Machakos County

Machakos County (until 2010 Machakos District ) is a county in the province of Eastern in Kenya. The capital is Machakos. In County 2009 1.098.584 people lived on 5952.9 km ². The County is divided into twelve divisions. The climate in the district is semi- arid. In 2000, approximately 66 % of the population were below the poverty line. The district is mainly inhabited by Akambas. The main economic activities are agriculture and livestock. In the district were in 2005 almost 850 primary schools and 154 secondary schools.

Health service

The district decreed in 2001, more than 100 health care facilities. At a doctor more than 62,000 potential patients came. The most common diseases in the County are malaria and skin diseases in adults, children often suffer from eye infections, pneumonia and malaria. In addition, the children in the district often suffer from marasmus, kwashiorkor and anemia. The HIV prevalence rate in 1999 was 15%. The infant mortality rate was 5.3 % in 1999, while 7.8% of children died before their 5th birthday. The Machakos County also has the largest number of rabies disease in Kenya.