A support system for PKD patients in Nigeria, built by a family that needed one.
Hope4PKD Patients Initiative supports people living with polycystic kidney disease, and the families who care for them, through guidance, financial assistance, community and advocacy.
Our story
Hope4PKD began with loss.
Onyekachi Nwakaihe cared for his mother and his brother through their years with kidney disease, and lost both of them. As their caregiver, he saw how hard it is to find reliable information, pay for treatment, and cope with a chronic illness with little support.
After their deaths he set out to understand why it had been so hard. People living with PKD in Nigeria, and the families who care for them, kept running into the same five problems.
Read the story in his own words1
Low awareness
Many Nigerians have never heard of PKD, do not know it runs in families, and do not recognise its symptoms, which leads to late diagnosis.
2
High costs
Dialysis, medication, consultations, scans and transplantation place enormous financial strain on families.
3
No clear path through care
Patients often do not know where to seek help or how to navigate treatment.
4
Isolation
Patients and caregivers carry fear, uncertainty and exhaustion, often alone.
5
Little attention in policy
The realities of PKD are rarely part of healthcare planning or policy discussion.
Hope4PKD was founded to close these five gaps.
Mission
To ensure no one in Nigeria has to navigate polycystic kidney disease alone.
Vision
A Nigeria where every person affected by PKD is diagnosed early, understands their condition, and can access the care and support they need.
Our numbered goals to 2030 will be published, with their method, once the team has agreed them.
Our values
What we hold ourselves to
01
Dignity
Patients decide what is shared about them, whether their name is used, and whether they take part.
02
Verification
Medical details, costs and anything we publish are checked against a written process before we decide.
03
Transparency
When we publish numbers, targets are labelled as targets and kept apart from verified results.
04
Privacy
Staff see only the information their role needs. Medical records stay out of public campaigns.
05
Continuity
Every support plan includes follow-up, and a clear end point when support closes or is withdrawn.
06
Learning
We review our policies, content and programmes as the evidence and patients’ needs change.
Team and advisors
Who runs Hope4PKD
Our legal name is Hope for Polycystic Kidney Disease Patients Initiative. We operate as Hope4PKD Patients Initiative, or Hope4PKD for short.
Leadership and advisor profiles are not published yet
Confirmed roles and approved biographies will appear here, with registration details, governance documents and declared conflicts, once each one is approved.
See how decisions are governed