CATEGORY: LETTER TO THE EDITOR --------------------------------- INSIDE GRENADA MONDAY DECEMBER 24,2007 by Kidney Activist Wallace J. A, I have read with great interest you contribution on www.grenadianconenction.com with respect to your article under the caption “The Grenada National Patient Kidney Foundation (GNPKF) seeks public assistance” dated 12/21/2007. After reading the article, I conjured-up some ideas and following is my contribution. I believe that while this is an expensive engagement for the average Grenadian, there must be some solution to assist these folks and others who will come down with this disease at some time. I have seen far too many persons succumb to this problem, both young and not so young. The good thing about this issue, Wallace J A, is that the service is available right here in Grenada; therefore folks do not have to worry about going abroad, especially somewhere in the region where they will have to pay expensive airline tickets (which is rising crazily) and boarding. Yes the locals can make monthly contribution thru some sort of salary deduction to support these folks and I am encouraging all persons who can make contributions towards this fund to do so. When I look at the situation carefully, persons with AIDS (without any prejudice intended) get help from all sorts of international agencies even though their case (is most instances) are as a consequence of reckless sex acts. For a kidney patient, is there similar help coming? After careful analysis of the situation, my humble suggestion is for a proper national approach to this situation based on the fact that the condition can affect anyone in Grenada and the fact that the service is available right here in LITTLE GRENADA by PRIVATE GRENADIANS -- not the GOVERNMNET. By way of monetary support, I believe that out own National Insurance Scheme (NIS) needs to be challenged to play their role in this very critical health issue and stick to their original mandate of providing health support systems for which each working person in Grenada should be paying. I like to keep things simple, Wallace JA; I don’t have the exact figures but it can be found. I feel that we have about 15,000 persons working in Grenada and their average monthly NIS contribution should be in the region of say EC$50.00 (for argument’s sake). Recently, the amount of persons contributing to NIS has increased because the self employed is also mandated to make payments to the Scheme. What this means is that should the NIS now make a EC$10.00 maximum allocation of the worker’s contribution to assist and keep the dialysis service available in Grenada then to me they would have serve their TRUE PURPOSE as compared to some of the non-health related investment and engagement that they find themselves in from time to time. This allocation of ten dollars can be arrived at by taking five dollars from each worker‘s contribution and five dollars from the company’s contribution for each worker amounting to approximately EC$150,000 monthly which will be able to pay for dialysis for 17 persons every month. We know now that while there are approximately 8 patients here there are many who RAN outside for help. Remember that NIS works with a 4% salary contribution from the worker, plus 4% from the employer and another 1% from the employer for administrative purposes. Therefore technically, the administrative cost of NIS should be covered and 8% total contribution per worker should be untouched money. Why should we be running from our country when the service is available here and the possible financing from our own NIS exist? Bear in mind many of us may never live to get the real benefit from the NIS when we reach the pension age of 60 or 65. But while we wait to be that age our own brothers or sisters or children (or me or you) may suffer with kidney failure and may have to see them drop dead before our eyes because we don’t have the money and we can’t go to the bank and we can’t get our pension before the time reaches. This has to be a MAD society. The point is that we don’t have to wait on government, because they say that the treasury is empty. So fine with that! But we do have an opportunity to show to ourselves that we have innovative and creative ways of dealing with emerging crises in our country. Action can take place. Me, you and many others can take action and petition the NIS to become more active in assisting in the health support systems in the country. We need health when we are young because this is what will keep us productive. NIS, we ask for you to be wise and stand up to your mandate and spend our money wisely – spend it on HEALTH of our GRENADIANS and not on generating WEALTH for OTHERS.