Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Reprieve has come the way of kidney patients in Nigeria as President Ahmed Tinubu has slashed the cost of dialysis by 76% in all federal hospitals across the country.
By this development, the price of a single dialysis session is now about N12,000 instead of N50,000 that it previously cost.
This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala.
Bwala said the move is expected to bring immediate financial relief to thousands of Nigerians battling kidney disease, a condition that often requires multiple treatment sessions per week.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a landmark subsidy to ease the cost of kidney dialysis for Nigerians. With this intervention, the price of each dialysis session has been reduced from ₦50,000 to just ₦12,000, bringing relief to thousands of citizens battling kidney-related diseases,” Bwala said.
According to the statement, the new pricing is already in effect in ten major federal medical centres and teaching hospitals across all six geopolitical zones, including:
- Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Ebute-Metta, Lagos
- Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja
- University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan
- Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri
- University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Maiduguri
- Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta
- Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Lagos
- Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Azare
- University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin
- University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar
Bwala said, “More federal medical centres and teaching hospitals will be added before the end of the year to widen access nationwide.”
He recalled that last year, President Tinubu also approved free cesarean sections (C-sections) for pregnant women in federal hospitals, a bold step aimed at boosting maternal healthcare and reducing preventable maternal deaths.
Bwala reiterated that the measures demonstrate the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda to ensure that Nigerians are not denied healthcare because of cost.
