Consultant nephrologist, at Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, Abuja, Ade Faponle, has disclosed on Wednesday that Nigeria has only 250 specialists in the area of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
Faponle revealed this in Ilorin during a paper presentation at the 2022 Scientific Conference and Annual General Meeting of the Association of Resident Doctors, University of Ilorin (ARD-UITH) branch while speaking on: “Kidney Protection: Evolving and Emerging Threats – Call to Action”.
The specialist decried the insufficiency of CKD specialists in the country, adding that they are not enough to man the growing number of people with the disease in the country as reported by News Agency of Nigeria.
However, he rated CKD as the fifth most common cause of death worldwide, leading to a global health crisis
“About 1/8th of the world population have a kidney disorder. One in every five men and one in every four women have CKD,” he said.
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He narrated CKD as a slow and progressive loss of kidney function over several years, adding that eventually, a person may develop kidney failure while he underscored the importance of the kidney as they carry out essential functions of removing toxins and bad products from the body.
“They are considered mighty organs, as they filter blood 40 times a day. No single machine can be that ultra-efficient,” he said.
Faponle hinted that most CKD carriers are not aware that they have it because symptoms do not usually develop in the early stages of the condition and that by the time a person notices symptoms, the condition is at an advanced and irreversible stage
He listed its symptoms as hypertension or high blood pressure, anaemia, oedema or swollen feet, hands and ankles.
The nephrologist, therefore, advised Nigerians to avoid unhealthy foods and consume fresh vegetables while warning against the consumption of different herbal concoctions.
