Africa-Press – Uganda. Government has been urged to recruit and deploy kidney specialists in regional referral hospitals in order to bring services closer to the people and reduce on costs of accessing medication.
Speaking during the conference organised by the Uganda Kidney Foundation in Mbale City at the weekend, Dr Joseph Gyagenda Ogavu, a kidney specialist, said there are only three kidney treatment centres in the country.
“The government only has three treatment centres and yet we have many people suffering from kidney disease across the country. I think government should ensure we also have nephrologists at all regional hospitals,” he said.
The three treatment centres are Mulago, Kiruddu, and Mbarara hospitals.
Dr Gyagenda said the number of patients from eastern region travelling to Kampala for kidney-related cases is high.
“There is a challenge at a policy level, for example, the employment of kidney specialists is not recognised at regional referral hospitals, so most patients travel to Kampala and it’s very costly,” he said.
He added: “It’s imperative that government opens up this space to employ kidney specialists and kidney nurses as well as those who offer psychosocial support at the regional referral hospitals.”
Dr Gyagenda explained that the country has only 13 kidney specialists for a population of about 45 million, meaning about 7 million people are being attended to by one kidney specialist.
The kidney specialist also appealed to the government to expedite the process of passing the health insurance Bill so that medical services such as kidney treatment are made accessible to the ordinary people.
According to the Uganda Kidney Foundation, the prevalence rate for kidney disease stands at 14 percent, meaning out of 100 people, 14 have a kidney issue.
Dr David Martin Atuhe, a kidney specialist, said currently, Uganda has between 200 and 300 people on dialysis and about 100 people undergoing kidney transplants.
“Despite this prevalence, most people don’t know much about kidney disease. That is why we are trying to increase on knowledge and encourage people to go for periodic check-ups,” he said.
Dr Muhammad Mulongo, the chairperson of Uganda Medical Association Elgon Branch, said kidney disease in the communities is mostly associated with witchcraft.
“Many people associate kidney disease with witchcraft and many patients are dying because they can’t afford money to go to Kampala,” he said.
Dr Mulongo said there is a need for the leaders to advocate for diagnosis in all referral hospitals so that people have quick access to services.
“We have been sending about 25 patients with kidney disease to Kampala undergoing analysis on a monthly basis,” he said.
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