Nigeria is facing a growing kidney disease crisis, with experts warning that the cost of treatment is often what proves fatal, not the illness itself.
“I’m Already Tired,” Says Philanthropist Funding Dialysis
More than 150 kidney patients recently gathered in Enugu seeking help to continue dialysis, many arriving in wheelchairs with visibly swollen limbs.
Consultant nephrologist Dr Abdulwasiu Busari said roughly 90 percent of Nigerian dialysis patients discontinue treatment within a year due to cost, with a single session running around N50,000 and most patients needing two to three sessions weekly.
Dr Danladi Nmadu of the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Metta, said more than 70 percent of patients requiring dialysis die within two years, and that the disease increasingly strikes Nigerians between ages 40 and 60 — their most productive years.
Philanthropist Emmanuel Okoh, who has personally funded dialysis for patients in Enugu, said he has spent about N15 million this year alone.
“I’m already tired,” he said.
