Late presentation to health facilities and the inability of medics to pick the kidney diseases early enough are the leading contributors of children renal fatalities according to the Ministry of Health.
Dr Doris Kinuthia, a pediatric nephrologist and a lecturer at East Africa Kidney institute says although children are a vulnerable group, diagnosis of renal diseases often comes very late when the disease has advanced.
“When a child presents to the hospital the first thing that the nurse and the clinical officer because they are the gate openers would think about is pneumonia, malnutrition and diarrhoea,” Kinuthia says.
Statistics shows that children residing in low –income countries were like Kenya are at a higher risk of developing kidney diseases.
She said that the ongoing drought has worsened children fatalities as many are already succumbing not only to the drought but also to other diseases such as diarrhoea and acute kidney injury due to their vulnerability.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows approximately 1.8 million people in the country are suffering from chronic kidney disease.
Risk factors for pediatric kidney disease are common in Africa, but data regarding its prevalence are lacking.
Kidney disease simply means kidneys are damaged and can’t filter blood the way they should.
People who are at a greater risk for kidney disease are those who have diabetes or high blood pressure.
Kidney failure treatments include kidney transplant or dialysis.
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