June 2026

The Ministry of Health (MOH) Health Informatics Division, the Central Coding Unit, and county analytic teams launched Kenya’s first Mortality Profiles for Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Siaya and Nakuru counties, producing key findings on mortality trends and recommended interventions.

The County Profiles were developed by county teams, comprising medical certifiers, coders and epidemiologists in collaboration with the MOH Central Coding Unit. Teams first consulted users, including County Health Management Teams and county leadership, to understand their needs in terms of frequency, format, and priority indicators. 

The profiles used 2024 data from the Kenya Health Information System (KHIS) tracker, which captures Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) data for deaths reported at public and private hospitals. The Data Impact program and Civil Registration and Vital Statistics program worked with the county teams to clean, code, and analyze the data and supported the interpretation of findings and development of recommendations.

Key findings included the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases across counties as well as a significant burden of injuries—especially road traffic accidents—in Kajiado, Machakos and Nairobi counties. In terms of strengthening mortality data quality, the profiles recommended interventions to improve completeness of facility reporting, medical certification, and coding.

The County Health Management Teams will share findings with sub-county management teams and health facilities, and will integrate mortality data improvement interventions into routine supervision and mentorship at health facilities. Both MOH and county stakeholders have already expressed interest in scaling up county mortality profiles and developing a national profile, and WHO and UNICEF representatives also committed to supporting data quality improvement efforts at the county level.