The Anambra State Post Kidney Transplant Persons Association of Nigeria has joined in commemorating this year’s World Kidney Day, which has as its theme, “Kidney Health for All – Caring for People, Protecting the Planet.”
The association, which concluded the celebration with a thanksgiving service at the Cathedral Church of Saint Faith, Awka, focused on prioritizing prevention, early detection, and timely management of kidney disease, as well as promoting equitable access to transplantation and sustained kidney care.
World Kidney Day is observed annually to raise awareness about kidney health and highlight the risk factors that can lead to chronic kidney disease and other related complications.
Addressing members of the association, the Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Niger and Bishop of the Diocese of Awka, Most Reverend Alexander Ibezim, encouraged them not to lose hope in whatever circumstances they find themselves, but rather to remain focused, live their lives as normally as possible while taking their medications as prescribed, assuring them that God will grant them healing and long life.
The State Chairman of the association, Reverend Canon Victor Ezeibe, said the kidney is a very important organ in the human body, which, if damaged, causes the entire body to cease functioning, and therefore called on everyone to be mindful of what they eat and drink and to live a decent lifestyle in order to keep their kidneys healthy.
Reverend Canon Dr. Ezeibe disclosed that while it is one thing to undergo a transplant, the management and maintenance are very expensive, and called on governments at all levels, churches, non-governmental organizations, and well-meaning individuals to come to their aid, noting that many lives have been lost due to the high cost of drugs, and appealed for their medications to be subsidized and for them to be placed on the same level as HIV and sickle cell patients who receive free medications from the government.
Lending his voice, an eighteen-year-old patient, Mr. Pascal Okoye, lamented the ordeal he went through before undergoing the transplant, advising people to control what they eat, avoid carbonated drinks, eat healthier meals, and also called on well-meaning individuals to support them in accessing drugs and proper nutrition.
