Closing the Gaps CKD Initiative

Kidney disease is increasingly acknowledged as a public health problem, a risk multiplier for many other conditions, and as a co-morbid factor in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and infections. Its fastest growth rate is in low and low-middle-income countries, which require support to face the challenge of this increase.

Although KRT has been available for decades in high-income countries, relatively little is known about the optimal way to coordinate, finance, and regulate the care for people with CKD. Throughout the world, inequalities exist within both emerging and wealthier countries.

In 2016, the ISN launched the CKD ‘Closing the Gaps’ Initiative to provide a comprehensive strategy to address issues related to CKD care delivery worldwide.

The strategy involves ensuring that international leaders understand and address issues related to gaps in clinical care delivery, research, and advocacy.

Through different projects, Closing the Gaps sets out to define the global needs, the current state, and a ‘blueprint’ for bridging inequality in CKD care, using ISN research, education, and advocacy initiatives.

Closing the Gaps is a complementary strategy to the ISN 0by25 Initiative, which aims to eliminate preventable deaths from acute kidney injury (AKI) worldwide by 2025.