NGO expresses concern over kidney disease in Yobe
Spotlight for Transparency and Accountability Initiative, an NGO, has expressed concern
over what it describes as the “prevalence of kidney disease affecting people in some parts of Yobe.”
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organisation, Alhaji Modu Mu’azu, expressed the group’s worry at a news conference on Tuesday in Damaturu.
He said the issue of kidney disease in Yobe became frightening and alarming following a recent report by the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR).
He added that the report indicated that not less than 150 residents of Gashua town in Yobe State die of kidney disease yearly.
He added that “according to the report, about 120 to 150 people die of chronic kidney disease in Gashu’a Local Government Area annually.
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“About 20 to 30 people are diagnosed with kidney disease every month.’’
He, therefore, called for quick and drastic measures by the state and the Federal Government to check the trend.
Mu’azu said his organisation had launched a campaign — #ActOnKidneyNow#ResueGashu’a — using a multidimensional approach to support the government in addressing the situation.
He, however, commended the state government for providing free dialysis for indigenes of the state suffering from the disease and urged the government to find the root cause of the problem and put an end to it.
The group CEO further called on people of the state and other stakeholders to participate in the campaign to ensure preventive measures were put in place.
Meanwhile, NAN recalls that following the ICIR report, Anwali Ahmad, Head of Chemical Pathology Unit, Specialist Hospital, Gashau, told the Centre that many residents die of kidney failure because they preserve the foods they eat with chemicals.
Ahmad, whose department tests kidneys and identifies people with the disease, said many farmers in the town use banned herbicides on their crops.
He added that in Gashua, people do year-round farming through the support of the Komadugu River.
