Abstract:
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global health prob lem with nearly 0.1% of the world’s population suffering
from end-stage kidney disease (ESKD).1
The availability
and accessibility to treatments for ESKD differ around
the globe because of variations in healthcare budgets and
availability of treatments. Although the prevalence of
ESKD in low-income countries (LICs, 0.05%) and lower
middle–income countries (L-MICs, 0.07%) is estimated
to be lower than in high-income countries (HICs, 0.2%),
or potentially underdiagnosed, the proportion of patients
who are not receiving effective treatment is much higher in
LICs (96%) and L-MICs (90%) compared with upper mid dle–income countries (U-MICs, 70%) and HICs (40%).2
In some L-MICs, it is impossible to support hemodialysis
treatment for every ESKD patient, and most patients are
unable to pay for dialysis out of pocket