Ghana joins other Countries in the Continent today, Thursday, 12th March 2020 to mark World Kidney Day.
This year World Kidney Day continues to raise awareness of the increasing burden of kidney diseases worldwide and to strive for kidney health for everyone, everywhere. Specifically, the 2020 campaign highlights the importance of preventive interventions to avert the onset and progression of kidney disease.
Kidney disease is a non-communicable disease (NCD) and currently affects around 850 million people worldwide. One in ten adults has chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Each year, about 7000 people in Ghana between the ages of 25 and 50 develop end-stage renal failure with about 95 percent dying because they don’t get treatment.
According to the Ghana Kidney Association, only 10 percent of the people who developed end-stage kidney failure received treatment in 2017.
Currently, there are only five hemodialysis facilities in Ghana, located in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Central and Volta regions and Dialysis patients in the other regions have to travel long distances for their treatment.
Chronic kidney disease, also known as chronic kidney failure, is the gradual loss of kidney function and most patients on dialysis (due to kidney failure) are under 40 years, and they need ghc325 in order to attend one session of dialysis.
Statistics indicate that every parent needs 3-sessions per week, and this means every kidney patient needs ghc975 every week in order to keep surviving.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
