The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has said that it was focusing more on equitable access to drugs for all people who have Kidney disease.
A Consultant Nephrologist, Dr. Babawale Bello disclosed this in Lagos on Thursday.
Bello said that this year’s celebration was the third in the series of the theme “Kidney Health For All”.
He said that World Kidney Day was organised by a group called International Society of Kidney Federation who came together to celebrate Kidney Day.
“The first episode was in 2006, and it held annually since that time. So, we are now in the eighteen years of celebrating World Kidney Day.
“All over the World, all those involved in kidney care will be participating in the celebration of World Kidney Day.
“The events to mark the celebration are; Lectures, Public screening, an Awareness Campaign, and Lagos University Teaching Hospital will be participating in such celebration.
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“The hospital community is aware of this celebration with the Awareness Walk that took place early in the morning.
“A team from the Hospital was at Eko Boys High School to carry out screening of people, and children to detect any abnormality for further evaluation. Such events are going on all over the country,” he said.
Bello, also the Deputy Chairman Medical Advisory Committee, LUTH, said that the Nigerian Association of Nephrology is the umbrella body for all persons involved in the care of people with kidney disease.
They included nephrologists, nurses, and dialysis engineers, who organised a national event including public health awareness screening going on across the country.
He said that the purpose of World Kidney Day was to raise awareness about the burden of kidney disease which had been a big source of concern across the world.
He said that it was estimated that about one in every ten persons would have some evidence of kidney disease if we checked.
Bello said that it was particularly more common in certain populations of people of Sub-Saharan African descent, who tended to be a lot more affected by kidney disease than the rest of the World.
“In the same vein, kidney disease tends to cause no symptoms early, such that if you don’t go for screening, then you may not know until the disease is very advanced.
“And that’s our experience in this part of the world where patients come very late in the course of the illness where we can’t do much other than to prepare them for transplantation at dialysis.
“The event at World Kidney Day allows us to screen and communicate to our people to go for Screening Health Checks.
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“The message is simply to be aware that the Kidneys are very important organs and have roles to play in excretion of wastes, control of blood sugar, making of blood and turnover of bone.
“The disease of the kidney is quite common and up to about one in every ten adults have some evidence of kidney disease if they check.
“That kidney disease early in its course, where we can intervene, to make a difference in the course of the disease doesn’t cause symptoms, so it is possible to miss it entirely.
“To avoid a situation where you have kidney disease and you don’t know, go for screening and health checks every year,” he said.
NAN
