DYING SLOWLY: Patients with Kidney Problems Can’t Pay Their Bills

Razak, a kidney failure patient undergoes dialysis at Korle Bu

By Duke Nii  Amartey Tagoe

Hundreds, if not thousands of people with varying degrees of kidney diseases are dying slowly because they cannot afford health care.

Some of the patients need as much as Ghc 570.00 every week for dialysis alone.

A patient who spoke to “The Insight” at the Renal Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, said he spends more than Ghc 800.00 every week just to stay alive.

Currently, it costs Ghc 190.00 to undergo one session of dialysis and many patients have to do it three times a week.

Ex- Sergeant Daniel Kotey of the fourth battalion of the Ghana Armed Forces who has been undergoing three sessions of dialysis a week for more than 10 years, says all his resources have been depleted.

“My pension is gone, I have sold my land and many other things and now I have nothing. I don’t even know how I am going to pay for my next session” he said.

The case of Razak is most troubling.

He first noticed that he was losing weight very fast.

He was treated for malaria and later typhoid, but his situation continued to get worse.

Razak was later referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where, to his utter shock, doctors asked him to make a down payment of Ghc 7000.00 in order to undergo a mandatory thirty nine sessions of dialysis.

He claims that by this time he was already financially exhausted because he had spent all his money on laboratory tests and drugs.

Interestingly, a National Kidney Fund set up to assist patients now has to discriminate because it does not have enough resources for everybody.

A nurse who spoke to The Insight, said the fund is now used to support mostly very young people with severe and life threatening conditions.

She also claimed that what patients pay is only part of the cost of dialysis and that the hospital provides a subsidy.

  

The Renal Unit currently conducts a little over seventy dialysis every day, but the machines are not many, there are only eighteen of them.

For this reason, in order to receive early treatment, patients have to set off to the hospital very early in the morning and in a few instances ruffians and some robbers have attacked the patients and robbed them of their money.

But ex. Sergeant Kotey’s case is a pathetic and a particularly sad story. A few years ago when he started his dialysis, he sold a few plots of land he had acquired once in active service, but having run out of cash, he has to sometimes walk from Osu to Korle Bu with his clutches fixed under his armpit.

Like other patients at the Renal Unit who spoke to this reporter, Ex. Sgt. Kotey needs the support of well wishers and sympathizers in cash and in kind, especially in cash.

Doctors have attributed the primary cause of kidney failures to infections of the kidney through diabetes and hypertension. These two conditions have been found to easily infect the kidneys leading first to acute cases and then an aggravation to chronic situations when treatment is delayed.

Urea and creatinine are natural waste products, but they can cause the kidney to fail when they accumulate in the body at unreasonably high levels.

Potassium is a very good nutrient needed by the body for regular heartbeat and a healthy heart, but over concentration of this nutrient in the blood streams can also lead to kidney failures and so with calcium and phosphate.

Essentially, there are two kidneys in every human body and connect to the bladder by a tube called the ureter. The function of the kidney is to collect natural waste from the blood, which gathers in the bladder as urine and must be expelled very quickly from the body. 

Failure to rid the system of this toxic waste can be injurious to the bladder and the kidneys.

The kidneys also control blood pressure and help to make red blood cells.

Generally, your kidneys can fail due to problems that occur within or without of them.

High blood pressure, poor blood supply, obstructed outflow of  blood due to stones in the valves or prostate, diabetes and hypertension are external problems that can impact adversely on your kidneys.

What is most frightening about kidney failures are that symptoms only manifest when about 70% of the kidneys have been destroyed and the damage is usually irreversible in chronic cases.

Doctors recommend regular blood tests to determine how well the kidneys are working.

One doctor said: “ we have noticed that because kidney failures occur gradually, it starts with general tiredness, loss of appetite and persistent headaches and that is why it has become necessary that once you find these symptoms occurring very often you take immediate steps to find out the cause and we suggest that you test your blood.”

Editorial

ANOTHER APPROACH TO THE FULANI ISSUE

Clashes between settler farmers and nomadic herdsmen have become a seasonal problem in Ghana.

Most people simply blame Fulani herdsmen as a cause for the clashes.

Yet the issue is more complex and there are workable and simpler solutions available.
This point was made by a legal practitioner,  Mr. Yaw Opoku at a brief presentation recently.
One important point that most people gloss over is that movement of people in order to escape unfavorable seasons and changes in weather patterns have been with the human race as long as anyone can remember.

Another point is that increases in population in themselves would put pressure on land. In the Ghanaian context, this has meant land sometimes hired out to herdsmen may no longer be available as people seek more land for farming.

Yet with modernization of agriculture in many parts of the world, we can find available methods for feeding cattle without needing so much land.

For example, cattle feed can be made to last all year long so that herdsmen would not have to roam about for feed.

This was done in parts of the country in the first republic; enabling the country to have a home based milk production capacity. Luckily for the country some of these farms plus animal research farms of some of our academic institutions still survive.

So, in seeking to resolve the Fulani issue, we can actually arrive at solutions that benefit everyone and propel the economy forward.

