Reps call for subsidised kidney treatment

The House of Representatives on Tuesday regretted the mortality rate for kidney disease and blamed it on patients’ inability to afford the cost of treatment and access to medical facilities.

The House, therefore, urged the Federal Government to fully equip kidney dialysis centres in health facilities across the country and subsidise treatments for kidney patients.

Also, the lower legislative chamber urged the federal government to employ qualified personnel to manage the centres and subsidise treatments.

The House made the call following the adoption of a motion moved by Zannah Usman during Tuesday’s plenary.

Moving the motion, Usman said subsidising the cost of treatment would encourage patients to seek early intervention.

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The lawmaker said reports have shown that the disease affects 20 percent of Nigerians and contributes to the rising mortality rates in the country.

He expressed concerns that most communities did not have primary health centres which made it difficult to identify people with kidney disease and those that risked developing the disease.

Usman said: “The rate of poverty in the country, lack of government attention on those with kidney disease, low number of doctors in rural areas, low number of nephrologists in the country and lack of facilities to effectively manage those patients are major challenges that need to be addressed urgently.”

He urged the Ministry of Information and Culture and the National Orientation Agency (NOA to commence sensitization campaigns on the need to seek treatment in the healthcare facilities, especially those in the rural areas.

He also mandated the Committees on Health Institutions, Healthcare Services, and Information, National Orientation, Ethics, and Values to liaise with relevant stakeholders on the matter.

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