(ERGO) – Ibrahim Mohamed Mohamud, 65, has been dependent for his survival on kidney dialysis for 15 years and is glad to be getting this free treatment twice a week in Mogadishu’s Darulsalam Hospital, supported by Hormud Foundation.
“I come to the hospital on Saturday and Tuesday. When Hormud Foundation arrived, we were relieved of the medical bills. We have to buy the prescription medicines but we now get the treatment free,” he said.
His family has been struggling to find the resources to ensure Ibrahim gets the life-saving services he needs, with his health tied to finding the $80 for each dialysis session and medication needed.
The medical bills mounted up over the last six years in other hospitals and the family currently has unpaid debts of around $10,000.
“When I first arrived here in this ward, that is when I got a good night’s sleep! We have been through great hardships and we were struggling to pay the bills. We thank God, and these people, for the support. I don’t work and all my children are here in the country. I couldn’t earn a living for them,” he said.
Ibrahim’s family of nine relies on financial support from their relatives. Long ago, before falling ill, he was a public vehicle driver earning a decent income for his family.
Ahmed Abdullahi Ali is relieved that his elderly father, who has been living with kidney problems for the past four years, is also signed up for the free dialysis at this hospital. His father’s dependency on dialysis has impoverished the family, who had to sell their house and land to pay for the medical expenses.
“I am very happy since I couldn’t pay $12 every week. Sometimes it could be more and you still had to pay. But now all the services are free,” he said.
Ahmed, who earns a living driving a tuk-tuk taxi, can now use his income for other necessities for the family other than the medical bills.
This free dialysis programme has been run by the Hormud Foundation and Darulsalam hospital since the dialysis ward opened in in 2021.
Darulsalam hospital’s public relations manager, Abdirahman Ahmed Diriye, said the patients selected to benefit from the free treatment include 30 women and 60 men, aged between 30 and 80 years. The patients have mainly been diagnosed with diabetes or kidney disease.