ARTISTS CELEBRATE NKRUMAH AND INDEPENDENCE DAY

By Duke Nii Amartey Tagoe

Graf Art Ghana, a movement of visual artists from across the country have held an exhibition of colourful paintings of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and other participants in the nationalist struggle for independence on the Osu Oxford Street in Accra.

Seth Dei Tutu, organizer of the event and a fine artist himself believes that painting is an efficient tool for communication and can be a tool for social change.

According to him, whilst there might be elements like Nii Kwanena Bone and some others who participated very actively in the struggle to emancipate the Gold Coast from the grip of British colonialism, it took the masterful skill of Kwame Nkrumah to turn the agitations into something meaningful leading to Ghana’s political independence.

Perpetual Agyei, an independence day celebrant who was attracted to the scene of the exhibition expressed excitement at the paintings of Nkrumah and promised to learn painting by herself.

“I haven’t seen something like this in Accra before and the guys are just wonderful. I am also happy to see many young women also doing some painting here and I am encouraged to give it a try. This is just amazing!” she said.

More paintings from the event can be found below:

DRONE ATTACK IN ACCRA -Causes Severe Injuries

In the image is Issah Salifu and one of the drones in operation in Ghana

By Duke Nii Amartey Tagoe

A “drone” has attacked and caused severe injuries to 28 years old Issah Salifu, a bartender at the Asabea Spot at Kokomlemle in Accra.

The accident occurred Sunday afternoon on the Hearts Lane adjacent the Old Press Centre in what eyewitnesses described as a frightening incident.

According to Issah, he was walking on the Hearts Lane when he was struck heavily at the back by what he called a “small helicopter”. He fell to the ground and swellings started forming around his face and the limbs.

Issah was immediately rushed to the Cocoa Clinic at Kaneshie but was later referred to the Korle Bu Teaching hospital where doctors subjected him to bouts of injections and a prescription of what he described as expensive medicines.

The owner of the drone whose name has only been given as ‘Sam’ is alleged to have told neighbors around the Hearts Lane, that he is a staff of the Brazilian construction company Queiroz Galvao currently constructing the magnificent overpass at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.

According to ‘Sam’ he was mandated by the company to put the drone in flight to take pictures of the overpass at a certain distance in the sky, but lost control of the drone a few minutes after it went into flight.

Doctors also prescribed Naklofen duo 75 mg, Salicyclic Acid Ointment and Rubaxin Tablets for Issah.

Naklofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with analgesic and antipyretic action. It is used for the treatment of all rheumatic diseases and for the alleviation of different types of pain and other pain syndromes in injuries and after other surgical procedures in the kidneys.

“Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I feel a very sharp pain in the area around my backbone and I have difficulties standing for long hours. I hope that my pain will go away after I complete my medication” Issah told this reporter.

A drone is a small aircraft piloted by computers on board or by remote controls on the ground. They are often used for military purposes because they don't put a pilot's life at risk in combat zones. However, with the advancement of technology, drones can now be produced for commercial use.

In North America and in other parts of Europe, where there is the increasing use of the drone, there are guidelines that demand that drones must stay less than 400 feet above the ground and steering a drone over someone's house could be considered a trespassing violation.

A drone can also be used for wide ranging activities including espionage and other activities.  In Ghana, it is beginning to manifest that there isn’t any special regulation for the use of the drone in spite of an upsurge in the use of the unmanned aerial vehicle. A lot more must be done to put in place the necessary legal framework that governs the use of such aerial vehicles to check against abuse.

Editorial

Very Strange

Many strange things are happening in Ghana and sometimes one wonders if they are not being deliberately orchestrated to embarrass the Mahama administration.

On Wednesday, March 2, 2016 the “Ghanaian Times” reported that a Ghana government delegation is being dispatched to the Crans Montana Forum in Dakhla, Morocco.

The report claimed that the forum is being held under the patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco and that it “is in line with Morroco’s commitment towards promoting regional integration through effective socioeconomic co-operation among African States”.

The declared aim of the Forum must be very strange indeed, considering the fact that Morocco has withdrawn from the African Union.

How can   a country which refuses to participate in the work of the African Union be interested in the integration of African States?

 More importantly, Dakhla is in occupied Western Sahara which Ghana has recognised as a state and has accorded it full diplomatic status.

What will the presence of a Ghana government delegation at such a forum mean? Wouldn’t it undermine Ghana’s commitment to the principle of self-determination for the people of Western Sahara?

In any case all major international organisations, including the African Union have protested against the hosting of the Forum in Dakhla.

Ghana ought to be consistent and end all the strange happenings which portray the country in very bad light

NURSES CRY OUT

The leadership of the unemployed privately trained nurses at The Insight

By Duke Nii Amartey Tagoe

A decision by the National Health Service to short list only trained nurses from public institutions for employment has incurred the wrath of the Coalition of Unemployed Privately Trained Nurses and the membership of the Ghana Association of Health Training Institutions.

The trained nurses say they feel “cheated” and “discriminated” against!

John Nketsiah, one of the embittered nurses explained that the Ministry of Health recognizes that there are a number of accredited private health institutions which offer training in various fields of health care with very high standards and therefore considers it as unfortunate for the Ministry of Health to deprive them of employment after their many years of training.

