News

The Global Circulatory Health Coalition’s (GCCH) October meeting, “Responding to COVID-19: Circulatory Health in Crisis,” focused on the recent launch of the position paper, “Preventing the Next Pandemic: The Case for Investment in Circulatory Health.” Past ISN President Vivekanand Jha was present at the virtual meeting and moderated one of the sessions.

Read the paper here.

 Watch a recording of the GCCH webinar here.

The paper reflects the GCCH’s efforts to improve NCD services for all patients, including those with kidney diseases. It calls on WHO member states to reduce the impact of future pandemics on patients by adopting a proposed Strategic Framework for Emergency Preparedness.

The proposed framework includes measures such as:

• Coordinated national COVID-19 response and recovery plans to prevent, screen, and treat NCDs.
• Increased spending and targeted policies to tackle NCD risk factors.
• Easy priority access to vaccination and other disease prevention methods for those with underlying NCD risk factors
• Investment and research to improve understanding of determinants and effective responses to emerging health challenges.

Chronic kidney disease patients are particularly vulnerable to severe forms of COVID-19. The pandemic has reduced access to vital medical facilities such as primary care, dialysis, acute care services, or follow-up care and rehabilitation due to the increased pressure on health systems.

As a member of the GCCH, the ISN urges WHO Member States to adopt the framework to prevent the impact of future pandemics on kidney disease and other NCD patients, especially in low- and middle-income countries.