Nigerians with kidney diseases, especially those who cannot afford the cost of treatment, may soon heave a sign of relief as the Senate has called on the executive to include chronic kidney diseases in the coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme.
The Senate also urged its committee on health to lobby for expansion of comprehensive coverage on treatment of chronic kidney disease patients in the NHIS.
It also urged the committee to work toward ensuring that financial constraints do not hinder access to essential treatments of chronic kidney disease patients.
Senate resolution, followed the adoption of a motion for increased awareness and improvement of Kidney treatment facilities in Nigeria at plenary yesterday.
The motion was sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar‘Adua (APC-Katsina) to mark World Kidney Day.
Yar‘Adua in his lead debate said recent statistics from the Nigerian Association of Nephrology, revealed that an alarming 25 million Nigerians were living with kidney diseases.
This, he said, called for urgent attention to address the prevalence of the life-threatening condition and improve kidney treatment facilities in Nigeria.
He said chronic kidney disease constitutes about 40 percent of referrals to tertiary hospitals in Nigeria and was a significant contributor to daily hospital admissions.
He said the cost of dialysis sessions in Nigeria ranged from N20,000 to N50,000 per session, adding that the situation was leading to low adherence rates due to financial constraints.
He said the alternative to dialysis, which was kidney transplant was financially unattainable for many, with the cost exceeding N6.5million in some cases.
He said it was worrisome that the NHIS in Nigeria provides limited coverage for chronic kidney disease patients, highlighting the need for expanded insurance coverage to support treatment.
He said the federal government and other stakeholders must launch extensive public education campaigns to raise awareness about kidney disease prevention, risks, and available treatments.
According to him, urgent steps should be taken to enhance kidney treatment facilities across the country.
„This includes increasing the number of functional dialysis centers in tertiary health facilities, ensuring access to dialysis treatments even in remote areas, and addressing the shortage of dialysis nurses and specialised technicians,“ he said.
Yar‘Adua it is important to act swiftly to address the increasing burden of kidney disease in Nigeria, by increasing awareness, improving treatment facilities, expanding insurance coverage, and supporting infection prevention measures.
The Senate also urged the Federal Ministry of Health and other allied ministries to implement infection prevention, training and supervision protocols to safeguard chronic kidney diseases patients.
It also urged the federal government and other stakeholders to launch extensive public education campaigns to increase awareness about kidney disease prevention, risks, and available treatments.
