Dialysis Access — Zenith Medical Centre
Operational research and capacity-building for dialysis delivery at Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre, addressing access gaps for patients with end-stage renal disease.
Expanding Access to Dialysis Care
End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing burden in sub-Saharan Africa, yet dialysis infrastructure remains severely limited. Devoted Skies partnered with Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre to conduct an operational assessment of dialysis delivery — identifying the system design changes that can extend care to more patients without requiring new capital investment.
What We Found
Early findings from our assessment highlight a system design challenge more than a pure capacity issue. Demand is heavily clustered during peak hours, creating long wait times while resources sit underutilized later in the day. Patients also report cost pressures and limited scheduling predictability — both of which affect treatment adherence and long-term outcomes.
A forward-looking question now guides our next phase of work: are we seeing a shift in ESRD prevalence toward younger populations, and what does that mean for prevention strategies, access infrastructure, and long-term system design?
Our Approach
Working alongside clinical and administrative leadership at Zenith Medical, our team reviewed scheduling workflows, patient throughput data, and cost structures. A Harvard-supported operational analysis produced a detailed roadmap of improvement opportunities — available in the document below.
Devoted Skies remains committed to turning this research into field-ready solutions. If you are a healthcare operator, funder, or researcher working on renal care access in Africa, we invite you to connect: info@devotedskies.org
Documents
Optimizing Dialysis Delivery in Resource-Constrained Settings
Harvard capstone examining operational improvements at Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre — assessing scheduling, cost barriers, and system design opportunities.