Around the world, women are sacrificing their health to shield families from spiking costs

NAIROBI – When the pain started in Agnes Wachira’s chest almost six months ago, the Kenyan mother-of-three dismissed it as a symptom of the daily grind of working long hours hand-washing clothes in the narrow lanes of Nairobi’s Kawangware informal settlement. Over the months, the ache has developed into a persistent tightness across her chest, often leaving her breathless.

Yet with Kenya’s inflation running at a five-year-high of 8.5%, the 48-year-old single mother says she cannot afford to seek medical help.