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Health officials and kidney specialists in the Ashanti Region have reiterated calls for urgent action to curb illegal mining, citing its alarming contribution to the rising cases of kidney disease in the region.
They lament that the use of mercury and other harmful chemicals in illegal mining activities is posing a severe health risk.
According to officials, while hypertension and diabetes remain major causes of kidney disease, illegal mining is significantly worsening the situation.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Kidney Day celebration in Kumasi, Dr. Elliot Koranteng Tannor, a consultant nephrologist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, revealed that over the past 10 years kidney disease burden at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital has increased by four times where over 70 percent of people report at the facility with kidney failure leading to the majority of them dying. He urged the public to adopt healthier lifestyles to reduce their risk.
Dr. Tannor also expressed concern over the increasing number of children developing kidney disease and called for a collaborative effort to address the trend.
The celebration was organized in partnership with PATH and the Ghana Kidney Association under the theme: Are your kidneys okay? Detect Early, Protect Kidney Health.
“The numbers are rising. I haven’t spoken about the issue of galamsey, of course, with all the mercury we are exposed to. These are the things we all need to worry about as a country.
“We did some studies in Komfo Anokye. What we realised is that over the past 10 years, kidney disease burden has actually increased by four times.
“When you talk about people who have come in for admission and people who have come in on OPD about four times and about three times. The worrying aspect is that over 70% will come with kidney failure, just like they need dialysis yesterday.
“Probably if we had picked them earlier, we would have prevented that. The most worrying aspect is that the majority of them will end up dying on admission,” he said.
source: channel1news.com
