Making the donation Monday, Egypt Foreign Affairs Minister Sameh Shouky revealed that his country will sponsor training for 50 health professionals on cancers affecting children.

 

In addition, the minister said 10 children suffering from cancer will be air-lifted to Egypt for specialised treatment.

Though he did not give dates when the children and the professionals will travel to Egypt, Mr Shoukry said the move was geared towards strengthening relations between the two countries and building Kenya's capacity to deal with cancer.

Shoukry handed over the four dialysis machines and one endoscopy unit to the Ministry of Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and KNH Chief Executive Officer Lily Koros.

 

The four machines will boost the existing 27 machines in the renal unit that serves 60 patients a day. Other dialysis services are being offered in Mombasa, Eldoret, Kisumu and Nakuru."The donation will go a long way in improving kidney services in the country given that chronic kidney disease is a key cause of death and disability worldwide," said Mr Macharia.The CS noted that an estimated four million Kenyans suffer from kidney disease with many cases progressing to end-stage renal disease without diagnosis.

 

"About 10,000 kidney patients require dialysis as a form of renal replacement therapy. Of this number, only 10 per cent are able to utilise this service due to the high cost and inaccessibility," he said.

Dr Koros thanked the Egyptian envoy and said: "KNH has over the years witnessed increased cases of patients diagnosed with kidney failure. This has been attributed to the incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure and changing lifestyles."

 

Source : http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/health/article/2000147685/knh-receives-four-dialysis-machines-from-egypt