News

Given the devastating effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on people with kidney disease, and to mitigate this adverse impact in any future pandemic, the ISN, together with its partners in the Global Coalition for Circulatory Health (GCCH), published the position paper “Preventing the Next Pandemic: The Case for Investing in Circulatory Health,” ahead of the World Health Assembly’s (WHA) special session in November 2021 on improving global pandemic preparedness.

The paper calls for the development and inclusion of effective strategies to address circulatory health in emergency preparedness plans and includes a set of recommendations to support World Health Organization (WHO) member states to take discernible steps toward a pandemic-free future.

Having brought this issue to the attention of WHO Executive Board member state health attachés in Geneva, and having addressed the historic WHA Special Session with an oral statement urging member states to adopt an international pandemic treaty to prevent and improve preparedness for global health crises, the ISN welcomed the WHA’s decision to establish an intergovernmental negotiating body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement, or another international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

Together with its newly created Patient Liaison Advisory Group, the ISN will be working closely with WHO member states to ensure that the prospective treaty reflects the interests of kidney patients and nephrology healthcare professionals.