The Senegalese Association of Hemodialysis and Kidney Failure Patients (ASHIR) conducted a dual awareness and screening campaign combined with blood drives in Ziguinchor. Students from Assane Seck University and young people were mobilized and educated to combat the "silent killer."

“The problem of kidney failure is not just a matter for the Ministry of Health. It’s a multi-sectoral fight,” reminds Saër Seck, the Secretary General of ASHIR. He emphasizes that the disease is progressing exponentially and is now affecting university students.

At UASZ, students were targeted as intellectual ambassadors capable of disseminating information about early detection, awareness campaigns, and prevention messages. "Screening can delay dialysis, sometimes save a life," insists Seck, citing the tragic case of a student who refused the test before falling ill a year later.

The following day, the Ziguinchor Regional Hospital hosted a large-scale operation open to the general public. Screening, a live demonstration of dialysis, and, most importantly, a blood donation campaign marked this event.

“Donating blood saves lives. Dialysis patients have a vital need for it,” Mr. Seck reminds us. Transfusions are becoming essential, especially given the exorbitant cost of medications like Epero or Mycera.

Professor Yaya Kane, a nephrologist at the Faculty of Health Sciences, reiterated the golden rules: engage in regular physical activity, reduce salt intake, control blood sugar levels, avoid being overweight, quit smoking, refuse self-medication, and stay properly hydrated. "These simple actions must be memorized and passed on," he urged, while also calling on the media to play their role in disseminating this information.

Thus, the southern capital experienced a mobilization on two fronts: students as the primary target, the general population as the second line of defense. Two locations, two audiences, one single battle against kidney failure. And faced with this "silent killer," every blood donation becomes a weapon of survival.