Alongside the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, the Global Patient Alliance for Kidney Health and Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health convened a roundtable bringing together patient advocates, clinicians and health ministers from across the globe. The message from the room was clear: The moment is now to translate accelerating global momentum for kidney health to national level mobilization.
An Unprecedented Window for Action
Opening remarks from H.E. Pattana Promphat, Thailand’s Minister of Public Health, and AstraZeneca Chair Michel Demaré set a tone of urgency and opportunity. The 2025 UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases, its accompanying Declaration and a landmark WHO Resolution on Kidney Health have together created genuine political momentum. For the kidney health community, the task ahead is translating that commitment into action at the national level.
A Burden That Reaches Every Health System
Participants from Vietnam, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Kenya and beyond shared stark statistics about the burden of chronic kidney disease. In the UK, one in 10 people have CKD and in Egypt, it accounts for more than $250 million in annual direct health system costs. Across diverse geographies, the same story emerged: patients are often diagnosed when their disease is advanced and treatment costs are high.
Leading the Path Forward
Three themes emerged as the foundation of a stronger global response:
- Integrate and coordinate care. CKD is inseparable from diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Countries like Vietnam and Egypt are already updating national guidelines and screening programs to reflect this connection.
- Expand access to screening. From Kenya’s network of 100,000 community health workers to Thailand’s one-million-volunteer program, the roundtable made clear that community-driven initiatives could extend the reach of screening services in low-resource settings.
- Act early for better outcomes. Vietnam exemplified a commitment to investing in screening and early intervention that delivers long-term dividends for patients, health systems and economies. Its screening program conducts annual health checks on about 100 million people for CKD and other comorbidities.
A Shared Goal
Roundtable participants left Geneva aligned on a shared agenda: health systems must invest upstream, governments must honor their NCD commitments and the kidney health community must sustain its advocacy to turn policy into practice.
GloPAKH is committed to supporting this work, one country at a time. To learn more and get involved, visit globalkidneyalliance.org.