21 Mar 2018

Sometimes in 2012, Ms Kelebetse Megale’s health started to drastically deteriorate.

She was a hypertension patient and was religiously taking medication, hence the new health scare would lead her to many unanswered question.

“I was on and off the hospital, I could not perform my duties at work efficiently,” said Ms Megale who is a secondary school teacher.

And when the doctor’s results came out to show that she had a kidney failure, she was utterly shocked, felt defeated and overwhelmed.

Subsequently she had to be transferred to Gaborone to be closer to the health facilities, a decision she had to take solely due to her condition.

In fact, years later, Ms Megale was elated to be transferred to Kgagodi Junior Secondary School, moving her closer to her home village of Moshopha the in Tswapong area.

She would now be able to attend other family engagements.

Alas, that was not the case, with inadequate health facilities to support her new condition in the area, going back to the city was not an option, and it was a matter of life and death.

Thisproved to be the painful reality that many of those in need of renal care have to go though as they can only do kidney dialysis in Gaborone and Francistown.

Attesting to that is the deputy chairperson of Botswana Kidney Society, Mr Radinakedi Moyo, who stated that much of the treatment was centered in Gaborone and Francistown, which comes with costs for patients.

As many of their patients have to travel to Gaborone or Francistown for dialysis, he added that where the government failed, the society had to take over footing the bills.

“Our quality of life has improved a lot, the government is paying our bills,” added Mr Moyo.

He said the association survived through raising funds to assist members where possible with transport, accommodation and food.

At times the society had to rent a house for its clients, especially when they have to do frequent dialysis, which could be done twice a month.

A nurse from Sedilega Private Hospital, Ms Lesego Kalantle stated that the kidney disease can be controlled and patients can live normal lives.

She regretted that Botswana has not yet invested much on renal care, mainly because it used to rely on neighbouring countries.

Ms Kalantle said while kidney disease cases increase, the medical personnel in the field do not increase, hence the need for more personnel.

According to the Renal Care Institute (RCI), medical officer, Dr Ogaufi Didimalang, kidney disease can affect anyone, yet there are factors which put some at a higher risk of contracting the disease, giving examples of condition such as hypertension, HIV/AIDS and sugar diabetes.

Dr Didimalang further stated that there was need for people to adopt healthy lifestyles and also adhere to doctors’ advice to reduce the chances of contracting the disease.

As for Ms Megale, she believes her hypertension condition contributed to her problem.

“After dialysis, I am just like any other person, I can perform all duties that any women can perform,” she attested.

Research has shown that about 10 per cent of the population worldwide is affected by chronic kidney disease and millions die each year because they do not have access to affordable treatment.

It has also shown that about 20 per cent of the adult population in developing countries have what is termed mild or moderate kidney disease.

In its early stages, proper diet and medications may help the patients to live a normal life, yet that would not be functional once the kidney is severely damaged.

Chronic kidney disease is a condition whereby the kidneys are damaged and cannot filter blood, hence excess fluids and waste from the blood remain in the body and cause health problems.

Kidney disease is one of the non-communicable diseases that are proving to be a headache for many countries, and of recent, the Ministry of Health changed its name to Ministry of Health and Wellness in order to also put emphasis of prevention rather than cure.

There has also been calls from various stakeholders for physical activities to help reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.

Public officers are at least allowed to have physical activities during working hours through wellness days, which can include health awareness and screening at least once a month as a response. ENDS