Health Education & Awareness Raising
Owing to the realization that most people are not aware about the huge burden of kidney diseases, it huge financial obligations attributed to kidney care, and the risk factors of kidney diseases, most people are now diagnosed with kidney disease with majority presenting at stages 4 and stages 5, for those with chronic kidney diseases.
To solve this issue of lack of knowledge in our African population, we have sensitized more than 200,000 people on kidney disease awareness and prevention through sharing of daily flayers containing kidney health education tips in our social media handles and official forums, organized office-to-office kidney health education workshops, school to school sensitization on kidney disease and it’s prevention, community engagement on kidney disease, radio and television stations engagement on various topics on kidney diseases and it’s prevention, and the launched of kidney health Champion initiative in Sierra Leone.
In the fight towards Preventing and ascertaining early diagnosis of kidney diseases, we have done several kidney disease Prevention campaigns and sensitization to more than 200,000 beneficiary since 2022, Organized school to school sensitization any awareness raising to school pupils and teachers, office to office kidney health education workshops, daily social media engagement with kidney health tips, community engagement, organized free training of Kidney health ambassadors, established Kidney health clubs, launched the kidney Health Champion initiative and organised several free health screening activities of the risk factors (like Diabetes and Hypertension) to vulnerable communities, worship centers and institutions in order identify high risk people for medical follow and proper treatment.
Advocacy
People from low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), a global public health issue, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. More than 850 million people worldwide have renal disease, with a disproportionate share of these individuals living in low and middle-income countries where access to care is severely restricted. Recent researches revealed that Africans appear to be at a higher risk for having CKD. They are afflicted earlier in life and proceed to kidney failure more quickly. The quick epidemiological transition that resulted in high and rising rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus, as well as a heavy burden of infectious illnesses and a genetic susceptibility to CKD, is partially responsible for this disproportionate risk.
Through our advocacy drive, we have engaged the local and global community through diplomatic dialogues, webinars, and raising concerns on radio and television stations.
We remain relentless in our advocacy for collaborative support and attention to better kidney healthcare in West African countries, through engaging Governments, community leaders and stakeholders, local and international NGOs, businessmen and policy makers.
We seek collaboration, partnership and support towards advocating for kidney patients (especially those receiving dialysis) and influencing better kidney healthcare policy in West Africa.
Kidney Health Champion Initiative
Kidney Health Champion initiative, is a competitive weekly challenge on social media engagement as well as community, in advocating, raising awareness on kidney health and influencing change on health living and preventing kidney diseases in our society.
This initiative has proven successful in empowering our kidney health ambassadors with trainings and materials for educative engagement to communities on kidney disease awareness and prevention, as we all own the fight towards reducing the burden of kidney diseases in our society.
Kidney Health Clubs
We believe that we have to train the minds of the young generation in learning healthful living at younger age until adulthood, inorder to maintain healthy lifestyle and responsibility to good health, Sanitation and their well-being.
The kidney Health club is an established health group of passionate, trained and certified pupils and students, as kidney health ambassadors in schools and institutions of higher learning who are serving as ambassadors in their respective institutions being influencers of change, practicing healthful living and modified lifestyle. Those ambassadors are sponsored on various activities and programs undertaken in their various schools and institutions each academic year. This is serving as one of our sustainable projects in building large community of kidney health ambassadors in Sierra Leone and subsequent West Africa.
Kidney health Ambassadors Training
As we work in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, and with the increasing burden of kidney diseases in Sierra Leone and globally (of which Chronic Kidney Disease is projected to be the 5th leading cause of death by 2040, according to World Health Organization), we are embarked on training kidney health ambassadors in Sierra Leone.
We are proud to present to you our first cohort of kidney health ambassadors in Sierra Leone, who are staff of Radio FryFry. The kidney Health ambassadors training was facilitated by clinically trained doctors and clinical officers who are also certified kidney health Coaches.
We considered, training staff of media houses as the first Cohort of kidney health ambassadors in Sierra Leone, because they are every nation’s communication ambassadors to the public and they will influence communities to foster kidney disease prevention and healthy living.
As we aim at training 20,000 kidney health ambassadors by 2040 within West Africa. We seek collaboration, partnership and sponsorship towards this project as health is a priority for all.