News Release

DOH, NKTI INTENSIFY CAMPAIGN ON KIDNEY DISEASE PREVENTION

SORSOGON PROVINCE (April 3) – Renal or kidney diseases rank as the number 10 killer in the Philippines, causing death to about 7,000 Filipinos every year.

By this alarming number, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) and the Department of Health (DOH) along with the Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) has intensified the campaign on the prevention and control of kidney diseases by developing core group of trainers and advocates from Luzon to Mindanao that would serve as information multipliers in disseminating knowledge on the prevention, control and treatment of kidney diseases to the community particularly the grassroots.

Resource persons headed by Dr. Remedios de Belen-Uriarte, who were, at the same time, the key implementers of the project and top brass from the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) converged to batches of trainings to train Renal Disease Control Program (REDCOP) coordinators and advocates from the Center for Health and Development, Department of Education, PIA and other stakeholders from the different regions and provinces of the country.

The series of trainers’ training which were conducted last March, provided the participants of the anatomy and physiology of human kidneys and their functions and has presented, as well, the possible diseases that may eventually lead to kidneys disorders.

Among these diseases are diabetes, chronic glumerulonephritis (CGN), hypertension, kidney stones and Urinary Track Infection (UTI) which, if not detected earlier would lead to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

Philippine Renal Disease Registry of DOH-NKTI-REDCOP statistics reveal that, at present, complications in the kidney from diabetes mellitus, CGN and hypertension are among the leading cause of ESRD.

CGN or swelling of small veins in the nephrons or “blood filters” used to be the most common cause of ESRD in the third world countries including the Philippines. It usually afflicts children, adolescents and young adults in their productive years. Children and young adults can escape detection for months or years, causing the condition to progress to a chronic stage.

According to Dr. Antonio Paraiso, NKTI nephrology consultant, these diseases are potentially preventable if diagnosed early in the course of illness.

“I also recommend a regular once a year urinalysis to detect the presence of such diseases, and development of healthy habits and practices in order to prevent having diseases in our kidneys,” he further stressed out.

Meanwhile, new REDCOP advocates and trainers are now deployed in their respective communities and areas of concern to implement their action plans which focus on empowering people so as to reduce the number of kidney disease patients and avoid the need for expensive ESRD treatments such as dialysis or kidney transplantation. (Bennie A. Recebido, PIA Sorsogon)