Hypertension Patients in Kano Plead for Lifeline as Their Drug Costs Bite
A coalition of hypertension patient groups in Kano State with Support of Gammun center for Care Development Nigeria is issuing an urgent appeal to the state government, calling for the immediate release of Non communicable Disease Budget for Hypertension to combat the escalating crisis of unaffordable medication, a situation they say is worsening health outcomes and leading to preventable deaths.
The call follows a meeting of the Association of Hypertension Support Groups, where individuals living with the condition highlighted the high cost of Medicine.
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In a heartbreaking testimony, Hajiya Rabi at Yahya a 62year old with hypertension recounted the loss of one young pregnant woman, who died from complications of hypertension.
“a vibrant young woman, full of life and expecting her child,She struggled to afford the medicine and it was too expensive, sometimes skipping doses to make it last. The pressure became too much. The blood pressure is about 220 along the way she got stroke and letter We lost her, and we lost the baby. She did not have to die.”
“This expensive medicine is affecting so many people out there. People are dying every day because they cannot buy what they need to live. The lady is gone, and I am speaking out so that other mothers do not have to feel this pain.”
In her statement Halima Ibrahim Tudun Wuzirci ,a 65-year-old retiree, Express how her pension is swallowed by the cost of Medicine
“Since I retired, I am finding it very difficult to buy my hypertension medicine because it is so expensive,I am buying it every month for at least ₦60,000. For now, I have no support; my husband died. we are urging the government to release the hypertension budget so that the medicine could go down.”she added
In her part Hajiya Ummah, 41 year old who is not a government employee. Said , the fear of running out of medicine is a source of sleepless nights.
“If I know my medicine is closer to finishing, I feel bad and nearly cannot sleep that night because I am afraid I don’t have money to buy it,” she shared.
From the hypertension group, Bashir Usman Sabo said he is not experiencing a price hike for his specific hypertension medication, as his condition does not require expensive drugs. However, he also called on the Government to release funds so that vulnerable people who are not covered by KACHMA can access care.
However, the Ward Head of Tudun Wuzirci, Abubakar Muhammad, expressed his appreciation for the Governor and the Commissioner of Health, stating that they genuinely care for the people.
He also called on the government to release the funds, urging them to act as a true “government of action.”
In response to the concerns, the Coordinator of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Program in Kano, Dr. Abubakar Hamza, provided clarity on the government’s current funding structure. He explained that there is no specific, ring-fenced budget for hypertension alone.
“There is no specific budget for Hypertension; rather, it falls under the general NCD budget, What we do is write a memo for what we need for hypertension to the ministry, and the money will released.”
Regarding the high cost of drugs, he clarified the existing government efforts, noting that Kano has a scheme that covers hypertension and diabetes under the Kano State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency (KACHMA) for Formal ,non formal and vulnerable groups.
“The Kano State government under the leadership of Engr Abba Kabir Yusif has good plans to eradicate hypertension and other non-communicable diseases and health-related issues in general.”
Despite these plans, for patients like Halima Ibrahim ,Hajiya Rabi Tudun Wuzirci and Hajiya Ummah who fall outside the KACHMA umbrella, the immediate future remains uncertain.
Pulse Time Nigeria communicate with analyst Safiyanu Bichi, a CSO representative for the elderly, highlighted a critical gap where retirees are unaware of their existing packages with KACHMA.
He explained that upon removal from the payroll, individuals are placed on pension, requiring them only to collect an approval from the pension board and submit it to KACHMA.
To address the profound vulnerabilities of the aged of people living with hypertension Bichi urgently appealed to the government release NCD budget for Hypertension . And however to lower the vulnerability age from 80years to 70 or 65.
He emphasized that by age 80, many older people can’t understand anything.