‘No one pays attention to kidney disease’

On World Kidney Day, SIUT head says observing the day alone is not enough to help patients

KARACHI: At least 36,000 patients with renal failure are treated each month at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation's (SIUT’s) five facilities located in Karachi, Sukkur and Larkana.

"No one [including the government] is making efforts for public service," claimed SIUT Director Dr Adibul Hasan Rizvi.

To encourage awareness of renal health on World Kidney Day, SIUT organised free tests, medical consultations and public awareness sessions, under the theme 'Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere,' at Dewan Farooq Medical Centre on Thursday.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr Rizvi stated that 72 per cent of the country’s population was living below the poverty line, while the prices of commodities were rising. He claimed that little attention was being paid to how these price hikes were affecting people who are unable to fulfil their daily requirements.

"The health [sector] is the most neglected," he maintained, adding that the stakeholders within society needed to actively play their due role in helping people.

Speaking about the impact of World Kidney Day, Dr Rizvi maintained that the day itself was not enough to call attention to the hundreds of people that are dying of renal disease. He added that despite yearly awareness sessions, the kind of impact that is required to bring about sustainable change has not occurred. "There is no collaboration from the media," he criticised. He further maintained that even though around 1,200 patients receive dialysis at SIUT daily, the facility's contribution was a mere drop in the ocean.

Meanwhile, SIUT chief nephrologist Professor Fazal Akhtar, talking to The Express Tribune, said, "Chronic kidney disease is now even increasing in youth," adding that patients with renal failure were mostly being identified in areas where health facilities were available, leading to rural populations being neglected.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2020.