No fewer than 668 kidney patients benefitted from the Borno government’s free dialysis programme from 2019 to date, an official said.

Mohammed Yaro, working at the unit in charge of the Kidney Centre of Maiduguri Specialist Hospital, said this in an interview in Maiduguri on Thursday.

Mr Yaro said that from the programme’s inception in December 2019 to April 2024, over 12,000 free dialysis sessions were conducted on patients. 

He added that since Governor Babagana Zulum’s administration introduced the programme, dialysis and other consumables have been provided to patients free of charge.

“We just received a fresh supply of consumables in large quantities for the programme; our challenge in the area of consumables is now addressed,” Mr Yaro said.

According to him, some patients undergo dialysis twice a week, and the cost per session is

Nothing less than N42,000 can take a huge toll on their finances.

While lamenting the rise in kidney diseases, Yaro called for more public awareness about the disease.

He said, “The call is imperative because some patients are still not comfortable with the dialysis, while some engage in taking both modern and traditional medications, which can lead to more complications.”

Regarding the kidney centre’s challenges, Yaro appealed to the state government to employ more hands to facilitate services. 

He said, “Our challenge here for now is the need for more staff, particularly nephrology nurses.”

Some patients, Ba-modu Mustapha and Ibrahim Mari, lauded the free services and thanked the state government for the initiative, which they said is people-oriented.

Mr Mari said, “This is a people-oriented programme that deserves commendation.”

Mr Mustapha said, “We want to commend Governor Zulum and the medical staff of this hospital for the support and commitment to providing this service.”

Two years ago, Mr Zulum approved a N50-million research grant for kidney diseases at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital as another measure to tackle the growing menace. 

(NAN)