Tinubu approves 80% dialysis reduction for patients battling kidney problem
Nigerian President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved an 80% subsidy on kidney dialysis for Nigerians, reducing the cost from N50,000 to N12,000 across the six geopolitical zones at some federal medical institutions.
According to Hammatu Haruna, the manager-in-charge of the renal centre at the teaching hospital, the subsidy was launched in January at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi, and patients are happy about the subsidy.
“They are paying only N12,000, and our patients are very happy with this initiative, and we have seen improvement, remarkably, in patients’ condition,” she said.
“Patients used to find it difficult to afford it; even if you tell them the amount, they have to go back and sell something before they can afford to come for dialysis. Some even prefer to stay at home since they cannot afford it.”
She said 35 patients have benefitted from the scheme since it was launched on January 8 this year, adding that the Federal Ministry of Health has provided adequate resources to ensure its success.
“We appreciate the federal government of Nigeria; they gave us one dialysis machine; they gave us over 900 dialysers. We have almost everything at hand.
Participating institutions include the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Ebute-Metta Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Abuja, the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Maiduguri.
Others are the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Abeokuta, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Azare, University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) Benin, and University of Calabar Teaching (UCTH) Calabar.
Source: TheCable
