ISN Emphasizes Link between Kidney Health and Climate Change in COP26 Consultation
In August 2021, the ISN was invited to provide comments and recommendations on the relationship between kidney health and climate change in a consultation seeking to inform the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) Special Report on Climate Change and Health: “The Health Argument for Climate Action.” The paper was developed in the run-up to the COP 26 United Nations Climate Change Conference held earlier this month.
The report aims to raise awareness of the urgent need to tackle climate change as a driver of lower health outcomes, increased mortality, and global health inequities.
New data demonstrates that climate change and its consequences, notably the increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, rising temperatures, and the spread of parasitic and tropical diseases, can increase the risk factors associated with kidney disease. For instance, many regions in North, Central, and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and India, are seeing increased deaths from kidney failure in manual laborers working for prolonged periods in hot temperatures.
The ISN called on all leaders at COP26 to recognize the vulnerability of kidney disease patients and those working in hot temperatures by building climate-resilient and sustainable health systems to protect communities from the devastating consequences of climate change.
