Rwanda: 4,8% of Rwandans have kidney disease

The National Center for Health, RBC, says that 10% of Rwandans may have severe kidney disease, while about 40% have kidney disease that can be treated and cured.
This was announced when the number of kidney patients in Rwanda continues to increase, especially among young people, where Rwandans between 40 and 50 years of age are more likely to be affected by this disease.
King Faisal Hospital started providing kidney surgery services in May 2023, and they have already treated 24 people.

Dr Nyenyeri Lieve Darlene, a kidney doctor at the King Faisal Hospital, urges people to avoid kidney disease, because their treatment is very expensive.
She says that the cost of filtering blood using a dedicated machine is between 94,000Frw and 150,000Frw for four hours a day, and the patient is treated 3 times a week, so this making it difficult for anyone to afford it.

Niyonsenga Jean Pierre, Director of the Department of Renal Medicine at RBC, says that the reason for this disease is that it is now affecting younger people than usual.

“This is a problem that I would say is serious because it’s happening in younger people and it used to happen in adults in their 70s.” Niyonsenga Jean Pierre said.
Niyonsenga Jean Pierre continued to say that people with kidney disease have reached a high level that cannot be treated and are recovering more than 1000 in the whole country.

This happened at a time when some Rwandans still have the feeling that a person who donates a kidney cannot live fully. Some say that a boy or a girl who donates a kidney will not have children, but health experts say that a person can live with one kidney for the rest of his life without any problems.

The National Center for Health, RBC, urges people to avoid non-communicable diseases including high blood pressure, diabetes and others because they are also the cause of kidney disease.

By: Uwamaliya florence