President of Nigerian Association of Nephrology (NAN) Professor Jacob Awobusuyi, addressing newsmen on the sideline of 38th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association held in Maiduguri
Nigerian Association of Nephrology (NAN) has raised concern over a sharp rise in kidney disease infections in the country, reporting that cases have surged by approximately 30 per cent, with one in every ten Nigerians now affected.
The President of the Association, Professor Jacob Awobusuyi, disclosed this on Tuesday during the 38th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association held at UMTH Babagana Umara Zulum Auditorium Center Maiduguri.
He also emphasized that it is important for the government to intervene by providing more kidney equipment and facilities across the country alongside experts to address the situation.
“It is alarming thatt at least one in every ten Nigerians is now living with chronic kidney disease, arising from the kinds of food ,drinks and medications or drug we take. Some are poisons and expired while others are dangerous to peoples health,” Prof. Jacob said.
According to him,” that is why professionals and experts have converges here in Maiduguri to look at the situation with a view to suggest possible ways and means of curtailing the menace before it gets out of hand as facilities available in our hospitals are inadequate and can not cater for the high level of number of patients and people in Nigeria living with kidney diseases and infections,” Olugbenga added.
Prof Awobusuyi, further, noted that the rising prevalence of the disease had become “a matter of serious national concern,” stressing that kidney-related conditions require urgent and sustained attention across all levels of government.
He explained that discussions at the conference confirmed that chronic kidney disease affects about 10 per cent of Nigeria’s adult population, a figure he said reflects the scale of the emerging crisis.
“When detected early, a lot can be done to manage it. The real problem arises when it is not identified on time. Treatment then becomes extremely expensive, often pushing families into catastrophic situations and worsening the condition.
“This is what experts describe as a rapidly growing public health burden where governments have to establish more dialysis centres in each state of the federation…. More need to be provided. Because the federal facilities alone are not sufficient to meet current demands,” Prof. Jacob said.
He said although Nigeria as of now has has more than 200 functional dialysis units but only about 800 dialysis machines can be provided and be operational nationwide which is far below the number needed to address the growing caseload.
The President of NAN, however, commended states that have already established dialysis centres to support patients battling kidney diseases, noting that, the annual conference of the association informed the efforts of periodic checks on the kidney disease in the country with the view to containing the situation and discuss strategies for strengthening kidney care.
He added that addressing the situation would require confronting long-standing gaps in the health system, strengthening early detection mechanisms and building a more coordinated national response.
The session also reviewed new trends in kidney care, recent research, particularly in the Nigerian context and wider public health challenges associated with managing kidney disease across the country.
While the Head of the UMTH Kidney Center, Professor Ibrahim Ummate, said since former President Olusegun Obasanjo commissioned the kidney center at the hospital, it has been functional and operating even more than expected as number of cases have been treated successfully at the center.
