Edmond Amoussou on the management of dialysis in Benin : "The co-payment is not suitable"

Kidney failure treatment ruins patients and their parents. Pis, no one is safe from this pernicious evil that kills in silence. This is what emerges from the intervention of the president of the association of dialysis patients in Benin. In this interview, Edmond Amoussou praises the efforts of the government but asks for the indulgence of the Head of State Patrice Talon so that he makes the care of dialysis patients free. Read instead!!!

The news is marked by a case of a person suffering from severe kidney failure who seeks financial support for treatment. Apparently, this case comes to comfort your incessant cries of heart ?

Kidney failure is a very silent disease that does not say anything before appearing as I always used to say. We are all exposed to kidney failure whether chronic or acute so if we do nothing one day we will find ourselves in the situation of dialysis patients.. And this is confirmed with the case of Judicaël Gbaguidi. You see your colleague, five years ago if he was told he would have kidney failure and that one day he would be on dialysis, he was never going to accept and could curse whoever talked about it next to him. So it happened so we must all mobilize to tell our authorities to take another look at the treatment of this evil.

But the authorities you were talking about have decided to introduce a co-payment by taking charge of 80% expenses related to patient care

Non ! My dear journalist. We can't keep paying 20 percent of dialysis treatment costs in Benin. I'll give you a very simple calculation. Dialysis costs at least 1600.000 FCFA per month in Benin. If you are told to pay 20 percent it amounts to 320.000 FCFA per month while it is a lifelong treatment. This is why we say that the co-payment introduced by the government is not suitable for covering the expenses related to dialysis treatment..

Recently you wrote an open letter to the Head of State, Is not- what not ?

Effectively. We sent an open letter to the President of the Republic so that he could listen to us. We knocked on all the doors but it was a waste of time. And since we felt that those around him did not always tell him the reality of the problem of dialysis, we believe that the open letter would be the best voice for us to be heard. Our wish is that this letter reaches him.

What is in the mail ?

The tragic accident occurred in Dassa-Zoumè 29 January 2023 has caused a lot of excitement and a lot of reactions but we say that there are worse situations that happen every day with dialysis patients. Several people die each year for lack of adequate care. While being of heart with the bereaved families in this accident, peace to the souls of the victims and further comfort and compassion for the families, we say that we must take more effective measures to help the people on dialysis that we are so as not to let ourselves die. People are slowly dying for lack of money to buy the treatment kit.

Clear, you ask the State to cover the expenses related to dialysis at 100%?

That's right. Dialysis can only be paid for at 100% in Benin because even if you have a lot of money, it's very complicated. Imagine that you have to remove 100.000 FCFA each time for care. The money will end one day and if you're still alive, you will have to look for money elsewhere to unfortunately continue the treatment. Many people cannot afford this luxury because it is one under our skies. That the Head of State helps us and above all that he reviews the co-payment formula so that dialysis patients continue to live for a long time.

Remind us of some causes of kidney failure

There is high blood pressure and diabetes, so I advise those who are healthy today to check their blood pressure every time.. In the event of an abnormal increase, he should consult the cardiologist and if this persists, he must consult the nephrologist and measure his creatinine or even gauge his kidneys to know his real state of health..

Your final word

I'll say the same as before. We who are high executives, if we do nothing today, we will be caught tomorrow. Because kidney failure knows no ministers, nor President of the Republic. When she attacks you and you can't afford it, you die. Today, only civil servants are taken care of but the other layers of the population are left to their own fate. Something must be done and that is what we are asking the Head of State. We thank him for the efforts but he must think about the total coverage of dialysis in Benin.

Transcription : Arnaud ACAKPO (Coll)