HIV/AIDS is no longer the leading cause of death for people in Africa, new statistics reveal.
The World Health Organization’s most recent data showed the crippling illness is now the second killer in Africa after years of campaigning for better contraception and education about the sexually-transmitted disease.
Lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis is now the most deadly disease on the continent.
There were an estimated 760,000 deaths due to HIV/AIDS in 2015, which has dropped from the one million deaths in 2010.
Although fewer people are dying from the disease, experts say the number is still too high considering preventive methods and education efforts have gotten better.
The new statistics from Africa Check, an African fact-checking organization, revealed that the leading cause of deaths for people on the continent.
Lower respiratory tract infections took number one with the most common of those diseases in this category being pneumonia and bronchitis.
Pneumonia is a viral, fungi or bacterial infection in the lungs that can cause the air sacs to inflame and make breathing difficult.
Bronchitis happens when the bronchial tubes in the lungs get infected.
These tubes are responsible for carrying air in and out of the lungs during respiratory processes.
In 2015, an estimated 16 percent of children under five across the world died from pneumonia or bronchitis making it the world’s leading cause of death for this age group.
HIV/AIDS is now number two on the list for deaths in Africa and it took an estimated 760,000 lives in 2015.
This is lower from the estimated one million deaths in 2010 from the disease.
Efforts have been made to lower the death rates by increasing preventive and educational methods across the continent.
But HIV/AIDS still plagues people living in Africa and around the world.
Third on the list was diarrhoeal diseases, which are caused by viral, bacterial or parasitic infections in the bowels.
This is also the second leading cause of death in children under five across the world and in Africa, according to World Health Organization.
These infections are caused by dirty and unsafe water, poor hygiene and bad sanitation around where people are living and eating.
Fourth on the list was people dying from stokes, which has increased since 2010.
A stroke is caused when the blood flow to the brain is stopped or reduced.
Brain cells are not able to get enough oxygen and nutrients so they begin to die.
Heart attacks are fifth on the list and have pushed malaria out of the top five for the first time in years.
Most of the above diseases are preventable with with sufficient funding and access to better care.
Countries in Africa, though, continue to be plagued with poverty that has affected residents’ ability to get the care needed to treat these diseases.
But poverty levels have been improving in Africa since 1990.
In 2012, only 43 percent of the population lived in poverty compared to 56 percent in 1990, according to World Bank.
