News

The ISN participated in the resumed 73rd World Health Assembly (WHA) organized by the WHO, which took place virtually from November 9-14, 2020.

The ISN submitted three statements focusing on:

• The prevention and control of kidney disease and other NCDs.
• Maternal, infant, and young child nutrition.
• WHO’s work in health emergencies.

Recordings of the sessions, including the statements presented by the ISN, are available here. Read the full statements here.

The 73rd WHA agenda covered over 50 items, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Universal Health Coverage.

The first statement, jointly submitted by the ISN and the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health, calls upon Member States and the WHO to recognize the growing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients living with NCDs who may face interruption or unavailability of life-saving treatment. It highlights the need to acknowledge multi-morbidity and co-morbidity of NCDs as a growing worldwide public health concern that should be prioritized in the design and implementation of policies aimed at prevention, early detection, and treatment of all NCDs.

Given the strong association between poor maternal, fetal, and child nutrition and an increased risk of kidney disease in adult life, the ISN urged Member States and the WHO to prioritize the development of policies and programs that improve maternal and childhood health and nutrition to reduce low birth weight, prematurity, and obesity to and lessen the global burden of hypertension and kidney disease in adult life.

The ISN congratulated the WHO on its work delivering essential services to affected populations during health emergencies and urged continued efforts to ensure that kidney disease prevention and timely treatment of acute and chronic kidney disease, including access to essential medications, dialysis equipment and

supplies, and safe transplantation, are fully implemented and provided during health crises