Poor sanitation, contaminated water, poverty increases risk of kidney diseases in Northwest Nigeria
By Aminu Abubakar
Kidney disease is tightening its grip on Northwestern Nigeria, and health experts warn that the drivers extend far beyond hospitals and dialysis machines. Poor sanitation, contaminated water, widespread poverty, and unhealthy lifestyles are fuelling a crisis that is leaving thousands vulnerable, even as the Federal Government struggles to respond.
In recent weeks, the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu announced a dialysis subsidy programme designed to ease the financial burden of patients suffering from kidney failure. While the initiative was hailed as a welcome step, only one hospital – Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) in Kano – was listed for the entire Northwest, a region with millions of people across seven states. For many, this underscores how structural neglect and poor living conditions continue to make kidney disease both widespread and deadly.
The Role of Unsafe Water and Poor Sanitation
Contaminated water remains one of the strongest risk factors for kidney-related illnesses in the region. A post by Phox Water noted: “When the water we consume is contaminated with harmful substances? It can have a negative impact on our kidney health, leading to several complications.” Across many rural Northwestern communities, untreated and unsafe water sources remain the only available option for households.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) highlights the scale of the problem. According to the Multidimensional Poverty Index, 64% of households in Kaduna lack access to clean drinking water, 31% in Kano, 39% in Katsina, 68% in Kebbi, 49% in Sokoto, and 51% in Zamfara.
Poor sanitation compounds the problem. A Dettol public health publication warned that “Bacterial, parasite and fungus infections can be the deadliest if not treated promptly, as scabies causes septicaemia, chronic kidney disease, and heart disease. Trachoma produced enlarged eyelids, drainage from the eyes, and blindness. Lymphatic filariasis damages the kidneys and the lymphatic system and changes the body’s immunological system.”
Yet, sanitation data paints a grim picture. In Jigawa, 73% of households lack access to sanitary facilities; in Kaduna, 73%; in Kano, 51%; in Katsina, 61%; in Kebbi, 79%; in Sokoto, 60%; and in Zamfara, 79%. Such conditions expose millions to preventable infections that heighten the risk of chronic kidney disease.
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Poverty and Lifestyle Factors
Widespread poverty in the Northwest further drives the crisis. Many patients cannot afford preventive care or early treatment, allowing diseases to worsen before they reach hospitals. Poverty also contributes to poor nutrition and high rates of untreated hypertension – both major risk factors for kidney damage.
Lifestyle choices exacerbate the challenge. Tobacco use is widespread in the region. A 2024 report listed Jigawa and Kano as the states with the highest number of smokers in Nigeria. Kidney Research UK warns that smoking can “increase your risk of developing some kidney cancers,” “damage your heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system), leading to poor blood flow to the kidneys and causing kidney damage over time,” and “help to cause or advance diabetic kidney disease – the most common cause of kidney failure.”
Rising Burden of Kidney Disease
The health consequences of these conditions are already visible. A study published in Kidney International Reports revealed that “43 of the 78 children had persistent abnormal findings suggestive of early CKD (19%). There were no significant factors associated with these findings.” It further warned that a “Significant number of school children had persistent abnormal findings suggestive of early CKD, therefore emphasising the need for large-scale CKD screening studies in the different regions of our setting to compare and determine why a high prevalence was recorded in the study.”
Hospitals are also overwhelmed. In November 2024, Daily Trust reported that Jigawa State recorded a sharp increase in chronic kidney disease cases. Findings published in the BIMA Journal of Science and Technology revealed that 548 cases were recorded at General Hospital Hadejia between 2013 and 2018, with 91 new cases still being managed. Experts believe these numbers reflect only a fraction of the true burden, as many patients cannot reach healthcare centres due to poverty and poor infrastructure.
Dialysis Subsidy: A Welcome but Insufficient Step
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While the new dialysis subsidy is intended to ease the cost of care, its limited coverage raises concerns. “Subsidy without access is meaningless,” said a Kano-based health advocate who works with kidney patients, Umar Bala “If a patient in Sokoto or Kebbi has to travel hundreds of kilometres just to access one subsidised centre, the cost of transportation alone defeats the purpose.”
Advocacy groups argued that government intervention must go beyond dialysis. Unless poor water systems, sanitation gaps, and poverty are addressed, they warn, the number of patients requiring dialysis will keep rising, overwhelming the system.
Not Just Numbers, but Lives
The Northwest’s kidney crisis is not only a matter of statistics but also of real human suffering. In 2019, Mahmud Aminu Daneji, known popularly as “Mamuda Elder,” sought N15 million for a transplant in India but died at 46, leaving behind a wife and a son. In 2020, 20-year-old Nafisa Haruna also died after a campaign to raise money for dialysis and a possible transplant failed.
Stories like these are repeated across communities in Northwestern Nigeria, where preventable illnesses rooted in poverty, unsafe water, and poor sanitation continue to push families into despair.
Beyond Dialysis, Primary Healthcare Facilities Funding by States Remain Poor
Checks show that Primary Healthcare facilities’ Funding have remained poor. This may defeat helping rural area residents tackle issues like infections that may have arisen from hygiene issues, giving room for such infections to grow bigger into a major kidney infection scenario.
For instance, in 2025, the Kano state government budgeted a sum of N11.4 billion for its Primary Healthcare Management Board; however, only N284 million was spent in the first six months of the year.
In Sokoto state, a sum of N12.1 billion was budgeted for its Primary Healthcare Development Agency; however, only N452 million was spent between January and June on the purpose.
In the same 2025 fiscal year, the state budgeted a sum of N477 million for its rural water and sanitation agency; however, only N29.3 million was spent within the first six months of the year on the same purpose.
The Way Forward
Experts say real progress against kidney disease in the Northwest requires a shift in focus. Alongside dialysis subsidies, investment in clean water, improved sanitation, poverty reduction, and public awareness is critical. Without these, they warn, the government risks treating the symptoms while leaving the root causes to fester.
For many Northwesterners, the true fear is not only kidney disease itself but whether the system will ever be strong enough to protect them before it is too late.
https://www.dettol.co.za/expert-advice/personal-health-hygiene/effects-of-poor-hygiene/
https://tribuneonlineng.com/jigawa-kano-rank-top-with-highest-number-of-tobacco-smokers/
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