Consultation report on CKDu submitted to President

Following a three-day international expert consultation to guide future direction for addressing Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Aetiology (CKDu), a report was presented to President Maithripala Sirisena by WHO Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Jacob Kumaresan at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

The consultation was organised by the Presidential Task Force on CKDu in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The objective of the consultation was to review the knowledge on CKDu globally and Sri Lanka, identify gaps, prioritise an interdisciplinary collaborative research agenda and recommend interventions based on the available evidence. The consultation also aimed to develop consensus on the monitoring and accountability framework for implementation of the recommendations. There were participants from 54 countries at the Consultation Workshop.

A series of background papers commissioned for the Consultation provided the current state of the problem of CKDu and the gaps that needed to be filled. During the opening session the Director of the Presidential Task Force on CKDu and other senior officials highlighted the commitment of the Government to solve problem of CKDu through a multisectoral approach. 

With the consensus of all 54 experts who participated in the meeting made the following recommendations:

nDevelop a robust surveillance system

nEstablish a consortium of national/international researchers

nStrengthen the implementation of available interventions

nProvide social support at three levels

nStrengthen/expand human resources at various levels

nDevelop a framework for monitoring and accountability

Secretary to the President, P.B. Abeykoon, Anura Jayawickrama, Secretary, Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Dr. Palitha Mahipala, Director General of Health Services and Dr. Lanka Jayasuriya participated in the event.