International Committee

Academic

International Committee

The Renal Association International Committee was formed in 2004 with the goal of encouraging RA members to contribute to developing nephrology in medium and low income countries through education, training and research. We work in close partnership with the International Society of Nephrology to further these aims.

Specific Aims of the International Committee

Raise the international profile of UK nephrologists as teachers and educators in the developing countries.
Attract more overseas trainees to the UK.
Generate more dynamic and creative links between UK renal units and those in the developing countries.

Raising the Profile

This is one of the current priorities of the Renal Association. A number of important initiatives are sponsored by the International Society o f Nephrology (ISN) and its Commission for the Global Advancement of Nephrology (COMGAN). These include:

The contribution of UK nephrology in the developing countries The Sister Renal Center (SRC) Program is chaired by Dr Paul Harden. The scheme encourages the pairing of sister centres between Supporting Centres/SC (eg in the UK) and Emerging Centres/EC (in the developing world). The SRC program has 3 levels C to A according to the duration of sistership and the level of activities and achievement. The benefits increase from C to A with support provided by ISN for fellowships, senior scholarships, hand-on training of paramedics and organisation of meetings between the two centres. They also provide travel grants for members of the EC to attend the World Congress of Nephrology, Nexus meetings and the American Society of Nephrology. Other material support include subscriptions to Kidney International, Nature Clinical Practice Nephrology and the online ISN educational Gateway, leading textbooks in Nephrology and Internal Medicine and educational CDs.

Current UK Sister Center pairs are listed below. The annual deadline for applications is 30 September.

Level A

UK (Oxford) - Belarus (Minsk)

Level B

UK (Birmingham) - Ghana (Accra)
UK (Sheffield) - Nigeria (Ilorin)*
UK (St Georges) - Ghana (Kumasi)*
UK (Guy's) - Romania (Iasi)*
UK (Sheffield) - Bangladesh (Dhaka)*

Level C

UK (Leicester) - Nigeria (Abuja)
UK (Sheffield) - China (Shanghai)
UK (Cardiff) - Ethiopia (Addis)
UK (Stevenage) - Nigeria (Lagos)
UK (Birmingham) - Chile (Santiago)
UK (Sheffield) - Nigeria (Benin)*

* Honorary Levels

The ISN Fellowship Program is chaired by Professor David Harris. This scheme provides an opportunity for UK units to host trainees from the developing world. Over the past 8 years, the UK has hosted 33 ISN fellows based in 15 centers through the generous support of the ISN and Kidney Research UK.

There are two deadlines annually (31 Jan and 31 July). You can register your interest to host an ISN fellow by recording your unit's interest in order to be included in the ISN fellowship matching program.

Fellows are eligible to apply for free places on the Advanced Nephrology course organized by the Renal Association.

The ISN COMGAN Research Committee chaired by Professor G Remuzzi has launched the ISN Program for Detection and Management of Chronic Kidney Disease, Hypertension, Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease in Developing Countries (KHDC). This program supports collaborative research with emphasis on the detection and management of CKD, hypertension and diabetes in developing countries. Applications for grants up to $20,000 are called for twice a year on the 1st of April and 1st of October.

The ISN COMGAN CME Programme brings essential teaching and training to some 14,000 doctors and health care practitioners in the emerging world annually. The CME committee is chaired by Professor Norbert Lameire and is involved in sponsoring educational nephrology programmes in the developing world.

The ISN Educational Ambassador Scheme

This new scheme seeks to match specific educational needs in developing nations to that of experts from the developed nations who can offer their time and expertise on a voluntary basis. Applications should be made directly to the ISN at any time.