There are 21,000 Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) patients in Sri Lanka, and the country is successfully maintaining the number without letting it to increase further, Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne said.
According to Minister Senaratne, by the time this government came into power on January 8, 2015, there were only 299 dialysis machines in the country and now, this number has been exceeded 500. He was addressing the gathering after the launching of the newspaper Kidney in Colombo, recently.
Minister Senaratne stated that by the end of next year (2018), the number of dialysis machines in the country will be increased up to 1,000. A total of 900 more dialysis machines will be installed island-wide with the support of an Indian investment.
From next year, a mobile dialysis unit will be made available for the service of the patients. The construction work of the National Kidney Hospital to be set up in Polonnaruwa, has already been commenced, he added.
Scholarships were awarded for 120 schoolchildren belonging to kidney patients. School instruments were provided for another 150 such children during the launching ceremony.