Uhuru singles out dialysis machines, renal units as Jubilee success

The government of Kenya procured 360 dialysis and 48 renal units in the last six years, eight times the number his predecessors had during their administrations, President Uhuru Kenyatta said.

While highlighting the milestones achieved during his two terms on Madaraka Day, Mr Kenyatta said that between 1963 and 1978, the country only had one renal unit and one dialysis machine. 

The late President Daniel Arap Moi added one while retired President Mwai Kibaki added four more renal units, bringing the total to six when Mr Kenyatta’s administration took over, he said.

“Coupled with the NHIF card, this uprated health infrastructure has restored the dignity of families previously condemned to disinherit their children because of disease,” said Mr Kenyatta in Kisumu yesterday. 

He singled out the case of a kidney patient who had to travel 70 Kilometres from Siaya to Kisumu, three times a week, for dialysis, a matter he described as a ‘tragic indignity’. This, he said, was made worse because the patient needed 10 dialysis sessions a month.  

“If one session costs between Sh9,000 and Sh16,000, it means that the patient has to spend between Sh90,000 and Sh160,000 every month. How many subsistence farmers from Siaya can afford that every month for dialysis?” posed Mr Kenyatta.

“This is what poverty of dignity looks like. I am happy to note that the patient from Siaya does not have to travel 70 Kilometres to Kisumu for treatment. There are dialysis machines in Siaya at the sub-county level,” he said.