The Aristide Le Dantec hospital in Dakar hosted a dialysis workshop with the Senegal Society of Nephrology. Peritoneal and hemodialysis were the main focus. A Saving Young Lives (SYL) session presented the challenges and opportunities of setting up an AKI treatment program in Western Africa, while it emphasized the value of peritoneal dialysis (PD).
SYL has now helped develop acute PD programs in eight centers in Africa, where dialysis was previously unavailable. It is now working to establish treatments in three other sites. Between January 2013 and September 2015, 175 children and adults received dialysis in these centers. Challenges continue to be the high costs of transporting consumables in a sustainable way. In many cases, the only solution is to use locally made supplies and improvising catheters.
SYL partners ISN, the International Pediatric Nephrology Association, the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis and the Sustainable Kidney Care Foundation. It aims to develop sustainable programs for treating acute kidney injury (AKI) in sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia. The program is developing specialized hospital centers in very low resource settings with peritoneal dialysis facilities. At present, SYL has supported the development of acute PD programs in eight centers where dialysis was previously unavailable. We are currently working to establish treatment in three other sites.
To see the success of the SYL in Africa and nephrology in Senegal, watch a video report from the visit.