Here we highlight two recent news articles about Australia, for a change.
The first report claims that "kidney disease is rampant in the Northern Territories".
The basis for this claim is new figures showing that end-stage kidney disease in NT is approximately three times that of the rest of Australia. The figures are due to the higher proportion of Aboriginal people living in that area, and Aboriginals are one of the groups who generally suffer much more from kidney problems. Often due to diabetes and the associated kidney damage.
Reported by ABC.Net and Topnews.
The second report says that "Aborigines are choosing to die rather than travel for dialysis" - another dramatic headline.
This report opens with a statement that Aborigines (or indigenous Australians for the politically correct among you) are eight times more likely to die from chronic kidney disease than other Australians. The reason is claimed to be that the lack of nearby dialysis services forces people to travel long distances for treatment, and many do not like this. Especially as South Australia was refusing to fund interstate dialysis treatments for people living in remote areas of the state.
We read this article at The Australian.
Let's hope this dreadful state of affairs is eventually improved.
