Battling Chronic Kidney Disease in Ghana

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• DAVE 12 years ago

  Alex, thanks for this article. Let's have your email address.

  Alex, thanks for this article. Let's have your email address.

  reply
• niino 12 years ago

  i think we have a long way to go about every thing about our health systerm in ghana i think we depend too much on govenment.i think what could save our systerm could be i said could be,bcos other countries have tried and it ...
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  i think we have a long way to go about every thing about our health systerm in ghana i think we depend too much on govenment.i think what could save our systerm could be i said could be,bcos other countries have tried and it had worked,donations from public and other countries this is my thinking some countries have tried it and it worked why the hosipitels dont try it?

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• Akadu Mensema 12 years ago

  Great! Woyome's money could have bought "A basic dialysis machine costs about $20,000."

  Great! Woyome's money could have bought "A basic dialysis machine costs about $20,000."

  reply
• Mazzuri 12 years ago

  I second to that.

  I second to that.

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• truth 12 years ago

  WE need more of such enlightening and educative articles. Very educative

  WE need more of such enlightening and educative articles. Very educative

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• Kobena 12 years ago

  Good piece,
  These are the kinds of issues that politicians must be forced to discuss not only at election but at town hall meetings in between elections. If the millions that are dished out to crooks or used to treat corrupt ...
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  Good piece,
  These are the kinds of issues that politicians must be forced to discuss not only at election but at town hall meetings in between elections. If the millions that are dished out to crooks or used to treat corrupt and unproductive politicians and their cronies in foreign hospitals are marshalled to improve health care locally, we wouldn't have the frustrations that our doctors and others in health delivery face.
  
  I am not sure who has been propagating the joke that Ghana is a middle income country, but any country that has no answers to the issues that Alex has raised here can surely not be counted as middle income.
  Cry the beloved country!

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• JUSTICE 12 years ago

  We waste our time doing politics on airwaves 24hours seven days a weeks than thinking about all these disesses. Kidney, lungs, and other internal organs. It is sad that Governments don`t take health issues seriously. for them ...
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  We waste our time doing politics on airwaves 24hours seven days a weeks than thinking about all these disesses. Kidney, lungs, and other internal organs. It is sad that Governments don`t take health issues seriously. for them they can go outside for treatments but what about you and I? the Government can easly purchace those kidney and other equipments but they don`t do that. Governments have come and gone, but our health and hospitals issues are not on thier agenda. People are dying unecessary for not getting proper care, that is not fair. It is very sad. Corruption everywhere.

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• SAM 12 years ago

  The article is a bold attempt to draw our attention to a bigger problem that has lingered on for years.Kudos!!!!!!
  The solution is not only about pouring money to fix it but trying to find out why it is as it is otherwise w ...
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  The article is a bold attempt to draw our attention to a bigger problem that has lingered on for years.Kudos!!!!!!
  The solution is not only about pouring money to fix it but trying to find out why it is as it is otherwise we will only be pouring money into a drain.
  As a student, I witnessed how the Okomfo Anokye teaching hospital attempted to establish a dialysis unit and how it failed miserably because in my view the attitude and style of administration was wrong. Our administrators finds it very difficult to accept new ideas especially when it is coming from Ghanaians trained outside and this is exactly the opposite when it comes to the Asians and that is why they are doing so well now.They actually spend money to get some of their own to go to the western world to learn and transfer technology back home.
  As someone who has actually lived and worked in Ghana before I dare to say those herbal drugs, some blood pressure medications, heart attacks which we do not put emphasis on as well as heart failure are very big contributors.
  Why have we not explored peritoneal dialysis ??? This is used alot in Canada and it gives comparable results and gives patient the freedom of movement. In the USA because health insurance is fee for service , peritoneal dialysis died a natural death because hospitals do not make money if patient do not come to the hospital three times weekly but with a reduction in reimbursement for hemodialysis clinics haves started exploring the option of peritoneal dialysis. In fact I worked in a small town for 2 years in the USA where the nephrologist did more peritoneal dialysis and the outcomes were comparable. Moreover not everybody with end stage renal failure needs to be on dialysis if you review alot of the literature coming out in the last three years on dialysis and prognosis for some terminal diseases,there has been alot of emphasis on quality of life and symptom management since dialysis does not always prolong the life of a patient. So our policy makers and technocrats needs to really delve deeper into the problem.
  
  Paying 300 EUROS a week for dialysis is very expensive can we not do it cheaper with smarter ideas?
  I remember as a student we had abnormally high numbers of children with nephrotic and nephretic syndrome well, the cause was obvious but how do we fix this problem at the community level was actauly never discussed with us very typical of how we as Ghanaians dealt with problems. Prevention better than cure.

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• WHY NOT? 12 years ago

  You keep drinking concoctions, apio, bitters, and all kinds of thing. Why won't you get kidney diseases?

  You keep drinking concoctions, apio, bitters, and all kinds of thing. Why won't you get kidney diseases?

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• don carlos 12 years ago

  thanks Doc. this is very insightful and thought provoking.you've stirred my mind and emotions to the realities of health care with regards to CRF in GH. Unfortunately and shamelessly, the relevant authorities would not even r ...
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  thanks Doc. this is very insightful and thought provoking.you've stirred my mind and emotions to the realities of health care with regards to CRF in GH. Unfortunately and shamelessly, the relevant authorities would not even read your article to elicit any response in them. We are failing in every facet of our national development. Why?. May God judge us all according how our actions and in action covertly or overtly affected humanity. GOD bless you and protect us all.

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