Remembering Gomina: Why govt should assist kidney patients

Before Engineer Michael Gomina, 52 died last week Tuesday, he had reached out to the public to assist him with funds to undergo a kidney transplant at the St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, which costs about eight million naira. Daily Trust Health Desk had the interview with him and his wife at Kubwa, Abuja on Monday.  […]

Before Engineer Michael Gomina, 52 died last week Tuesday, he had reached out to the public to assist him with funds to undergo a kidney transplant at the St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, which costs about eight million naira.
Daily Trust Health Desk had the interview with him and his wife at Kubwa, Abuja on Monday.  During the interview which was facilitated by his cousin, Juliet Usman, he explained his financial difficulty doing the transplant and  made a passionate call for assistance. However, the man died in the afternoon the following day, exactly a week today, from complications after a dialysis session at the Wuse District Hospital, Abuja.
Narrating his ordeal to us, Gomina said it all started when he developed high blood pressure and goes for treatment at the Kubwa District Hospital. By the time he went for check up on December 31st last year, he was always dizzy, his packed cell volume (PCV) was very low, 19% , and when all efforts to bring down his blood pressure failed, he was referred to nephrologist, (a kidney doctor) at the Wuse District Hospital where he was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. His two kidney were bad, and he had to commence dialyses.
 “I have done dialysis about 12 times since then, will be going for another one on Tuesday (last week Tuesday),” he said.
According to him, he was initially doing it twice a week, but had to start doing it once a week when he could no longer afford it in spite of support from friends.
“It costs me almost N240,000 naira per month. It has been very difficult. My doctors have recommended that for a better quality of life, and so that I don’t continue dialysis and buying drugs, I should go for a transplant. The cost of the transplant is N8,000, 000 and  they are recommending St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos. I will be very grateful if Nigerians can help me out in this situation because this issue is beyond me, in fact it is even beyond my family,” he said.
For his wife, Paulyn, the experience was hectic  because most times, she had to be with him in the hospital, in addition to taking care of the house, and the kids.
She said: “We really need the assistance of fellow Nigerians. To feed the children is by God’s grace. Sometimes I have to ask for money from relations and other people,  to be able to have food in the house. As it is now, the children have just resumed school. Normally before they resume, we pay their school fees and the bus fee, but this morning, I have to wake up very early to go and drop them.
His case brings to the fore, the struggles and hardships many Nigerians and their  families  go through treating a loved one with kidney disease.
The time for government to set up kidney centres and make the treatment of the disease free  is now. Dialysis, transplant and other treatment fees should be shouldered by government. There are several people suffering from chronic kidney disease in the country, and the government should go beyond assisting  one victim or the other but take full responsibility for all of them.
Aside Gomina, media houses are daily inundated with appeals from kidney patients, soliciting for assistance. Some are orphans, unemployed youths, widows and other vulnerable people.
With government’s support and implementation of Universal Health Coverage, Gomina would have received his full courses of treatment, had his transplant with ease, and possibly be alive today.
Dr Habibu Galandaci, a consultant nephrologist, at the National Hospital said the kidneys are vital organs that are essential for life and once your kidneys are damaged or there is kidney failure, that patient cannot live unless he is treated with renal replacement therapy which is either dialysis or transplant, adding that unfortunately these treatments are very expensive and beyond the reach of most Nigerians.
He said: “So a lot of Nigerians die because they cannot afford these treatments. We have very few transplants at present going on across the country. Again it is not a matter of if we can do it, but if Nigerians can afford it. We have really stepped up the campaign for government to come to the aid of patients with kidney failure in terms of helping with dialysis and transplant, and more importantly for the public  to try and prevent kidney diseases.”
Dr. Kwaifa Salisu , a consultant nephrologist with the Wuse District Hospital, and also the  the doctor who managed Engineer Michael Gomina for three months before his demise,  said treating kidney disease is cost effective, and for the patient to manage it properly, he or she must  undergo dialysis session thrice in a week.
“But most patients cannot afford such due to the economic situation in Nigeria. Mr. Gomina resolved to do one dialysis session in a week which is not good for anyone in that state,” he said.
He said that government has subsidized the cost of dialysis, and it is highly subsidised in Federal Capital Territory (FCT) hospitals compared to other places.
While stating that government should be commended because it is expensive to treat or maintain kidney patients, he said government can do more by including such treatments under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS),
 “Nigeria is still growing but we are pushing to see that kidney care is included in the NHIS so that patients don’t have to bear the cost directly, that is what is obtained in most countries,” he said.