¿Quién aboga por la consolidación de los programas nacionales de prevención y control para la enfermedad renal?
The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved a resolution during the 78th World Health Assembly, in which member states are urged to strengthen their programs and control of kidney disease, thus prioritizing kidney health on the global agenda of the international organization.
This resolution, promoted by Guatemala and supported by numerous countries, including Spain, implies the recognition of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) as a growing public health problem worldwide, as well as the economic and social burden it entails on global health and patients.
As a result, it is urgent to address kidney pathologies in a comprehensive manner to reduce their growth and mortality in the coming decades, especially in countries with medium and low incomes, but also in developed countries, where the prevalence of CKD is already affecting between 10 and 15 percent of the population and is expected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2050.
To strengthen national programs for these diseases, it proposes integrating prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment in national health systems; improving access to early detection; and ensuring fair access to renal replacement therapies (dialysis and transplantation), with transplantation as the priority renal replacement therapy, as well as new medications that can reduce morbidity or slow the progression of CKD.
Furthermore, the resolution calls for raising public awareness of CKD, strengthening multinational research, collaborating around these pathologies, and emphasizing the importance of addressing key risk factors like hypertension and diabetes.
It also calls on the WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom, to prioritize kidney diseases in global health strategies; provide technical support to countries for the development of prevention and treatment programs; support training systems and knowledge exchange; promote public policies that ensure sustainable financing for comprehensive care; and ensure continuity of nephrological care in emergency situations.
The text approved by the WHO has been highly appreciated by the Spanish Society of Nephrology (SEN) and other healthcare professionals involved in the care of people with kidney diseases, such as the National Transplant Organization (ONT) and the Spanish Society of Medical Assistance for Nephrological patients to combat kidney disease (alterc).
For the president of SEN, Emilio Sánchez, this WHO resolution is «a historic event that places kidney health and kidney disease where it should be in global health strategies.» He also emphasized that it «strengthens» the work done by the company with the Ministry of Health within the Chronicle 2025-2028 approach.
The Director-General of ONT, Beatriz Domínguez-Gil, emphasized the importance of the text recognizing transplantation as a priority replacement therapy, taking into account the significant variations between countries in this activity, which impacts patient survival and quality.
«In 2023, only 91 countries reported kidney transplant activity in the global donation and transplant observatory, managed by ONT as a WHO collaboration center. The observatory also shows significant variations in countries with kidney transplant programs, from sporadic procedures to over 80 kidney transplants per million,» she detailed.
Meanwhile, the president of Seden, Itziar Buo, emphasized that this resolution «is a great opportunity» to advance in care models that prioritize population education and promote personal care as the best preventive tool, facilitating early detection, timely access to advanced consultations for kidney diseases, choosing renal treatment, and coordinating with partners.
Finally, the president of Alcer, Daniel Gallego, emphasized that recognizing CKD as a global public health priority helps patients with this disease stop being invisible. Along these lines, he has urged all governments, especially the Spanish government, to urgently implement the recommendations they consider.
FUENTE
