb waiting to explode,” said Professor Sir
Michael Marmont, who chaired the study.
"We are failing too many of our children, women and young people on a
grand scale. "I would say to any government that cares about the health of
its population: look at the impact of their policies on the lives people are
able to lead and, more importantly, at the impact on inequality.
"Health inequality, arising from social and economic inequalities, are
socially unjust, unnecessary and avoidable, and it offends against the human
right to health." Across the UK there are are 1.09 million 16 to
24-year-olds in the ‘Neet’ category, or 15.1 per cent of the population in that
age bracket, according to data published this year.
And death rates for under-fives in the UK - which stand at 5.4 per 1,000
live births and are linked to poverty - are higher than most countries in the
east of Europe, the Review of Social Determinants and the Health Divide in the
WHO European Region found. Children are more likely to live in poverty in
Britain than many other countries in Europe including Iceland, Cyprus and
Ireland, it said.
Sir Michael added: "Good quality early years provision must be a
priority for all children. But childcare in this country is expensive and many
people cannot afford to utilise it or go back to work after having children.
"There needs to be a broad range of social policies, including
improvements in every child's start to life, adequate social protection that
can act as a buffer against low income over the life-course, and provide a
minimum standard for healthy living." Female life expectancy in the UK is
83, behind Spain, France and Italy, where it is 85, and Cyprus and Germany,
where is it 84.
This review has very serious resonance and semblance to Kenya where a large
percentage of the youth are unemployed and lack formal training or education. A
recent report by InfroTrack Research stated that only 3% of people in the coast
region have at least a University Degree.
Kenya’s life expectancy averages 57 years with under-five mortality
standing at 80 per 1000 live births. These damning health indicators may well
show that we are more affected by poor investment in employment and training of
our youth, doing worse in public health. The fact that the youth are still marginalized in terms of
opportunities such as employment means that they stand to be the affected
because they can not have the socio-economic power to make the right health
choices. There is then every reason for our governments, national and county,
to adopt this WHO report.
The writer is a PHO based in Nairobi (e-mail: chrispory.juma@gmail.com)
