How to curb kidney disease – Medical expert

From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

A Professor of Medicine at the University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo, Professor Oluseyi Adejumo, has proffered a solution to the incessant cases of kidney problems.

The medical expert said the current health system in Nigeria cannot keep up with the demands of continuous kidney replacement therapy.

The professor, who made the assertion while delivering the 9th inaugural lecture of the university titled “Guard Your Kidneys with All Diligence: Prioritising Preventive Kidney Care”, submitted that “a collaborative approach and full implementation of an effective task-shifting and task-sharing model will help in the management of patients with non-communicable diseases across all levels of care.”

He added that “individuals, the community, physicians, non-physicians, health workers, government, non-governmental organisations, religious institutions, and policymakers have a collective role to play in the prevention of kidney diseases.”

He further recommended other measures to reduce the burden of chronic kidney diseases, which include continuous creation of awareness among health workers, concerted efforts by the government and all stakeholders to improve access and quality of obstetric care.

Others include the need to leverage pre-admission and pre-employment medical evaluations, the government’s genuine commitment to improving all levels of health care by adequately staffing health facilities and providing adequate equipment.

The professor said chronic kidney disease is “quite burdensome not only to the patients but also to their relatives and caregivers.”

To this end, he said deliberate measures are needed to stem the burden.