The minister, who was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the largest hemodialysis center in Angola, in Luanda, said that the impact of the disease on society is beginning to be significant.
The official said that arterial hypertension is identified as the main cause of chronic renal failure in Angola, followed by diabetes, and as a cause of acute renal failure, obstructive uropathy and malaria.
According to Sílvia Lutucuta, the change in the epidemiological pattern observed in the country is fundamentally caused by changes in lifestyle, which leads to an increase in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases, of which the renal failure stands out, which due to its dimension has caused a negative impact on people's lives and constitutes an increasing underload for the country's economy and particularly for hospital and social services.
"They are also relevant as the most frequent risk factors in our country, in addition to diabetes, high blood pressure, dietary errors, obesity, physical inactivity, tobacco and alcohol consumption, which also increase the risk of developing kidney disease" , he stressed.
The holder of the portfolio of Health stressed that the issue of renal failure is of particular importance, requiring efforts and presenting challenges in its approach, which should be based on improving the provision of multidisciplinary health care to patients, on cooperation between sectors, in stratifying population risk and improving communication between patients and healthcare providers.
According to the minister, hemodialysis is a national challenge with high financial costs for the State. In this sense, a program of public and regional centers is being implemented, based on technical efficiency and continuous improvement in the quality of healthcare and patient satisfaction, and, on the other hand, not least, the reduction and costs.
The new center has an installed capacity of 70 machines and 189 professionals, who will work in three shifts a day, to serve 420 patients, with an increase of another shift in the short term, which will extend the service to 560 patients.
By this time, there is already a maximum capacity at national level to dialysis 1,232 patients in the public sector, of which 888 in Luanda, with the inauguration of the new center.
