Uganda starts specialised training for kidney treatment
The chairperson of Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Charles Ayume, and the Director of Mulago Hospital, Dr Rosemary Byanyima, chat with a female patient at the dialysis unit on September 21, 2022. Photo/Tonny Abet
What you need to know:
- Dr Peace Bagasha, a kidney specialist from Kiruddu Hospital, who is leading the training of the technicians, said the graduates would also improve kidney disease prevention campaigns.
The Uganda Kidney Foundation (UKF) has said scientists in the country have started a training programme for qualified medical workers to gain specialised skills in running dialysis centers and promote prevention.
Dr Robert Kalyesubula, the president of UKF, told Monitor on August 25 that this would improve quality of and access to care as the burden of kidney disease rises in the country.
"Before we started training here, we had a few individuals running the dialysis units and the nephrology practice. These were actually trained from outside countries,” Dr Kalyesubula said.
He said the trainees in Uganda will gain practical skills through placement in Kiruddu Hospital, Mulago Hospital, St Francis Hospital Nsambya and BHL dialysis clinic in Kampala.
The trainers said 80 people have so far graduated from the hemodialysis course which started in 2020. They also asked hospitals with dialysis centers to contract or employ the dialysis technicians.
“Having finished the course, they are ready to go to the field to ensure that Ugandans remain healthy and those who are sick have the opportunity to get treated by individuals who are experts,” the president of the Foundation noted.
Dr Peace Bagasha, a kidney specialist from Kiruddu Hospital, who is leading the training of the technicians, said the graduates would also improve kidney disease prevention campaigns.
“We (medical workers/dialysis technicians) need to talk to people about their kidneys because when we reach dialysis, that is the endpoint. We need to prevent,” she said.
“These specialist nurses should remain in the dialysis units and not be moved to other units [as it is the norm] as this will kill their morale. You can’t run a dialysis unit without nurses,” she advised hospital directors.
According to a 2022 report titled ‘Global Dialysis Perspective: Uganda,’ which was published in the scientific journal Kidney360, the prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in the community in Uganda ranges from two percent to seven percent, and up to 15 percent among patients with HIV or hypertension.
