Advocacy Tools
It’s shocking that although between 8 and 10% of the adult population live with some form of kidney damage, and millions die prematurely each year from complications related to kidney disease, “kidneys do not appear to be considered by the public as vital organs that need to be considered and kept healthy.”
To address this gap, the ISN has launched a podcast: A Beginners’ Guide to Kidney Health
Featuring ISN Executive Committee Member Professor Ifeoma Ulasi from Nigeria and the late Professor Donal O’Donoghue, United Kingdom, Chair of the Advocacy Working Group at the time of recording, the podcast details the vital role that kidneys play in keeping us healthy, the best ways to maintain optimum kidney health, and the most common symptoms of kidney disease.
With the global burden of kidney disease increasing, it provides recommendations on how policymakers across the world can best prevent and manage this growing challenge.
Listen to the podcast ‘A Beginners’ Guide to Kidney Health‘ below:
In response to the growing prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) globally and the attendant increase – particularly in low-resource settings – of the need for dialysis, the ISN has launched The ISN Framework for Developing Dialysis Programs in Low-Resource Settings.
The Framework, developed alongside the WHO and covered in a Lancet commentary Bringing equity in access to quality dialysis, outlines the requirements and operational considerations for setting up or expanding dialysis programs in resource-constrained settings and is intended as a guide to support WHO member states in developing sustainable strategies for the treatment of patients with kidney failure.
Noting the WHO’s recommendation that “the framework for dialysis…will be a major resource for the management of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)” and its “hope that this will be used widely,” ISN Advocacy will be working with partners from across the globe to facilitate its use to decrease the burden of kidney disease.
You can download the framework here in English or here in French.
To define the state of kidney care worldwide, and provide policy recommendations for improvement, the ISN launched a global survey project, the ISN-Global Kidney Health Atlas (GKHA) in 2016, to collect information on the current capacity for kidney health care delivery around the world.
The ISN-GKHA is a multinational survey conducted by the ISN to assess current capacity for kidney care. Designed to document the degree to which the six principles of World Health Organization (WHO) Universal Health Coverage (UHC)* are available in each country or region, data is gathered on the world status of existing resources, structures, and organizations available to patients with kidney diseases.
A second, updated ISN-GKHA global report published in April 2019, drew attention to the growing burden of kidney diseases and the significant inequities in access to treatment across countries and regions.
The third ISN-GKHA global report published in March 2023 sheds light on current capacity around the world to deliver kidney care.
Read more about this project here.
Read the editorial recently published online at The Lancet Global Health, volume 12, Issue 3, on the ISN-GKHA, the global burden of chronic kidney disease and the article “An update on the global disparities in kidney disease burden and care across world countries and regions.”
*Health Finance, Health Policy, Service Delivery and Safety, Essential Medications and Health Products, Health Information and Statistics, and Health Workforce.
The ISN’s first “Advocacy and Policy Course – New Skills for the Modern Nephrologist” was held on February 24 at the World Congress of Nephrology 2022.
The course, intended for anyone interested in advocating for kidney health, covered the principles and practicalities of designing and conducting effective advocacy campaigns to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and techniques to advocate successfully at all levels of policymaking.
Internationally renowned kidney health advocates introduced the concept of advocacy and provided real-life success stories from kidney care campaigns in different countries. The course emphasized the importance of aligning advocacy strategies with patient perspectives and the need to skilfully present data to policymakers.
Participants received a certificate of completion of the course.
You can watch the full course here.