The presidential adviser on health, Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare, has attributed the recent increase in the cost of treatment of renal dialysis to foreign exchange fluctuations.
He indicated that though import charges also played a role in the hikes, the largest contributory factor is the foreign exchange regime in recent months.
Ghanaians, particularly patients on dialysis treatment, lamented when the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s Renal Dialysis Unit on September 27 announced an increase from 380 hundred cedis to 765.42 cedis per dialysis session.
The Minority Caucus in Parliament described the increase as illegal and outrageous and called on the hospital to immediately reverse the increase.
Dr. Nsiah-Asare further explained that most of the dialysis consumables are disposal materials, which also explains the increase, and admonished hospitals to make use of the Tax Exemption Regime to avoid paying import duties.
He entreated Ghanaians to holistically look at the causes of renal cases, the burden, the treatment methods available, and the preventive measures in place.
Source: Citi
