In a significant healthcare initiative, the administration led by Governor Mai Mala Buni in Yobe State has provided over 50,000 free dialysis sessions for kidney failure patients over the past seven years.
Dr. Baba Goni, Chief Medical Director of Yobe Teaching Hospital in Damaturu, shared this achievement during a press briefing while showcasing the newly completed Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Care Complex. He noted that the hospital administers over 600 free dialysis sessions each month.
Each dialysis session, which costs the state government approximately N50,000 due to the high cost of consumables, is part of a broader effort to address the high incidence of kidney failure in the region, particularly among communities near the River Yobe.
Governor Buni’s administration has notably doubled the standing payment for hemodialysis, aiming to alleviate the financial burden on patients, most of whom come from low-income backgrounds.
Additionally, the state provides free vascular access operations, an essential preliminary process for dialysis, which typically costs between N100,000 and N150,000.
In 2023, both Dr. Goni and Governor Buni traveled to the United Kingdom to consult with global experts to investigate the causes of the high prevalence of kidney failure in Yobe. “We have already done preliminary work and identified hot spots in several local governments in the northern parts of the state.
Soon, we will conduct a population-based survey in these hot spots, analyzing blood samples, soil, and water for potential toxins affecting kidney health,” Goni stated.
Yobe State has also partnered with Mansoura University in Egypt, a leading urology and nephrology center, to train local doctors in kidney transplantation.
Conducting kidney transplants locally is projected to be significantly more cost-effective than overseas procedures, which can exceed N20 million.
Dr. Goni highlighted the completion of the 400-bed capacity maternal, newborn, and child healthcare complex, a project initiated by the Buni administration in 2020 at the cost of N1.6 billion.
This facility, the largest of its kind in the Northeast, aims to reduce under-five mortality rates exacerbated by the mass departure of health personnel due to long-standing insurgency.
The state-of-the-art complex is designed to enhance service delivery, train healthcare professionals, and conduct research on regional health challenges.
Dr. Goni expressed confidence that the facility would significantly improve healthcare outcomes in Yobe, addressing critical needs in maternal and child health.
