KARACHI, March 9: Various institutions and organizations held programmes to mark the first ever World Kidney Day in the city on Thursday. Speakers at conferences and seminars held on the theme of early detection and prevention called for increasing awareness of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) and its associated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

At a seminar organized at the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), it was noted that the most common causes of CKD in children were reversible and could be prevented.

Speakers included Prof Afroze Ramzan Sherali, Director of NICH, who is also chairperson of the Nephrology Group of Pakistan Paediatric Association, Dr Ali Asghar Lanwala of Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, and Dr Zafar Zaidi of the Kidney Centre.

The common causes of CKD in the country were urinary calculus disease, reflux nephropathy, congenital obstructive nephropathy and hypoplastic-dysplastic kidneys, the experts said.

It was estimated that the magnitude of the CKD was 800 to 3,000 new cases per year in Pakistan. Since it was impossible to ensure dialysis and transplantation for all CKD cases, there was left only one viable option of early diagnosis and proper management for prevention of the CKD and end-stage renal failure, speakers mentioned.

In the meantime, Head of Nephrology Section at the Aga Khan University Dr Tazeen Jafar has said that every fifth person over the age of 40 in Pakistan might be affected by CKD.

She was speaking at a seminar organized at the AKU to mark the World Kidney Day and to inform primary care physicians, general practitioners and family practice doctors about kidney diseases and their treatment.

Dr Tazeen Jafar also discussed screening strategies and programmes that best suited a country like Pakistan.

Dr Jaffar Naqvi, Chief Executive of the Kidney Foundation of Pakistan, shared his views about the situation of patients with kidney failure on dialysis in Pakistan, and recounted his experience of the End Stage Renal Failure Registry.

He stressed the need for government sponsored haemodialysis projects.

Among others, Dr Waqar Kashif, Dr Arshad Ahmed, Dr Iqtidar Ahmed Khan, and Dr Raziuddin Bayabani of AKU also spoke at the seminar. Dr David Taylor, Acting Provost AKU, hoped the seminar would help create awareness about the screening of people in “high-risk groups” for kidney diseases.

The Karachi Press Club (KPC) also held a Kidney Camp on its premises on Thursday. A special lecture pertaining to kidney diseases was also delivered by Dr Jafer Naqvi.