Yobe gov’t sponsors 50,000 dialysis treatments for patients with kidney diseases
Story from Usman UMAR
The Governor Mai Mala Buni government in Yobe State has funded more than 50,000 complimentary dialysis treatments for patients with kidney diseases in the past five years.
Baba Goni, the head doctor at the Yobe Teaching Hospital in Damaturu, shared this information in the state capital.
Goni, who guided journalists through the newly completed maternal, newborn, and child healthcare complex, stated that the hospital conducts over 600 free dialysis sessions every month.
He mentioned that each session costs around N50,000 due to the expensive consumables.
Goni explained that Governor Buni’s administration established a dialysis centre in the hospital to address the high prevalence of kidney failure, particularly in communities near the River Yobe.
He noted that the governor doubled the payment for hemodialysis to support needy patients.
Additionally, Goni mentioned that the state government offers free vascular access surgeries, a preliminary step for dialysis that costs between N100,000 and N150,000 per session.
He recounted that during a visit to the United Kingdom in 2023, Governor Buni invited global experts to help identify the causes of renal diseases in the state.
“We have conducted initial investigations and identified hotspots in certain local government areas in the northern part of the state. We will soon conduct a population-based survey in these areas to analyse blood samples, as well as the soil and water consumed by residents, for potential toxins affecting the kidneys,” Goni stated.
Read also: Gov. Buni meets renowned epidemiologists in London to advance fight against kidney diseases
He added that the state government is collaborating with the Urology/Nephrology Centre at Mansoura University in Egypt to train Yobe doctors in kidney transplants.
Local kidney transplants would save costs, as the expenses for procedures abroad exceed N20 million. He mentioned that the maternal, newborn, and child healthcare facility built by the Buni administration is the largest in the North-East region.
The governor awarded a N1.6 billion contract for the construction of the facility in 2020.
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