There are only 14 registered dialysis centres in the country, the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA) has said.

Out of the 14, seven are public and seven are privately owned.

The are the Riverwoods Medical Equipment and Dialysis Company, the Accra Kidney Clinic Limited, Sahel Health Ghana Limited, the Kidney Specialist Center LTD, Eastern Regional Hospital, Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital and Central Dialysis.

The rest are the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Tamale Teaching Hospital, Maritime Hospital Ghana Limited, First Dialysis, Sage Medic Center, and Peace & Love Hospitals.

Eight of the facilities are in the Greater Accra Region, three are in the Ashanti, Northern has one, Eastern has one, and Western Region has another.

Dialysis is a treatment process that helps one’s body to remove extra fluid and waste products from the blood when the kidneys are not able to.

Patients require dialysis three sessions per week to have a normal life.

Ms Christabel Nuhoho, the Head of Public Relations, HeFRA, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the facilities mentioned were the ones licensed by HeFRA to operate dialysis services.

“We have some facilities that are registered, but yet to be licensed. It is also possible some are not known to us at all,” she added.

Ghana is said to have about 15,400 patients requiring dialysis.

Meanwhile, only about 1,195 people, representing 7.8 per cent of the estimated number, are receiving the life-saving treatment.

In spite of the high number of End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or kidney failure patients in the country, according to Medpages online, a research platform, there are only 10 Nephrologists in the country.

A nephrologist is a doctor who specialises in diagnosing and treating kidney conditions.

Ms Nuhoho explained that for a facility to acquire a license to operate dialysis services, it was expected to at least meet the minimum requirement of two dialysis machines, two dialysis beds, a water treatment plant, a BP apparatus per machine, and an emergency trolley with emergency drugs.