A shortage of dialysis centers in Kenya means patients with kidney failure often have to travel long distances to be treated. Now, an organization is starting to ease that burden with an innovative mobile dialysis unit.
The 12-wheeled truck hauls a modern clinic around Murang’a County, offering dialysis to patients who live far from traditional treatment centers.
Eliud Mwangi is a 63-year-old farmer from Murang’a County who has been undergoing dialysis treatment since 2021. For much of that time, he faced the challenge of traveling long distances to access dialysis services. The journey, which he had to make twice a week, was both exhausting and costly. On top of that, he often felt nauseous after treatment and endured an uncomfortable ride home.
“Let me say that the distance that I had been traveling has been reduced to less than three-quarters. Now the dialysis is near me, less than 20 minutes from my home,” Mwangi says.
The project has been spearheaded by an organization called Benacare.
“We identified critical gaps in access to healthcare for these patients, especially patients who are having to travel like an average of 250 kilometers one way to receive dialysis and then they have to do it twice a week for the rest of their lives,” explains Naom Monari, the founder and CEO of Benacare.
“We came up with a model of having mobile dialysis and that is mobile hemodiafiltration moving from community to community and offering this service to the patients. And this is the first mobile truck we have launched,” she adds.
The truck can treat three patients at a time. Although it is small compared to other clinics, it still means scores of people receiving essential care over the course of a week.
The mobile unit is also fitted with the latest hemodiafiltration machines, which, Naom says, perform better than traditional dialysis machines.
Dr. Jonathan Wala, a nephrologist and the president of the Kenya Renal Association, agrees that the mobile units do have some clear advantages, including reducing the strain on overstretched hospitals.
He cautions, however, that they also have their limitations.
This article and video were provided by The Associated Press.
[Exterior of a mobile dialysis unit]
[Interior of a unit with medics working and patients receiving dialysis]
Eliud Mwangi (interview): “Let me say that the distance that I had been traveling has been reduced to less than three-quarters. Now the dialysis is near me, less than 20 minutes from my home. It is very near to me. So this has saved me time and the money I was using. Then after dialysis, I had the challenge of feeling dizzy because of the long distance. But now that the distance has shortened, I will not be having those challenges. I will be finishing and going home to rest.”
[Activities inside the unit and patients receiving dialysis]
[Naom Monari, founder and CEO of Benacare, the organization behind the units]
Naom Monari (interview): “In 2023, we conducted research into the modalities available for the treatment of chronic kidney diseases in Murang’a County and we identified critical gaps in access to healthcare for these patients, especially patients who are having to travel like an average of 250 kilometers one way to receive dialysis and then they have to do it twice a week for the rest of their lives and so, we thought there has to be another way to solve this. So we came up with a model of having mobile dialysis and that is mobile hemodiafiltration moving from community to community and offering this service to the patients. And this is the first mobile truck we have launched.”
[Monari talking to colleagues outside the unit]
Naom Monari (interview): “We are going to be doing about 144 sessions a week of dialysis, so it has a maximum capacity of 72 patients if we do day and night.”
[Monari listening to colleagues]
Naom Monari (interview): “People have faced issues with accessibility due to geography and so this advantage is it is bringing it to them. They do not have to go. It is like when you have a chronic kidney disease, it shouldn’t mean, like chronic travel.”
[Dr. Jonathan Wala, Nephrologist and President of the Kenya Renal Association]
Dr. Jonathan Wala (interview): “The advantages are that it brings the dialysis services closer to the people, to the patients who need them. It enables the patients to cut down on their transportation costs. It decreases the strain on resources in hospitals which are already a little bit stretched. The disadvantages are one: how to handle emergencies in case it occurs in a mobile dialysis unit; what you are going to do. The second is how you are going to schedule a mobile dialysis unit so that it reaches those patients twice a week. Obviously, there is the cost of taking the mobile unit there. It still has the same cost of nursing auxiliary services that any other unit has and finally how do you manage the waste.”
[Exterior of a mobile dialysis unit]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.