The leadership of the over two thousand (2000) graduate nurses who stormed the offices of The Insight Newspaper also expressed outrage at the decision of the government to employ Junior High and Senior High students to serve as community health workers.

“We are shocked to learn that in spite of their awareness about our predicament, the government of Ghana through the Youth Employment Agency of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service are recruiting JHS and SHS leavers to be trained and employed as community health workers.”

According to the graduate nurses, it beats their imagination that accreditation for training would-be-nurses are granted to qualified institutions to train nurses and upon graduation, they are refused employment merely on the basis that they were trained by a private health institution.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the over two thousand nurses have served notice to picket the Independence Square ahead of the Independence Day celebrations.

Editorial

Going Behind Good Policies

Ghana has been almost meticulous in signing good international social protection accords.

Over the years we have also adopted national policies and laws to back these.

But every now and then we come across reports that reveal that significant sections of the population are living in situations terribly worse than the minimum demanded by national policies and laws.

One such policy is the Free Maternal Health Programme, which is supposed to let pregnant women deliver in a healthy stress-free environment. A Survey of the reality, however, shows that the most vulnerable women are unable to access the services that have supposedly been tailored for them.

A number of them simply end up among the grim statistics of maternal health fatalities.

We have also come across reports that show that for significant sections of school-going age population, accessing school is a very difficult task because of duties expected of them on a daily basis. It is easy to say they should not be subjected to such arduous labour at such early ages, but the parents and guardians rarely see a choice in the matter as the labour of the children form an integral part of the family’s income.

A lot of people are aware of these facts, but appear helpless to address them.

The good news is that we have countries which have also shown that such issues can be addressed.

This is why we believe that it is not enough to lay down beautiful policies, but we should also endeavor to pursue the policies to ensure the achievement of the ultimate goals by tackling the hidden factors which make it difficult for good policies to be implemented.

DRONES IN GHANA?

A drone in operation at the Trade Fair Centre at La.

Duke Nii Amartey Tagoe

An unmanned aerial vehicle popularly called a “drone” is in deployment in Ghana for what some say is for civilian purposes.

A drone is a small aircraft piloted by computers on board or by remote controls on the ground. They are often used for military purposes because they don't put a pilot's life at risk in combat zones. However, with the advancement of technology, drones can now be produced for commercial use.

Whilst others hail the presence of a drone in Ghana as a technological breakthrough, several others have condemned the use of the aerial vehicle as a violation of the aviation laws of Ghana.

According to them, because of the wide ranging activities that can be undertaken by the help of the drone, laws must be put in place to guide their use.
 

In the United States of America, for instance, Federal Aviation Authority guidelines demand that drones and other model aircraft must stay less than 400 feet above the ground and not within 3 miles of an airport.

Steering a drone over someone's house and property could be considered a trespassing violation.

A drone was recently found in the skies of the Trade Fair Centre at La, taking pictures and videos of the official handover of some sanitation equipment from the Zoomlion Company Limited to the government of Ghana.

The event was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, members of the Ghanaian opposition, sanitation operatives and some traditional leaders.

In Europe and in some parts of North America, drones are deployed for live telecast of football matches, for shooting videos and for other domestic and civilian purposes.

However, the drone has also been used to commit some atrocious crimes and brutalities never seen before in human history.

In the Zionist state of Israel, the secret service, Mossad, employs the drone as a weapon in the slaughter of Palestinian women and children.

In Saudi Arabia, the drone is used to spy on critics of government and to muscle down popular protest against the dictatorship.

In Afghanistan, Pakistan and in Iraq, civilian populations in their thousands has been killed by the drone in the US led war against terrorism. This war has only brought more misery to the Middle East and made it in many places unfit for human habitation.

On an even more serious note, campaigners against narcotic drugs are worried and disgusted at the insurmountable evidence that suggests an increase in the number of opium farms across Afghanistan in spite of the use of the drone in the monitoring of these activities. Currently, Afghanistan leads in the cultivation, processing and in the trade of opium across the world.

In the United States of America, the Bush and Obama administrations are facing legal tussles in court over the deployment of drones for unapproved surveillance of civilians in unjustifiable violation of the privacy of many citizens.

Whilst the drone can be considered to have become a part of technological advancement in human life, it must be deemed appropriate that a legal framework that govern the use of such aerial vehicles are put in place to check against abuse.

Drones in Ghana, how interesting?

Editorial

IVOR’S  MAGIC

The magic of Ivor Greenstreet, the newly elected Presidential candidate of the Conventions Peoples Party (CPP) is beginning to shine in many ways.

Somehow Ivor has managed to dominate the front pages and the airwaves for more than one week.

On a trip to Akropong last week Wednesday, Ivor was virtually mobbed by young persons who are inspired by him.

Within the CPP itself, many old guards who felt neglected and abandoned are already feeling welcomed and have begun organizing.

 From all indications the magic of Ivor Greenstreet is working and hopefully the CPP will do far better in the 2016 elections than it was done in previous years.

Viva Ivor!