The Damanhur story: Spotlight on sister centers in Egypt and UK
The ISN Sister Renal Centers Program has supported a long-standing partnership between the Damanhur Medical National Institute in Egypt and the Sheffield Kidney Institute, UK. The collaboration has grown extensively raising awareness about prevention and training staff across different regions of Egypt.
Under the mentorship of the team in Sheffield, the collaboration has been crucial to help local staff get the training they need to upgrade their clinical services, especially to offer training in vascular access and the epidemiology of chronic kidney disease and non-communicable diseases.
‘Thanks to the program, we have raised awareness about the Egyptian nephrology community,’ adds Zaghloul Gouda, Consultant Nephrologist at the Department of Nephrology, Damanhur Medical National Institute.
They are are now five ISN Sister Renal Center Programs in Egypt thanks to the educational activities at the center in Damanhur. Since 2014, the collaboration has evolved to lend its support to other centers in the Menoufia Governate, and the cities of Mansoura and Tanta.
The center in Damanhur has also established its own interventional nephrology unit. So far, there have been five ISN Fellowships and 28 educational visits to this center. They have also put increased efforts into education about kidney health across the region, non-communicable disease prevention and developing more research.
World Kidney Day has become an annual celebration about awareness. They have been involved in the campaign since 2007, organizing local screenings within the community, and promoting the EGIPT-CKD Programme for prevention.
The ISN Sister Renal Centers Program nurtures partnerships between two renal centers by supplying funding, a framework, and educational benefits. Find out more about getting involved, HERE.
