An international expert consultation workshop held to guide future direction for addressing Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) has recommended several measures to prevent the debilitating and fatal disease among the farming communities of Sri Lanka.
The report of the three-day expert consultation organized by the Presidential Task Force on CKDu in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) was presented to the President Maithripala Sirisena today by WHO Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Jacob Kumaresan at the Presidential Secretariat.
The objective of the consultation was to review the knowledge on CKDu globally and Sri Lanka, identify gaps, prioritize 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 multi-sectoral approach.
With the consensus of all 54 experts who participated in the meeting, the workshop recommended several measures including the development of a robust surveillance system and establishment of a consortium of national/international researchers.
The experts also recommended to strengthen the implementation of available interventions, provide social support at three levels, strengthen / expand human resources at various levels and develop a framework for monitoring and accountability.
Secretary to the President, P.B. Abeykoon, Secretary to the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Anura Jayawickrama, , Director General of Health Services Dr. Palitha Mahipala, and Dr. Lanka Jayasuriya also participated in the event.
