Govt steps up plan to curb kidney disease

Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat has launched a campaign to promote free dialysis treatment while emphasising the importance of public education and lifestyle changes to prevent chronic kidney disease (CKD).

- APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

The initiative comes amid growing concern over the kidney health crisis.

Mr Pattana said that in 2024, Thailand recorded 1.12 million CKD patients. Among them, around 500,000 were in stage 3; 120,000 in stage 4; and about 75,000 in stage 5 (end-stage kidney failure).

The number continues to rise, with many unaware of their condition until the later stages, as early CKD often shows no symptoms.

Once the disease progresses to 3-5 stages, treatment expenses such as dialysis, peritoneal dialysis or kidney transplantation will be expensive, posing a heavy burden on families and the national healthcare budget, he said.