The Federal Government’s recent decision to slash the cost of kidney dialysis from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000 per session has brought immense relief to patients at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, and across the country. The move represents a 76 to 80 per cent subsidy under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aimed at making life-saving dialysis treatment affordable for Nigerians battling kidney-related diseases.
Across the country, 11 federal tertiary hospitals have begun implementing the initiative, including the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan; Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH); University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH); Federal Medical Centres (FMCs) in Ebute-Metta, Jabi, Abeokuta, Owerri, Azare; University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH); Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi; and University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar.
At AKTH, the impact of the subsidy has been immediate and profound. The hospital’s Deputy Director of Nursing Services and Head of the Dialysis Unit, Mr. Tijjani Rahim, said the number of patients receiving treatment has risen sharply.
“We now attend to between 22 and 25 patients daily,” Rahim said. “The spike followed the implementation of the Federal Government’s subsidy programme, which made dialysis more accessible and affordable.”
Before the intervention, patients were paying between ₦50,000 and ₦60,000 per dialysis session — a financial burden that left many unable to sustain treatment.
For patients like Sani Musa, the subsidy has been nothing short of life-saving.
“I used to pay ₦54,000 to ₦60,000 per session,” he recalled. “It later came down to ₦20,000, and now ₦12,000. I can now continue my treatment without fear of running out of money.”
Another patient, Mamuda Aliyu, echoed the sentiment, saying the reduction from ₦60,000 to ₦12,000 per session had given him “a fighting chance.”
Similarly, Malama Hafiza Isa shared that she had watched the cost steadily drop from ₦60,000 to ₦20,000 before the current subsidised rate was introduced.
Despite their gratitude, the patients appealed to the Federal Government to consider making dialysis entirely free to further ease their burden.
The Chief Medical Director of AKTH, Prof. Abdurrahman Sheshe, confirmed that the subsidised dialysis programme had officially commenced at the hospital.
“We have received consumables to cater for 1,000 dialysis sessions under this initiative,” he said, adding that the hospital was also implementing the National Emergency Medical Services and Ambulance Scheme (NEMSAS), which offers 48 hours of free medical care and emergency transportation for pregnant women, children, accident victims, and other critical cases.
Prof. Sheshe urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and philanthropists to support efforts to sustain both the dialysis and emergency care programmes.
The dialysis subsidy forms part of the government’s broader health sector reforms — including the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) and NEMSAS — designed to strengthen emergency response systems and reduce out-of-pocket spending by Nigerians.
On August 21, 2025, the Federal Government approved the dialysis subsidy for 11 federal tertiary hospitals across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. The initiative, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, is expected to restore hope and extend the lives of thousands of citizens struggling with kidney disease.
For many like Musa and Hafiza, the message is simple: the subsidy is not just a policy — it’s a lifeline.
