Except for the northwest region, the federal government has announced a subsidy on kidney dialysis in selected hospitals across the southwest, southeast, south-south, north-central and northeast parts of the country to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians battling chronic kidney disease.
The subsidy, which is about 76 per cent in total, was reduced from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000, a commendable effort to improve access to healthcare delivery.
According to a list shared by Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication Daniel Bwala, the centres to provide the subsidised dialysis include Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Ebute-Metta, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Abeokuta, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Owerri, Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Azare and University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH).
In a breakdown, the South-West has four centres, the North-Central and South-East have one each, the North-East and South-South have two each, while the North-West has none.”
Reacting to the issue in an interview with Daily Episode, Mr Salisu Yusuf, secretary of the Accountability Mechanism for Maternal and Child Health in Kano, explains that neglecting a region in any policy, subsidy or developmental programme can be regarded as a regional marginalisation.
“Kidney dysfunction is everywhere, and when you come down to states in the northwest, you will understand the conditions of the patients, who mostly can’t afford to pay for dialysis.
“So in a situation where it is a national issue, there is no point; the government will give priority to other parts of the country while neglecting others.
“Whenever you visit any health facility, observe the conditions of the patients; you will mostly shed tears for the pain they are in. The cost is always beyond their economic means. Then how can a region with about seven states be excluded, despite being the most populous in the country?
“This is a national issue; the government should be cautious about national character, where every zone should be considered, regardless of intervention.
“We know the level at which our people are suffering; we know how they struggle to clear medical bills, so at the organisational level, we demand equity in all government programmes or interventions.
“So to alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable or the kidney dysfunction patients generally, the government should consider the northwest in the subsidy.
“However, the government should be aware of the states’ locations; maybe it should consider centralising the selected hospitals. I will suggest that Kano can serve Jigawa, Katsina and Zamfara with some states in the northeast, which are Bauchi and Yobe, while Kaduna will serve Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, including some states in the north-central like Niger and Jos.
“Because the patients or sickness don’t wait, I wish the government would visit any dialysis centre in the northwest to see for themselves the situation. By looking, you will understand some patients are in their dying minutes due to a lack of funds to clear their dialysis bills and other medications.
“Most of them have sold their properties; the sickness has reduced them to zero. Just imagine the cost implications. Even the rich suffer. Talk more about the underprivileged who, as a result of the illness, can’t even go out to work or engage in any business.
“So the Northwest Commission should be aware, as this is part of their responsibility, to tell the government the needs of the citizens, while the government should consider the Northwest an emergency. By doing this, the citizens will have confidence that the government is for everyone without thinking of regional marginalisation in intervention. Mr Yusuf added
