Despite the growing burden of kidney disease worldwide, kidney health disparity and inequity are still widespread. The World Kidney Day 2019 theme is highlighting these disparities and emphasises the role of public policies and organisational structures in addressing them. Unveiling the social construct of kidney health disparities and therefore giving rise to the opportunity for countries to mitigate these inequities, WKD 2019 urges its stakeholders to call upon their policy makers to devise better kidney care and to streamline efforts toward achieving kidney health equity across the globe.

In many settings, rates of kidney disease and the provision of its care are defined by socio-economic, cultural, environmental and political factors, leading to significant disparities in disease burden, even in developed countries. 

As for many non-communicable diseases, early diagnosis, prevention and delay of progression are sustainable options to reduce costs and consequences of kidney diseases for individuals and countries. Yet, barriers to available, accessible, adequate and quality kidney care persist.

• Encourage and adopt healthy lifestyles (access to clean water, exercise, healthy diet, tobacco control).
• Make screening for kidney diseases a primary healthcare intervention including access to identification tools (e.g. urine and blood tests). 
• Ensure kidney patients receive basic health services they need (e.g. blood pressure and cholesterol control, essential medications) to delay disease progression without suffering financial hardship.
• Call for transparent policies governing equitable and sustainable access to advanced health care services (e.g. dialysis and transplantation) and better financial protection (e.g. subsidies) as more resources become available. 

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