×

Treatment is beyond the reach of many as cases of kidney disease rise

By Dann Okoth

With 200 of every one million people dying from kidney disease every year, a crisis looms.

Cases of chronic renal failure continue to rise in the face of lack of equipment to tackle the condition.

"About 6,000 new cases of end stage renal failure are added to the national disease burden each year," says Dr Anthony Were, head of the Renal Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital. "The problem could become a crisis if deliberate measures are not taken to address it."


Accounting for five per cent of hospital admissions, acute kidney failure has a high mortality rate of 50-70 per cent. "The only remedy is kidney transplant," says Were.

Factors that drive chronic kidney ailment include changing lifestyles and emerging disease such as hypertension and diabetes. "Sadly most people who suffer from diabetes between age 5-15 degenerate into end stage renal failure by age 17," he says.

Other causes include obesity, intake of too much salt, stress and hereditary factors.

Ignorant

Were says most people are ignorant about the disease and only realise they are victims when it is advanced.

Tragically, the health system can only cater for about 300 chronic renal cases per day as institutions lack of equipment and proper infrastructure.

Kenyatta has 15 functional dialysis machines that cater for 50 patients each day while only a few private hospitals offer the service at prohibitive costs. At the public hospital, dialyses cost Sh4,500 per session compared to between Sh20,000 and 50,000 in private hospitals. "We have 15,000 patients on the waiting list and we do not know how many succumb to the disease in the village for lack of care," says Were.

He says the burden at Kenyatta is worsened by lack of investment in renal facilities in provincial and district hospitals. To avert a crisis, he says the Government must invest in the renal facilities.

Related Topics