• A renal unit was established at the Makueni County Referral Hospital in 2018.
• Dr Mohammed Gongo says most patients with end-stage kidney disease are men.
In 2015, Benjamin Ndaka, a retired public health officer, was diagnosed with kidney disease. The diagnosis came as a big shock to him and his family.
Although Ndaka had lived with diabetes for close to 30 years and later developed hypertension, kidney disease was a new complication.
He believes prolonged diabetes coupled with high blood pressure led to the disease.
Before the diagnosis, the retired clinician says his belly started protruding, he passed less urine and his legs became swollen.
“When you have a kidney disease, the belly is never proportional, it protrudes out, and the waist reduces. The signs are glaring and one will notice a difference from any normal person,” Ndaka explains.
With no renal unit in the entire lower eastern region, Ndaka who hails from Kambi Mawe village in the Kathonzweni subcounty, was forced to travel to Nairobi twice a week for dialysis.
"The costs were high. Each session of dialysis cost Sh9,500 excluding drugs and consultation fees. Travel and accommodation costs were also expensive,” he says.
At the time, the National Health Insurance Fund did not cover dialysis services and Ndaka was forced to dig deeper into his pocket to cater for medical expenses.
However, when a renal unit was established at the Makueni County Referral Hospital in 2018, he breathed a sigh of relief. He became the first patient to be admitted to the centre.
"It was a new dawn for me. I became patient 001 and this helped me cut transport and accommodation costs," Ndaka says.
He visits the centre Tuesdays and Fridays for dialysis and only spends Sh100 on transport as all other medical costs are covered by NHIF.
When the press caught up with him at the renal unit on Tuesday during one of the dialysis sessions, he was upbeat and grateful for the facility.
"The facility is very near us and the costs are very minimal," Ndaka adds.
For Erasmus Muteti, the disease has drained his finances and wishes more renal units could be established at the grassroots level.
Muteti from Makindu spends close to Sh2,000 per week on transport whenever he visits the centre for his dialysis sessions.
“I was diagnosed in 2019. How I wish the services were available at the grassroots level to reduce some burdens,” Muteti says.
Muteti and Ndaka are among 18 patients in the county that receive dialysis services at the renal unit.
Dr Mohammed Gongo, a nephrologist at the renal unit, says most patients with end-stage kidney disease are men. He advises them to see a doctor if they exhibit signs related to the disease.
Gongo, however, notes that most people with kidney disease might not show any symptoms but could develop underlying causes of kidney failure.
“Kidney disease alone does not cause a distended belly, but people with kidney problems will have complications such as obesity or fluid accumulation or gaseous distension. An abdominal ultrasound is necessary to determine the problem,” he says.
The nephrologist notes that people above 50 years, particularly those with non-communicable diseases are at a higher risk of getting the disease.
"The disease is linked to NCDs and as people grow old, they start using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for pains which causes further injuries to kidneys,” he explains.
Gongo says out of the 18 patients receiving treatment at the facility, 14 are from Makindu subcounty.
Christine Nduku, a nurse at the unit, says, “Seventy-five per cent of our patients come from the same region which is worrying. The area is very hot. If people don’t drink enough water, it might cause the disease. However, there is a need for scientific research to determine the real cause,”
Health chief officer Dr Patrick Kibwana says the number of patients with kidney disease was on the rise.
He says the devolved unit will create awareness on the need for residents to feed on a balanced diet to prevent the rise of such diseases.
Kibwana says plans are underway to expand the renal unit at the referral hospital.
"The cost of running new renal facilities at the sub-county hospitals is very high,” he says.
Kenya joins the world to mark World Kidney day tomorrow.