MPs Screened to Mark Kidney World Day

Members of Parliament and Staff of the Parliament were on Wednesday screened for various medical conditions and treated at a free screening exercise organised by the Ghana Kidney Association (GKA) to mark World Kidney Day.

The Association also organised a health walk from the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to the Parliament House to create awareness about the disease.

The MPs and staff of Parliament were screened for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, renal disease, blood pressure, body mass index, urine examination among others.

The World Kidney Day is on the general theme: “Your Kidneys’ Health is Your Responsibility”.

Dr Perditer Okyere, GKA Treasurer and with Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, told the Ghana News Agency in Accra said the exercise was to educate the public about the disease and create awareness for its prevention.

She said the country’s kidney failure, forms about 35-40 per cent of all medical admissions at hospitals, most patients with ages between 25-45 years.

Dr Okyere said for every 10 admissions to a hospital emergency ward, four of the admission cases have kidney related conditions, and that significant portion of patients, have been diagnosed with kidney disease in the country.

“When a person is diagnosed with chronic kidney or renal failure due to damage or disease to the kidney, dialysis is used to remove waste and unwanted water from the blood of the patient whose kidneys are not functioning adequately,” she added.

She explained that dialysis could allow individuals to live productive and useful lives for many years provided adequate treatment, regulated diet and medications are available, affordable and applied.

Dr Okyere said due to expensive treatment cost, and poor coverage of national dialysis centres, less than 20 per cent of these patients received haemodialysis treatment, whilst the rest manage conservatively and some end up losing their lives.

She urged government to set up regional dialysis unit and reduced the cost of dialysis since it was expensive and most patients cannot afford it.

Dr Okyere urged the public to exercise regularly to keep the body fit and do regular check-up to detect any complications and find treatment to them.

Mr Ekow Hayford, Member of Parliament for Mfantsiman in the Central Region commended the organisers for the exercise and recommended that the gesture be replicated across the country and in the informal sector.

He believed there should be a seed fund to support patients suffering from kidney related diseases since the treatment was expensive.

Source: GNA