ISN Advocacy Newsletter – Bridging the Gaps – February 2025
2024 Advocacy Milestones & What’s Ahead in 2025
Welcome to Bridging the Gaps, the quarterly update on ISN advocacy efforts to prioritize kidney health worldwide.
As we step into 2025, I look forward to building on the ISN’s significant contributions to raising awareness of kidney disease in 2024.
In May, the ISN organized a side event during the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva, “Advancing Kidney Care for All: Expanding Access to Lifesaving Therapies,” emphasizing the need to raise kidney disease as a priority on the global health agenda.
At the event, Guatemalan Health Minister Oscar Cordón Cruz committed to proposing a WHO resolution on kidney disease as a priority NCD. In October, with Thailand’s support, Guatemala officially requested the resolution. If recommended in February 2025, Member States will vote at the WHO Assembly in May 2025.
To support these efforts and garner widespread public support, the ISN launched a global petition in September 2024. The petition calls on citizens to urge policymakers to prioritize kidney health and encourages Member States to endorse the resolution proposed by Guatemala. The petition has been instrumental in amplifying this urgent call to action.
September also saw the ISN making a powerful impact at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), highlighting the human and economic burden of kidney disease with our exhibit booth, a “fireside chat,” and an expert panel discussion.
Looking to the year ahead, a key advocacy event in 2025 will be the 4th High-level Meeting on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) at the UN General Assembly in September.
In the meantime, as we gear up for World Kidney Day 2025, I invite you to explore the World Kidney Day campaign materials. Use the provided social media toolkit, hashtags, and visuals to engage your audience and join us in raising global awareness about kidney health.
This year’s Professor Donal O’Donoghue Global Kidney Policy Forum edition, “Enhancing Kidney Health in Southeast Asia: Bridging Gaps and Building Sustainable Solutions,” will take place on February 6, just before the official opening of WCN’25 in New Delhi, India.
I urge all colleagues to register for WCN’25 in New Delhi from February 6–9, 2025. After a year of progress in global kidney health, this congress offers a chance to unite, reflect, and renew our collective commitment to advancing nephrology. Your participation will help shape the future of kidney care worldwide.
Warm regards,
Masaomi Nangaku
ISN President
The ISN is excited to announce the lineup of expert speakers from the Southeast Asia region presenting at the 2025 Professor Donal O’Donoghue Global Kidney Policy Forum:
- Dr Sanghamitra Pati, the Additional Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research
- Nalika Gunawardena, regional adviser for noncommunicable diseases at WHO SEARO
The forum will focus on the growing kidney disease burden in South-East Asia and will discuss strategies to prevent and manage it locally and globally. It will take place on February 6, from 2.15 – 4.15 p.m. IST, just before the official opening of WCN’25 in New Delhi, India.
Find out more about the lineup here
A critical issue in kidney health in Southeast Asia is the rising prevalence of chronic kidney disease and its association with diabetes and hypertension, coupled with limited access to early diagnosis and treatment. Socio-economic disparities and a lack of awareness about kidney health compound these challenges.
The forum will provide a platform for speakers to address these difficulties, focusing on equity in access to care. Discussions will explore strategies to promote kidney health by addressing social determinants of health, strengthening primary care systems, and expanding access to treatment options for end-stage kidney failure, including kidney transplantation and conservative kidney management.
The 2025 theme, “Are Your Kidneys OK? Detect Early, Protect Kidney Health,” highlights the importance of recognizing kidney disease risk factors and accessing timely testing to improve early detection, intervention, and outcomes.
Here are some ways to support the WKD campaign:
- Download the activity guide here
- Share the WKD message with your community on social media – tag @WorldKidneyDay and use hashtags #WorldKidneyDay, #AreYourKidneysOK, #KidneyHealthMatters
- Download the WKD logo with and without date in multiple languages
- Access our Social Media Toolkit to engage with the campaign
- Download our custom-designed props to participate in the 2025 hashtag challenge #AreYourKidneysOK
- Organize or take part in a WKD activity to mark the day and pin it to the WKD interactive map
- Share a story for the WKD blog. Submit via email to emma@worldkidneyday.org or directly through your personal registration/login area on the WKD website
- This year, WKD will feature the ISN ‘Are Your Kidneys Healthy?’ quiz, which complements the 2025 theme.
