Table 3.

The most important actions required and the most imminent threats

Actions required

Create awareness about kidney health Create harmonized pan-European early screening, diagnosis and prevention programmes for kidney disease Include kidney health among EU health priorities and in all EU health communications Create registries for incidence and prevalence of dialysis and transplantation covering all EU countries Increase EU research investment in kidney disease to a level proportional to disease burden and cost Policy change towards sustainable kidney replacement options (home dialysis and transplantation)

Most imminent threats

10% of the general population suffers from CKD and 30% is at risk Kidney disease impacts all levels of quality of life and imposes a major economic burden Complications of kidney disease kill most people before they reach dialysis or transplantation The 5-year survival of dialysis is lower than that of most cancers Only 20% of individuals on dialysis are waitlisted for kidney transplantation Mortality rates are increasing alarmingly and will continue to increase in the coming decades