Scientific-Tools.Org supports the World Health Organization’s Kidney Health Resolution

April 28, 2025

Scientific-Tools.Org supports the World Health Organization’s Kidney Health Resolution, which has the potential to improve hundreds of thousands of lives if approved.

The World Health Organization Executive Board has recommended that the 78th World Health Assembly approve the draft decision on kidney health. If approved, this will strengthen the capacity of many countries to adequately diagnose and manage kidney disease and kidney failure.

The draft decision focuses on four key areas:

1. Promote Global Awareness and Education on Kidney Disease: Increase public and professional awareness of kidney disease risk factors and preventive actions through campaigns and policy initiatives.
2. Enhance Prevention and Early Detection: Advocate for the integration of kidney disease case-finding within primary care services, targeting high-risk populations.
3. Support Access to Affordable and Quality Treatment: Ensure access to essential diagnostic and medications, progressively expand access to affordable kidney replacement therapy, and kidney care, particularly in resource-limited settings.
4. Strengthen Health Systems for Kidney Disease Management: Build capacity in low- and middle income countries to provide people-centered, high-quality care across the continuum of kidney care.

Each citizen can support with concrete actions the approval of the WHO Kidney Health Resolution at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025! The resolution was introduced by the Guatemala Ministry of Health, but it must be approved by other WHO member countries – and only citizens can call to local Ministries of Health and policy makers to support it in May. Download and share all materials prepared by the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) team and the ISN Advocacy Group Members, send these materials to policy makers:

1. Ready-to-share one-pager summarizing the resolution’s key messages and its global impact.
2. Ready-to-share open letter signed by key kidney and global health advocates, reflecting our collective commitment to prioritizing kidney health and urging Member States to support this resolution.
3. Ready-to-use email draft to introduce the documents and request support from your local Ministry of Health.
4. The ISN visuals for social media.
5. Sign the ISN Global Petition.
6. Download and share infographics and PowerPoint presentation on global and regional CKD morbidity and mortality.

Wonder why this is important? Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a silent epidemic—often undetected until its later stages. This burden is especially severe in low- and middle-income countries, where access to early screening and specialist care is limited. Just one example from our recent article: the GBD study estimates that India is home to 128.0 million people with CKD, which makes it the country with the highest absolute number of CKD cases in the world, followed by China and the United States (118.4 million and 38.7 million, respectively). We found that in city primary health centers in India, where almost all patients had at least one risk factor for kidney disease development, only 1.4% (i.e. less than one in fifty persons!) were aware of existing CKD. If these tens of millions of people do not know about existing CKD, the disease will be left untreated and progress to late stages and complications.

Act, do not wait!

If you want to share on LinkedIn, here are the links to posts:

• call to support the WHO Kidney Health Resolution at the 78th World Health Assembly
• infographics on core global metrics of CKD prevalence
• infographics on core global metrics of CKD mortality
• infographics on core regional metrics of CKD prevalence
• infographics on core regional metrics of CKD mortality
• posters one and two related to the article “No patient with kidney disease should be left behind!“