C T Online Desk: The treatment of kidney disease in Bangladesh is still insufficient putting the rising number of renal patients in a fix.
There are a total of 2,000 dialysis machines in the country, of which 90 per cent were alone based in Dhaka and some in divisional cities.
According to Kidney Awareness Monitoring and Prevention Society, for lack of treatment and late detection, some 120 patients die of kidney disease daily.
Amid such a situation, the country will observe the World Kidney Day today with the theme ‘Kidney Health for All – preparing for the unexpected, supporting the vulnerable!’
Public health campaigners said that patients had to buy expensive treatment from private dialysis centres since the government services accounted for just a mere 10 per cent of total demand.
In private facilities, dialysis charge ranges between Tk 3,000 and Tk 5,500 per session while the National Institute of Kidney Disease and Urology charge Tk 520, they observed.
A significant number of charitable organisations including Gonoshasthaya Kendra provide subsidies to kidney dialysis for the poor charging only Tk 500.
Kidney Awareness Monitoring and Prevention Society president MA Samad says that due to high treatment cost, 40 per cent people stop kidney dialysis after doing it so for three to four months.
Against such a huge demand, the number of dialysis centres across the country is very little, observed Samad.
There is, however, no nationwide study on the number of kidney patients, but citing some sample studies, he said that over two crore people suffered from kidney diseases and some 30,000 people died due to kidney dysfunctions annually.
In 2020, Executive Committee of the National Economic Council approved a project worth Tk 255 crore to set up a 50-bed kidney dialysis centre in all medical college hospitals and a 10-bed dialysis centre in district hospitals by 2022.
The project aimed to provide advanced treatment for rural patients, but is yet to be completed within the timeframe.
Project director and National Institute of Kidney Disease and Urology director Md Babrul Alam said that dialysis centres would be set up in the new buildings under the project.
‘We want to primarily complete eight dialysis centres in medical colleges and 15 in district hospitals by this financial year and then setting up dialysis centres would continue,’ he added.
Babrul hinted that the cost of the project would increase due to devaluation of money and price hike of materials.
The physician mentioned that there were a total of 71 dialysis machines in the National Institute of Kidney Disease and Urology that could serve some 200 people in a day which was very nominal compared to the daily demand.
‘Under the ongoing project some 1,500 more machines will be introduced to make treatment available in districts too,’ he said.
According to non-communicable disease researcher and Kidney Foundation physician Sheikh Moinul Khokon, treatment was not the solution of non-communicable diseases like kidney, heart, cancer and the like.
Referring to a study of the Kidney Foundation, he said that treatments of non-communicable diseases were expensive, and currently, 30 per cent people could afford treatment, which was half a couple of years back.
‘Instead of building huge treatment facilities, the government should ensure early diagnosis and strengthen preventive measures,’ he suggested.
Moinul explained that if the disease could be detected at early stage, people could recover soon by expending a minimum amount of money.
He urged the government to start immediate screening to find kidney patients, build awareness and impose strong preventive measures, including stopping food adulteration and smoking, and encourage healthy lifestyle.
Physicians say that diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease also contribute to the growing number of kidney patients in Bangladesh.
According to public health rights activists, kidney treatment is one of the most expensive treatments as patients have to go for dialysis twice or thrice a week until death along with other drugs.
They demanded insurance for renal patients and government subsidy.
Physicians advise all to walk 30 to 40 minutes every day along with physical exercise, take nutritious food, abstain from taking extra salt, sugar and cold drinks, cut smoking and drink two to three litres of water every day.
They said that there were no remarkable symptoms of kidney diseases at early stages but people must visit doctors immediately if they lost appetite and felt nausea, weakness, frequent pee with pain and other urinal problems.
Nephrologist MA Samad said that anyone could suffer from kidney diseases but people aged over 50 ran the risk as their kidneys started decaying.
One of four persons aged over 60 have been suffering from kidney disease but many are unaware about it; regular physical exercise can reduce half the total kidney cases, he pointed out.
Kidney disease is called multipliers that lead to death risks for heart patients and diabetics among others.
The physician estimated that there were some 300 nephrologists in the country and inadequate support staff to conduct dialysis.
According to the latest World Health Organisation data, kidney diseases caused 16,948 deaths in Bangladesh in 2018, which was 2.18 per cent of total deaths in the year.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics survey found that 28,017 people had died from kidney disease in 2020.
