Combating Kidney Disease In Ghana: Health experts call for stronger collaboration

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Health professionals are raising concern over the increasing number of kidney disease cases in Ghana with lifestyle habits and environmental pollution cited as major contributing factors. At the annual conference of the Ghana Association of Radiologists, experts stress the need for a coordinated team-based approach to healthcare delivery. President of the Ghana Association of Radiologists, Dr. Francis Ofei says closer collaboration between clinicians, radiologists, nephrologists, and urologists is critical to improving patient outcomes. If we talk about radiologists, um we make diagnosis or kind of figure out what is wrong with our patients through the use of imaging modalities.

[00:00:47]So, you have CT scan, you have MRI, ultrasound, etc. So, um in the normal practice, we have uh several disciplines. You have the clinicians who are in the consulting rooms. So, they also try to manage the patients. But, we have realized that most of the time this approach is in silos. I.e. the clinician is doing their own thing, the radiologist is also doing their own thing, everybody is doing one thing or the other. I think that it is time for us to now resort to what we call multi-disciplinary approach. So, we are focusing on the genitourinary system and emphasizing the need for us to work together. The ultimate beneficiary is the patient. The patient that benefit. Okay, so we are looking at that tract from your kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, and then the urethra. And then the studies that are coming up is linking the contribution of um galamsey to the rising tide of chronic kidney disease. Meanwhile, president of the Ghana Kidney Association, Dr. Charlotte Osafo, says kidney disease often shows no symptoms in its early stages, making regular screening and early detection crucial.

[00:02:11]From kidneys to urethra, the genitourinary system is a continuum.

[00:02:20]Let our care of it be a continuum as well.

[00:02:25]Integrated, coordinated, patient-centered.

[00:02:31]The advice that I want to give to the public is that kidney disease is no respecter of persons. If you have been diagnosed with kidney disease, you need to be careful what you take in. And then also, you need to make sure that you are regularly visiting the hospital so that if something, you know, is seen early, then that can be managed. Let's drink a lot of water. Let's make sure that we check our blood pressures. If it's high, control it. Check your sugar regularly.

[00:03:01]If it is high, make sure that you are controlling it. Avoid painkillers. Avoid herbal medications. And then, eat well.

[00:03:10]The health experts are urging the public to prioritize regular medical screening while calling for a stronger collaboration among specialists to improve kidney disease care and save lives. Martha Sewa Boateng's report brought to you.

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