For every one patient on dialysis, there are about 25 others who have kidney problems.

Any kidney problem that lasts more than three months untreated is termed chronic. Chronic kidney diseases result in kidney failure, thus the need for dialysis. For every one patient on dialysis in Cameroon, there are about 25 others who have kidney problems. The sad news is that out of the 25 people with kidney problems, 80 per cent do not even know their status because kidney disease is so silent.

People need to go to hospital and be tested in order to know if they have kidney problems or not. Most of the time, about 80 per cent of both kidneys is already destroyed before patients suspect that they have any problems. Kidney diseases are thus described as silent killers because they are largely under-diagnosed, given that they do not have signs and symptoms until it is already late.