World Kidney Day 2015: A great anniversary campaign
World Kidney Day (WKD) 2015 raised awareness about the importance of kidney health in reducing the impact of kidney disease and its associated problems worldwide. Over 560 events were organized in more than 90 countries, including Algeria, New Caledonia, Chad and Ivory Coast. The most active nations were the UK, India, Brazil, Spain, Indonesia, Argentina, and Mexico.
“March 12, 2015 marked our 10th anniversary. It was particularly special because the theme ‘Kidney Health for All’ highlighted the effects of poverty on Chronic Kidney Disease,” says WKD Steering Committee representative Guillermo Garcia Garcia. The theme reminds us that not all of us are equal with regards to risk for kidney disease and access to treatment. Some communities in both higher and lower income countries are at greater risk than others because of their ethnic origin, socioeconomic status and/or where they live. This has major public health implications because of the extremely high costs of renal replacement therapy.
“The enthusiasm worldwide generated by WKD reflected the increased awareness of kidney disease,” adds Philip Li from the WKD Steering Committee. This year’s campaign revealed great social media activity with 29,600 fans on Facebook, 5,223 followers on Twitter and 63,009 views on YouTube.
50 million people talked about World Kidney Day on and around March 12, 2015. There was amazing online exposure with 33,000 mentions of World Kidney Day in 9 languages across the web over March. Many participants drank a glass of water to raise awareness about the importance of kidney health, reaching 2 million people and sharing more than 4,000 pictures on social media.
Some of the highlights of this campaign included:
- The Empire State Building was lit up in orange to mark the occasion.
- Screenings for kidney disease took place on board of the TGV train from Paris to Marseille on March 12, 2015, an event sponsored by French President François Hollande.
- The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was lit up for the day.
- A Parliamentary breakfast and a roundtable discussion took place at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia.
- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Department of Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health, in collaboration with the Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension, organized a webinar.
The American Society of Nephrology (ASN), the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Non-communicable disease (NCD) Alliance, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), PAHO, European Renal Association – European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) and KDIGO played a valuable role in endorsing this campaign. Many thanks to WKD sponsors Danone, Sanofi Renal, AstraZeneca, Abbvie; WKD supporters Alexion, Amgen and WKD benefactors Baxter, Fresenius Medical Care.
World Kidney Day 2016 will take place on March 10, 2016. For the latest updates, please visit: www.worldkidneyday.org.
