Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world in commemorating World Kidney Day last Thursday.
This year’s commemorations ran under the theme ‘living well with kidney disease’ with health experts urging the public to live healthy lifestyles.
Deputy Director Non Communicable Diseases in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr. Justice Mudavanhu, revealed in an interview that the purpose of the global event was to raise awareness among members of the general public.
“We commemorate World Kidney Day to highlight problems related to the disease like hypertension and diabetes which can lead to chronic kidney disease,” he said.
Dr. Mudavanhu highlighted that it was important for people with non-communicable diseases and the elderly to go for regular check-up and screening for kidney disease as they were more vulnerable.
“We also celebrate this day to encourage members of the public to go for screening, especially those living with diabetes and hypertension, those above 60 years of age and those from families with a history of kidney disease,” he added.
The Ministry of Health and Child Care, together with its partners, has over the years stepped up advocacy towards prevention, early detection, treatment and palliative care of the disease.
In addition, the Ministry has scaled up the provision of dialysis around the country by ensuring that the service is available at Central and Provincial Hospitals.
Dr. Mudavanhu implored the public to invest in living healthy life-styles including, control on tobacco smoking, regular physical exercises and eating healthy food, among others.
Globally, 850 million people are estimated to be suffering from kidney related ailments, while cases notably continue to increase.
In Zimbabwe, about two thousand people are reported to be suffering from the disease.
