The laying of a foundation stone has marked the start of construction of a new Nephrology and Haemodialysis Department for Kara University Hospital in Togo.
The new department is a vital move to cater for the urgent needs of patients suffering from renal failure in the Savanes, Kara and central regions of Togo, as well as populations leaving at the borders of Benin, Burkina Faso and Ghana.
Renal failure is currently the sixth leading cause of death at the Hospital with a mortality rate of 21.3%, and accounts for 10% of hospitalisations and 73% of nephrology consultations. Currently the only public hospital in Togo with such a unit is in Lomé and its limited capacity means its waiting list can be as high as 300 patients.
The US$850,000 construction work is being financed by the Ecobank Group and the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with Togo’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene.
The new department in Kara will comprise consultation, dialysis, water treatment, catheter, technical, waiting and changing rooms, storage, sanitary facilities, a secretariat and space for medical waste. The project will build and equip the facility and provide training to improve the service and a site to train medical and paramedical students.