Kosovo Human Development Report 2010 - UNDP Kosovo - United ...

Table
4.1
Although these achievements are
impressive, the health outcomes of
Kosovans remain poor in comparison
with neighboring Balkan and other European
nations. For instance, Kosovans
live on average 2 – 6 years less than citizens
of neighboring Balkan countries
and over 11 years less than citizens
of the oldest EU member states (see
Table 4.1). The main causes of death
in Kosovo are related to cardiovascular
diseases, followed by malignant diseases,
and diseases of the respiratory
system. 122
Life expectancy at birth in selected European
countries
Life Expectancy at Birth 2006 (years)
Location All Female Male
Albania 71 73 69
Bosnia and Herzegovina 75 78 72
Croatia 76 79 72
Montenegro 74 76 72
Serbia 73 76 71
Slovenia 78 82 74
Macedonia 73 76 71
France 81 84 77
Germany 80 82 77
Luxembourg 80 83 77
EU 15 Average 80.2
Kosovo* 69 71 67
Source: WHO SIS (except for Kosovo* source SOK 2007);
Life expectancy at birth by gender, check: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.
do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tps00025 (December 2010).
Due to the Ministry of Health
(MOH) policies and interventions, the
overall immunization coverage has improved
tremendously, from a very low
19 – 40 percent coverage rate following
the 1999 conflict, to above 95 percent
Kosovo-wide in 2009. The highest
coverage is for Bacille Calmette-Guérin
and initial doses of Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus
and Oral Polio Vaccine (all
at 97 percent) and the lowest coverage
for Measles, Mumps and Rubella (93
68 | KOSOVO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2010
percent). 123 As a result, morbidity rate
of vaccine preventable diseases has
decreased. There are no noted vaccinepreventable
diseases such as poliomyelitis
and diphtheria, and Kosovo was
declared polio-free in 2002 (see Table
4.2). Due to successful routine and campaign
immunization activities, there
have been no measles epidemics registered
in the last ten years in Kosovo.
Incidence of tuberculosis has dropped
as well, from 56 per 100,000 in 2004 to
Table
4.2
Number of cases of vaccine
preventable diseases
in Kosovo 2008/2009
Disease 2008 2009
Poliomyelitis 0 0
Parotitis 797 731
Measles/Rubella 19 27
Hepatitis B 95 102
Diphtheria 0 0
Whooping Cough 37 28
Tuberculosis 948 901
Tetanus 0 0
Total 1,898 1,789
Source: NIPH Annual Report 2009
43 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009. 124
Other infectious diseases continue
to be widespread in Kosovo. 125 In 2009,
there were 115,999 reported cases of
infectious diseases with a morbidity
rate of 5,510 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The most frequently reported diseases
were acute diarrheal syndromes, which
account for almost 43 percent of total
morbidity followed by acute respiratory
tract infections. In 2009, Kosovo
faced the Influenza A H1N1 virus pandemic
with 308 confirmed cases and
14 deaths caused by the virus. 126 HIV/
AIDS is also a growing concern, despite
a low prevalence rate. Between
1986 and 2009 there were in total 80
registered cases of HIV/AIDS in Kosovo
(six newly reported in 2009), with 27 re-