Burden of disease is the impact of a health problem as measured by financial cost, mortality, morbidity, or other indicators. Every country struggles with their own health issues, some more than others. Unfortunately under-developed countries struggle far more than countries like Canada and North America. An under-developed country to talk about is located in Eastern Africa known as Rwanda. Rwanda struggles with many issues, but the leading cause of death in 2012 was lower respiratory infections, killing 7.8 thousand people in 2012 (WHO, 2012). Unfortunately, the average lifespan of a citizen in Rwanda is only 63 years compared to developed countries like the United States, which has an average of 78 years. The difference is astronomical. Besides lower respiratory infections, Rwanda has other leading causes of death such as diarrheal diseases, HIV/Aids, and malaria. Lower respiratory infections kills 10% (7.8 thousand people) of the population, HIV kills about 8% (6.3 thousand people), diarrheal diseases kills 5.3% (4.1 thousand people), and malaria kills 4.8% (3.7 thousand people) a year. These are the leading causes of death in 2012. Therefore, the epidemiologic transition of Rwanda and these certain diseases have changed in the past few years. The epidemiologic transition describes changing…show more content… Poverty is widespread throughout the country. In 2006, 56.9 per cent of the total population was living below the poverty line and 37.9 per cent were extremely poor. In rural areas about 64.7 per cent of the population was living in poverty (IFDA). According to the Borgen Project, “44% of Rwandan children suffer from stunting. This means that they are unable to grow to their full potential because of a lack of adequate nutrition.” Unfortunately, the poor water systems in Rwanda cause most of the health issues, along with the lack of food and proper
