Chronic kidney disease is receiving long-overdue attention as a global health priority. In 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted its first resolution on kidney health, a landmark step for a disease projected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040. But recognition alone will not improve outcomes. Real progress depends on translating awareness into earlier diagnosis, equitable access to care and stronger support for patients.
These themes were at the center of the Global Patient Alliance for Kidney Health’s latest webinar which unpacked a recently published Lancet Series on CKD and explored its implications for advances in timely CKD management. The three-paper series reveals advances in diagnosis and detection, explores the impact of sex on kidney health and disease, and discovers new therapeutics for CKD alongside complex coexisting conditions. Reflecting on their experience of clinical management and policy design, nephrologist and health advocate Valerie Luyckx, MBBCh, June Fabian, MBBCh, of the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Institute and contributor to the series, and Stephen Mutiso, MBBS, of Kenya’s Ministry of Health, emphasized the importance of translating its findings into sustained action.
Innovation Means Little Without Access
There was recognition that health systems need to be equipped to embrace innovation in a way that doesn’t deepen inequity, especially in low-resource settings. Advances in medicine have made detecting kidney disease earlier and identifying those at highest risk easier than ever. Much of what works is inexpensive. A simple urine test and a routine blood test are still the practical starting point. Together they can spot damage early and flag who is most at risk. Newer versions of these tests are more accurate, and some can now be done at the clinic, or read from a photo taken on a phone.
Yet access remains highly uneven: in many low- and middle-income countries even basic screening programs are inconsistent, and diagnostic tools have often not been validated locally. Who to screen is also unsettled: 40–60% of people with CKD in Africa lack the traditional risk factors that guide screening in high-income countries. Without a focus on equitable access, advances in kidney care risk benefiting only a portion of the global population.
The discussion highlighted similar challenges in treatment. New therapies, including SGLT2 inhibitors, can slow disease progression and reduce cardiovascular risk, but many patients still face barriers related to cost, availability and health care infrastructure. Panelists also noted that health systems often invest heavily in dialysis and kidney replacement therapy while dedicating fewer resources to prevention and early intervention. As Dr. Mutiso put it, “We’re not able to dialyze our way out of this problem.”
Elevating Kidney Disease as a Global Priority
Another message that emerged from the discussion was that CKD almost always appears alongside other conditions, most often diabetes, hypertension, or cardiovascular disease. Speakers cautioned, however, that kidney disease is more than just a consequence of them: it carries its own significant burden for patients and health care systems. The resolution and the series together reflect growing recognition that kidney health belongs inside broader noncommunicable disease strategies rather than downstream of them.
That thinking must reach the clinic as well. CKD shares inflammatory, metabolic and fibrotic pathways with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, so panelists advocated for integrated cardio-kidney-metabolic care rather than siloed treatment across specialties. As Dr. Fabian said, “CKD should no longer be viewed as an isolated thing … it’s part of a network of chronic diseases,” adding that it “can’t just be the nephrologist’s responsibility. It needs to be all of our responsibilities — primary care, diabetes, hypertension, HIV services, all of those.”
A Seat for Patients at the Policy Table
Patients should be active partners in both health care decisions and policy development, and access to comprehensive support matters as much as access to medicines.
Valerie Luyckx relayed the words of patient advocate and GloPAKH steering committee member Marisol Robles: “A diagnosis can change a person’s life in a matter of minutes but learning how to live with kidney disease is a process that can take years.” Equipping patients with knowledge, support and tools to act on an early diagnosis is essential to improved outcomes.
Looking Forward
The webinar concluded with cautious optimism. Diagnostic tools exist, effective therapies are increasingly available, with the resolution and series providing a roadmap, alongside other global strategic frameworks. The challenge now is moving from recognition to action. The onus is on governments to adopt an “early is better” approach to health service delivery, that reaches the patients who need it most.
All three Lancet Series papers are available here. Watch the webinar here.