ISN Urges Members of the 148th WHO Executive Board to Prioritize the Prevention and Treatment of Kidney Disease
The ISN participated in the 148th session of the WHO Executive Board, which took place virtually from January 18-26, 2021.
The ISN submitted four statements on:
- Oral health and its correlation with kidney and cardiovascular diseases
- Social determinants of health
- Prevention and control of diabetes
Read the full statements here.
The first two statements, one of which was jointly submitted by the ISN and the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health, call upon Member States and the WHO to recognize the global burden of oral diseases affecting over 3.5 billion people globally, especially those from marginalized communities and lower economic backgrounds.
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is associated with clinical and radiographic changes in the mouth that are detrimental to oral health and can lead to health complications. Studies have shown that oral and circulatory health are connected; people with poor oral health, such as gum disease or tooth loss, have higher rates of cardiovascular problems such as heart attack or stroke.
Social determinants of health, such as gender inequality and poor maternal education, health, and nutrition, are prenatal risk factors of CKD. These precedents are exacerbated by lack of access to clean water, primary care, and essential medicines, and low rates of early diagnosis due to poverty, the absence of universal health coverage, and inadequate education. In turn, kidney disease increases poverty through the associated cost of care, job losses, and education interruption.
The ISN urged Member States and the WHO to prioritize eliminating these health inequities by removing barriers to access health services and developing policies that include treatment and care for all people affected by kidney diseases.
Adults living with diabetes are up to four times more likely to die from heart diseases and, in up to 40% of cases, eventually suffer kidney failure. Together with the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health and the NCD Alliance, the ISN urged Member States to approve the “Draft Decision on Addressing Diabetes as a Public Health Concern” and develop a draft resolution on strengthening efforts to address this issue as part of universal health coverage, for consideration by the 74th World Health Assembly.
