President Bola Tinubu has approved a subsidy on kidney dialysis for Nigerians in 11 hospitals, reducing the cost for Nigerians from N50,000 to N12,000.
The subsidy is being implemented across the six geopolitical zones at some federal medical institutions.
Participating institutions include the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Ebute-Metta Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Abuja, the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Maiduguri.
Others are the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Abeokuta, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Azare, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) Benin, and University of Calabar Teaching (UCTH) Calabar.
The subsidy was launched in January at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi.
Positive impact on patients
According to Hammatu Haruna, the manager-in-charge of the renal centre at the teaching hospital, the subsidy has brought significant relief to patients.
“They are now paying only N12,000, and our patients are very happy with this initiative. We have seen remarkable improvement in their condition,” she said.
- She noted that before the subsidy, many patients struggled to afford dialysis.
“Even after hearing the cost, they often had to go back and sell something before they could afford treatment. Some even preferred to stay at home because they simply could not afford it,” she added.
- Since the launch on January 8, 35 patients have benefited from the programme. Haruna also acknowledged the federal ministry of health for providing adequate resources, including one dialysis machine and over 900 dialyzers, to ensure the success of the initiative.
“We appreciate the federal government of Nigeria; they have given us the necessary support. We have almost everything at hand,” she said.
Rising Kidney failure cases in Nigeria
The subsidy comes amid growing concerns over increasing kidney failure cases in Nigeria.
- In February, the Yobe State government deployed 50 health experts to investigate the spike in kidney failure cases in some parts of the state.
- According to Mahmud Maina, director of the Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre at Yobe State University, the investigative team includes neurology consultants, nephrologists, laboratory scientists, geologists, chemists, and eco-toxicologists, with support from international experts in the UK, US, and Ghana.
Maina stated that the team plans to interview 2,000 residents in Bade and Damaturu LGAs to determine whether the rising cases are linked to environmental, lifestyle-related, or genetic factors.
