I just read he story of Fada U-Turn, I had chatted with him online, and via BBM about collaborating with my promotional campaigns to revive his career. He never mentioned that he was ill, perhaps he wanted to work so hard that he would have enough funds to treat his ailment. It's so sad that he's gone.

We've heard of other young people with kidney diseases, most prominently, and recent, OJB Jezreel, whose life was saved through a donation of $100,000 dollars from the Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi. I think it is relevant that I dig up an article which I read recently, for all to have more awareness about diseases of the kidneys, and where to seek help.

The Ondo example for kidney care

Author(s): Editor

November 8, 2013

In a country where experts say one in every five citizens is suffering various stages of kidney disease, there is an increasing demand for facilities for the treatment of kidney-related ailments across Nigeria.

Apart from the dearth of equipment such as dialysis machines, the cost of treating kidney disease in the few private and public hospitals equipped to provide such services continues to be a huge burden for the growing number of Nigerians who have kidney disease.

Any government initiative aimed at providing equipment for treatment of kidney disease is, therefore, a welcome development. It is even more commendable where such a programme is focused on making services cheap and affordable.

It is for these reasons that the Ondo State Government is to be commended for recently purchasing 15 dialysis machines to be installed at its Kidney Care Centre.

This is certainly not the first time a government is investing in kidney treatment but the objective of the Ondo government to make treatment cheap and affordable to ordinary Nigerians makes its programme very endearing to us.

According to the state’s Commissioner of Health, Dayo Adeyanju: “The governor has come with a brilliant plan to make it very cheap so that our people will be able to patronise it. It is not totally free.”

Whatever the plan is, there is need to ensure that it truly works and that residents of Ondo can access affordable treatment of Kidney disease.

There is also a need to call on the federal government to get more serious about reducing the cost of kidney treatment, especially transplant and dialysis.

According to nephrologists like Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, it costs between N5 million to N10 million to manage a patient on dialysis, while the cheaper option of kidney transplant could cost about N6 million.

We support Dr. Bamgboye’s call on the federal government to examine the factors responsible for this high cost and find solutions that will reduce it.

As Dr. Bamgboye has stressed at various forums, if the obstacle is the high cost of medical consumables produced abroad, our government must develop a programme to either produce those consumables locally or remove the red tape that makes their importation expensive thereby shooting up the cost of kidney treatment.

Clearly, the challenge to kidney treatment in Nigeria is not lack of expertise in the field of nephrology. It is, more than anything else, a challenge of cost and availability of facilities.

These can be addressed by serious and careful planning.

It is also critical that government adopts a proactive campaign that educates Nigerians on kidney disease and ways of preventing it. In many cases, kidney disease is preventable, especially by changing risky lifestyles.

Citizens must play their part by living lifestyles that do not increase their chances of having kidney disorders. But they can only do this if they have critical information about risk factors. So far, there is a gap in the provision of this important information.

There is no doubt that kidney disease is a major health concern in Nigeria that has claimed countless lives and continues to do so at an alarming rate. Whether we can reverse the trend is essentially dependent on what steps governments at all levels take to create awareness about preventive measures and to reduce the cost of treatment.

http://telegraphng.com/2013/11/ondo-example-kidney-care/