By Francis Ajuonuma
President Bola Tinubu has approved a drastic reduction in the cost of kidney dialysis treatment in public hospitals, cutting the fee per session from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000, in a move aimed at easing the financial burden on Nigerians living with chronic kidney disease.
The announcement was made on Monday by presidential spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, via his official X handle.
According to him, the subsidy will initially cover ten public hospitals across the country, with plans to extend to more federal medical centres and teaching hospitals before the end of the year.
“This intervention will provide relief to thousands of Nigerians battling kidney-related diseases, many of whom struggle to afford the prohibitive cost of treatment,” Bwala stated.
He also recalled that President Tinubu had, in 2024, approved free caesarean sections (C-sections) for pregnant women in federal hospitals to improve maternal healthcare and reduce preventable deaths.
Underfunded facilities, exorbitant treatment costs, and a shortage of specialist equipment have long hindered healthcare access in Nigeria. In most federal and state-owned hospitals, dialysis, a critical treatment for kidney failure patients, is often priced beyond the reach of ordinary citizens, averaging ₦40,000–₦60,000 per session.
Since patients typically require dialysis two to three times weekly, many are forced to abandon treatment, leading to avoidable deaths.
Public hospitals have also struggled with frequent equipment breakdowns, long waiting lists, and high out-of-pocket expenses, with only a small percentage of Nigerians covered by the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA).
Civil society groups and health experts have repeatedly urged the federal government to intervene in critical care services, particularly for kidney disease and cancer patients.
Tinubu’s intervention comes at a time when Nigeria is grappling with an economic downturn, rising inflation, and skyrocketing healthcare costs.
For many families, dialysis had become a luxury rather than a life-saving procedure. The new subsidy is expected to save thousands of lives. However, experts caution that sustained funding and expansion of the programme are necessary to prevent the policy from becoming another short-lived initiative
