The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Abuja will soon begin subsidising dialysis treatment for patients with kidney diseases.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the commissioning of a clinic service building and ward centre.

He explained that the dialysis would be done at an 80 per cent subsidy to ensure that dialysis care is more accessible and affordable to Nigerians.

Mr Salako said the federal government had, in 2024, commenced the initiative to bring down the cost of dialysis by about 80 per cent in 10 selected federal tertiary health institutions in the country.

“Going forward, FMC Jabi is now a good candidate to join the implementation of this initiative,” he said.

According to him, providing qualitative and accessible healthcare services is the second pillar of the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative (HSRII).

He said HSRII was designed to implement President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of treating healthcare as a right for all Nigerians.

“It is justifying the heavy investments being made in the health sector by the current administration,” he added.

The minister said with the federal government’s efforts to strengthen the tertiary healthcare system, Nigerians would not need to travel abroad for critical care services like kidney transplants.

Also, the hospital’s chief medical director, Saad Ahmed, said the new facility was to enhance the provision of quality healthcare services to the community.

“The clinical service building houses our dialysis and transplantation centre, pathology laboratories, offices and a state-of-the-art conference room.

“The ward extension will provide additional bed spaces for patients, thereby reducing the challenges associated with limited admission capacity,” he said.

Mr Ahmed also announced the addition of a new neurosurgical operating microscope, which he said would greatly benefit the patients requiring brain surgery.

(NAN)