The Damanhour Medical National Institute in Egypt and the Sheffield Kidney Institute in the UK have now been officially recognized a level B pair in the ISN Global OUtreach (GO) Sister Renal Center (SRC)Program. This status was awarded to the pair following the successful activities they were involved in last year.

Last April, at the World Congress of Nephrology 2011, Zaghloul Gouda received an appreciation award from the ISN Global Outreach Research and Prevention Program for his efforts in implementing the EGIPT Chronic Kidney Disease program in Egypt. The EGIPT CKD program sets out to promote early detection and prevention of CKD and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on a community level. At the same meeting, Walid Hemida presented a follow-up study about visual field changes in hemodialysis patients conducted at the Damanhour nephrology department. Gouda also talked about the SRC activities between Egypt and the UK, including setting up a web-based program to detect and prevent NCDs worldwide.

The partnership with the Sheffield Kidney Institute has been effective in setting up a filing system to provide easy patient follow up and support the registry database. Training has also been a priority for both institutions with a workshop organized to help nursing staff in the nephrology department. Some 60 local nurses attended this tailor-made course in a country where there is no regular continuous medical education for nursing staff in nephrology. Sheffield Kidney Institute lent its support in putting together the program and setting up a video conference discussion with Meguid El-Nahas on the importance of early detection of CKD for developing countries. This really reflects the role of SRC program in improving nephrology practice in local communities.