- Subscribe to the WKD newsletter to keep up to date with the 2025 campaign
- Become a WKD champion and help raise awareness about kidney disease in your region. Find more information on how to become a champion here.
Momentum is building for the proposed WHO Resolution on Reducing the Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) through the Promotion of Kidney Health and Strengthening Prevention and Control of Kidney Disease, led by Guatemala and expected to be approved at the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
Guatemala submitted the resolution on October 28, 2023.The resolution requires backing from WHO Executive Board members and unanimous votes from UN Member States.
The ISN actively supports Guatemala’s efforts with the resolution, encouraging Ministries of Health worldwide to back the initiative. To amplify this call, the ISN launched a global kidney health petition last year urging kidney health to be recognized as a priority NCD. With the petition deadline extended to May 2025 to coincide with the World Health Assembly, global support is crucial. Celebrities like José Corbacho have already joined the movement.
The ISN is pleased to announce its recent participation in the “Patient Consensus Meeting” hosted by CompCure in Brussels, Belgium, in January 2025.
The meeting brought together patient groups, kidney health organizations, and public policy advocates to tackle the challenges faced by people living with common and rare kidney diseases. Participants developed a consensus statement with 3–5 key recommendations for policymakers to help address the challenges they experience.
Representing the ISN at the event, Detlef Böckenhauer presented “Kidney Health and the International and European Public Policy Agenda.”
The ISN is committed to placing patients at the heart of its mission and advocating for stronger policies to improve kidney health. Look out for further updates from the meeting soon.
The ISN is pleased to share that the European Kidney Forum 2025 took place on January 28, 2025, from 3-5 p.m. CET at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Organized by the MEP Group for Kidney Health and co-hosted by MEPs Tomislav Sokol and Andras Kulja, the forum focused on the theme “Early Detection, Better Outcomes: Advancing Kidney Disease Screening in the EU,” aiming to advance kidney health policies and amplify the importance of early detection initiatives across Europe.
The agenda included high-level discussions on kidney disease prevention, early detection, and the integration of screening efforts into EU health strategies. A networking exhibition provided a platform to forge collaborative relationships to help advance kidney disease prevention strategies.
The ISN is delighted to partner with Devex on a new content series of different op-eds and videos, “Accelerating Action: Financing the Future of NCD Prevention and Control.”
This collaboration seeks to emphasize the urgent need for sustainable and innovative financial solutions to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including kidney disease, which plays a major role in the global health burden.
A key focus of the series will be the intersection of climate change and kidney health. The ISN will highlight its Green-K initiative advocating for environmentally responsible kidney care and sustainable nephrology practices to reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.
This partnership aims to drive global action, advocating for investments in kidney health as part of broader NCD strategies while advancing climate-conscious healthcare solutions.
The 2025 Global NCD Alliance Forum will offer a key platform for addressing the global burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
From February 13 – 15, 2025, in Kigali, Rwanda, the forum will assemble key stakeholders from civil society to discuss and generate proposals to help shape the agenda for the 2025 UN High-level Meeting on NCDs, ensuring NCDs remain a priority on the global health stage.
Ifeoma Ulasi, Advocacy Working Group deputy chair, will contribute to two sessions:
- “Make the Change for Kidney Health: The Value of Screening and Early Detection in NCD Management”
Sponsored by GloPAKH, this session addresses early detection of reno-cardio-metabolic conditions as a critical measure to improving health outcomes.
- “Unlocking Health Equity: Addressing NCDs Through UHC and Financial Protection“
Hosted by the UHC2030, led by WHO, the session focuses on strategies and priorities for coordinated and aligned advocacy efforts in the lead-up to the 4th UN High-level Meeting on NCDs.