Nigerian Government Slashes Kidney Dialysis Costs by 80% in Nationwide Healthcare Initiative
In a way to improve healthcare accessibility, President Bola Tinubu has implemented a major subsidy program for kidney dialysis treatments across Nigeria, reducing patient costs from N50,000 to N12,000 per session.
The initiative, which represents an 80% reduction in treatment costs, is being rolled out across federal medical institutions spanning all six geopolitical zones of the country.
“Patients used to find it difficult to afford it; even if you tell them the amount, they have to go back and sell something before they can afford to come for dialysis. Some even prefer to stay at home since they cannot afford it,” explained Hammatu Haruna, manager of the renal centre at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi, where the program was first launched in January.
The subsidy program is now operational at multiple prominent healthcare facilities including:
Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Ebute-Metta, Lagos, Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Jabi, Abuja, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Azare University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH)Benin, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar
According to Haruna, the program has already shown promising results. Since its launch on January 8, 35 patients have benefited from the subsidized treatment at the Bauchi teaching hospital alone.
“They are paying only N12,000, and our patients are very happy with this initiative, and we have seen improvement, remarkably in patients’ condition,” she noted.
The Federal Ministry of Health has reportedly provided substantial resources to ensure the program’s success, including new dialysis machines and over 900 dialysers at the Bauchi facility.
The subsidy program comes at a critical time, as Nigeria has recently seen a concerning increase in kidney failure cases. In February, the Yobe state government deployed 50 health experts to investigate the root causes of a spike in kidney failure in certain regions.
The investigative team, led by Mahmud Maina, director of the Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre at Yobe State University, includes neurology consultants, laboratory scientists, nephrologists, geologists, chemists, echo toxicologists, and international collaborators from the UK, US, and Ghana.
