President Bola Tinubu has approved a significant reduction in the cost of kidney dialysis in public hospitals, slashing the price of each session from N50,000 to N12,000, in a move expected to provide relief for thousands of Nigerians battling kidney-related ailments.
Daniel Bwala, spokesperson to the president, announced the development on Monday through his official X handle, noting that the initiative will first be rolled out in 10 federal hospitals across the six geopolitical zones.
According to him, the subsidy has already been welcomed by patients, many of whom described the new rate as a huge relief compared to the prohibitive cost of treatment.
The first set of hospitals approved for the subsidised dialysis sessions include the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute-Metta, Lagos; Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja; University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan; Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri; and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri.
Others are the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta; Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos; Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Azare; University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin; and University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar.
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Bwala further disclosed that additional federal medical centres and teaching hospitals would be included before the end of the year, to ensure wider access for kidney disease patients nationwide.
The development comes against the backdrop of rising cases of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Nigeria, which health experts attribute to contaminated food, synthetic products, and the influx of fake drugs.
Medical professionals warn that CKD is often asymptomatic in its early stages, making it difficult to detect until it progresses. In advanced stages, patients may lose up to 90 percent of kidney function, requiring dialysis or a transplant to survive.
Symptoms typically include frequent or infrequent urination, swelling of the feet and ankles, muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, and shortness of breath.
With over 20 million Nigerians estimated to be living with kidney disease, and West Africa generally having one of the world’s highest prevalence rates, the reduction in dialysis cost is seen as a critical intervention that could save lives and ease the financial burden on affected families.