A Fellow at the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana, Dr Kwame Sarpong Asiedu, has questioned the timing of the upcoming free dialysis treatment program under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to begin December 1.
In an interview on Joy News’ PM Express on Monday, he expressed mixed feelings about the move, calling it “necessary and affordable” but criticising the delay in implementation.
“If you remember from October last year, we discussed this, and I was very categorical that this was affordable and necessary. There was no reason for a delay because a delay would inevitably lead to a loss of lives,” he stated.
While he is pleased to see the policy finally rolling out, he argued that it could and should have been implemented sooner. His remarks come in response to Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s announcement of the initiative aimed at providing all kidney patients covered by NHIS with free dialysis.
Drawing on global standards, Dr. Asiedu questioned why Ghana had taken so long to act when “renal dialysis is typically covered by insurance in most countries.”
He stressed that dialysis costs are too high for individuals to bear on their own.
He added, “I had not seen any country in the world where renal dialysis is paid for by patients directly because it would certainly bankrupt them. It’s always funded by insurance, so I’m glad it’s being funded now, but my concern remains: Why now?”
Dr Asiedu went on to explain the prevalence of kidney disease in Ghana, noting that an estimated 39 patients per million people require dialysis each year.
The prevalence of end-stage renal failure is around 13%, but only about 39 out of every million people end up needing dialysis,” he said, estimating that roughly 1,350 patients nationwide would need dialysis annually.
However, many patients avoid seeking formal medical care, instead relying on alternative treatments or prayer centres without fully understanding their health needs,” he added.
Based on these numbers, he estimated that only about 800-900 people would likely access the treatment initially, explaining that NHIS had already accounted for 400 patients in a recent pilot program, though even that fell short of expected uptake.
When asked whether the recent pilot program justified the delay, Dr. Asiedu responded, “That’s a question worth addressing. If the pilot provided clear, positive results, that data should be available to allay concerns.”