World Kidney Day today

The ‘World Kidney Day-2020’ is being observed in the country and elsewhere across the globe today (Thursday).

The theme of the day this year is "Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere - from Prevention to Detection an Equitable Access to Care".

The day is being marked in Bangladesh amid holding different programmes in a curtailed manner avoiding mass gathering due to outbreak of coronavirus.
The programmes include rally, discussion and seminar on kidney diseases and its prevention methods.

President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday issued separate messages on the occasion, urging the government, non-governmental organisations and all concerned to work together by carrying out awareness campaign for the prevention and treatment of kidney diseases.

On the occasion, Bangladesh Renal Association (BRA), Kidney Foundation and KAMPS (Kidney Awareness Monitoring and Prevention Society) are jointly observing the day.

Meanwhile, country's leading nephrologists have called for building mass awareness on kidney diseases ahead of World Kidney Day (WKD) as more than 40,000 people are being affected by chronic kidney diseases annually in Bangladesh. "Detection and prevention are the main weapons to fight against the kidney diseases, so we put emphasis on creating mass awareness on it as the patients can detect their kidney problems at early stage to get themselves cure," Professor Dr M Rafiqul Alam, president of Bangladesh Renal Association, said. He was addressing a press conference on Wednesday at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the capital ahead of the World Kidney Day. KAMPS President Prof Dr MA Samad, Kidney Foundation Secretary General Prof Dr Muhibur Rahman, BRA Secretary General Associate Prof Dr KBM Hadiuzzaman, its Vice-Presidents Prof Dr Shamim Ahmed, Prof Dr M Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, BSMMU Nephrology Department Chairman Prof Dr Asia Khanom also spoke on the occasion, among others.

BRA President praised that the government's decision of setting up 50-bed dialysis unit at every government medical college hospital and 10-bed same unit at every district hospital while many kidney patients have been died in the country annually due to high cost of treatment.

Prof Alam said, based on different surveys, it has been found that more than 20 million people in Bangladesh are suffering from different types of kidney diseases from various causes while more than 40,000 are being affected by chronic kidney diseases ended up with full kidney failure. "For the end stage of this renal disease, the only treatment is either kidney transplantation or dialysis," he said, adding that however, due to its high cost, 80 percent people die without treatment. In the international context, he said it has been estimated that around 850 million people worldwide are now suffering from kidney disease from various causes, out of which Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) account for the most. CKD causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year while AKI affects over 13 million people worldwide, of which 1.7 million people are estimated to die annually.

The number of kidney patients has increased alarmingly as two crore people in the country are now somehow suffering from kidney disease, say leading health experts.

According to experts, unhealthy lifestyle and lack of awareness lead to kidney ailment. If we control high blood pressure and diabetics as well as to avoid smoking we will be able to prevent kidney ailments. "Diabetes, HBP, Glumeralo Nephritis, Obstruction in Urine Flow, Enlarged prostate, narrowing urinary track and taking drugs over the counter, smoking, etc are vital reason for kidney diseases", they say.

They say eight golden points are being highlighted today for prevention of kidney disease which are giving physical labour and doing regular exercise, controlling high blood pressure and diabetes, testing blood pressure regularly for controlling hidden HBP, taking hygienic food and keeping weight under control, drinking sufficient water, not taking any drug without doctor's prescription and kidney screening regularly. They say by following the eight golden ways strictly the risk of kidney diseases in people of all ages will be remarkably reduced.

 

Dhaka/Mukul