Cameroon: Kidney patients to start obtaining free hemodialysis in hospitals

By Tata Mbunwe

Kidney patients in Cameroon will soon begin obtaining free hemodialysis at hospitals after they have registered with 6,000 francs at the dialysis center, health authorities have revealed.

The measure is one of the free healthcare packages of government’s Universal Health Coverage scheme, whose first phase begins this year.

The Universal Health Coverage package was officially presented to the population of the Southwest Region on Friday, March 31, during the Open Days for Health in the Region.

It is however yet to be officially launched nationwide.

The Southwest Regional Delegate for Public Health, Dr Filbert Eko Eko, said the government is shouldering all the cost of hemodialysis for kidney patients.

As such, they will only pay a registration fee at the Buea Regional Hospital’s hemodialysis center, which is the only in the Region of over 1 million people.

“The State has come now with Universal Health Coverage to permit them just to register. You register with a minimal sum of 6,000 francs as a member of that dialysis center and you have your dialysis, all your sessions, from the day you start it till the day that God decides to take you. These are things that will enter into the Universal Health Coverage phase one that will run from 2023 to 2025,” said Dr Filbert Eko Eko.

The measure comes after series of protests by kidney patients in Buea and other parts of the country over limited services.

In Buea, especially, the dialysis machines have often broken down, leaving patients desperate.

The government, however, did not say whether other Regional hospitals in the Southwest, like those of Limbe and Kumba, will be given hemodialysis centers to reduce congestion on the lone center in Buea.

The Buea dialysis center is the third largest in the country, says the Buea Regional Hospital Director, Dr Martin Mokake.

Despite present limitations in the health sector, Dr Mokake thinks that Universal Health Coverage is a proactive measure.

He believes it will take healthcare to people, firstly, through sensitisation and education, so that people will not be ignorant about how to prevent illnesses and where to seek help when necessary.

Mimi Mefo Info