PM says specialised renal service will be launched soon in Nepal

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said specialised renal service will be launched soon in Nepal.

The Prime Minister said this while addressing an awareness morning rally programme organised here today on the occasion of World Kidney Day. He shared that specialists including Prof Dr Divya Singh Shah, the Dean of the Institute of Medicine, were doing homework for starting the specialised renal services.

"Focus should be on two main topics — how we can protect our kidneys from damage and how all the treatment services could be made available within the country itself in case of kidney disease," PM Oli, who himself has had undergone kidney transplantation two times so far, said.

He advised one and all to pay special attention to their diet and avoid taking food that is harmful to the health of the kidneys. "All should take precaution as everyone can suffer from kidney diseases," he cautioned.

The Prime Minister reiterated that the government's goal was to make treatment, primary examination, laboratory and specialist doctors' services available within the country so that a patient will not have to go abroad. In this context, he recalled that he had to go abroad for kidney transplantation for the first time as specialist services were not available in the country.

"Some people took a swipe at me for going abroad for treatment. But the fact is that I did not go abroad because I liked it or because I wanted to spend money abroad. I had gone because specialist renal treatment was not available in the country," he said.

PM Oli urged one and all to live a healthy life and be safe from serious disease as kidney disease. He stressed extensive publicity on this.

The Prime Minister also participated in the morning rally after addressing the function. The morning procession started from Basantapur and returned to the same place after marching through Ratna Park, Asan and Indrachowk.

Senior kidney disease specialist Dr Rishi Kumar Kafle said the kidneys of three thousand people get damaged annually in Nepal. As he said the kidney is damaged due to an unhealthy lifestyle and food. Dr Kafle stressed the need for raising public awareness to prevent kidney disease.

Ten per cent of the world's population is found suffering from kidney disease. There are only two options after the kidney is damaged – kidney transplant and dialysis.

Kidney transplant service is available in Bir Hospital, TU Teaching Hospital, the Human Organ Transplant Centre Bhaktapur, Grande International Hospital, Sumeru Hospital and Nidan Hospital.

The government provides kidney transplant and dialysis service to patients free of cost. It is said 5,000 people undergo dialysis and 2,500 people kidney transplantation annually in Nepal.

Kidney disease is a non-communicable disease (NCD) and currently affects around 850 million people worldwide. One in ten adults has chronic kidney disease (CKD). Being diagnosed with kidney disease can be a huge challenge, both for the patient and those people around them. Its diagnosis and management, particularly in advanced stages of kidney disease, impact severely upon their lives by reducing their, and that of family and friends' ability to participate in everyday activities like work, travel and socialising whilst causing numerous problematic side effects – e.g. fatigue, pain, depression, cognitive impairment, gastrointestinal problems and sleep problems.

The theme of World Kidney Day this year is  "Living Well with Kidney Disease".