President Bola Tinubu has authorized lowering the cost of each renal dialysis session for patients from N50,000 to N12,000 each session. The president’s spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, said this on Monday through his X handle.
The initiative would help thousands of Nigerians suffering from kidney-related illnesses, many of whom are unable to pay for dialysis and it will initially start in ten public hospitals.
Mr. Bwala claims that major federal hospitals in each of the six geopolitical zones are implementing the subsidies. Patients have responded favorably to the subsidy, he said, with many expressing gratitude for the lower expenses.
The Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Ebute-Metta, Lagos; the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Jabi, Abuja; the University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan; the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Owerri; and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri, comprise the first group of hospitals.
These include also the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar; the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Azare; the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin; the Federal Medical Center (FMC), Abeokuta; and the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos.
He promised to expand access across the country by adding more teaching hospitals and federal medical centers before the year is out.
According to medical professionals, the intake of tainted foods, artificial goods, and counterfeit medications is the main cause of the rising incidence of renal ailments in Nigeria.
The ability of the kidneys to filter waste from the blood is diminished by chronic kidney disease, a degenerative illness. Most people can easily go undiagnosed until their kidney disease has progressed since it frequently shows no symptoms in its early stages.
Kidney failure can progress to the point that a person needs dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. At this point, 85–90% of a CKD patient’s renal function is lost; this is insufficient to sustain the patient without medical help.
Substances that should normally be filtered accumulate in the body when the kidneys are not performing their essential function. The individual becomes really sick as a result.
Frequent or infrequent urination, shortness of breath, ankle and foot swelling, cramping in the muscles, nausea, and vomiting are common symptoms of kidney diseases.
After these symptoms appear, dialysis or a kidney transplant are required to survive. Kidney disease is estimated to affect over 20 million Nigerians. Likewise, a new study indicates that kidney illness is a major risk factor for West Africans.
