Bridging the Gaps, Building Capacity, and Connecting Communities: How the ISN-Global Kidney Health Atlas is Growing a Global Community for Optimal Kidney Care

By guest contributor Marina Wainstein

Though we live in a digitally hyperconnected world, it’s still common to feel a sense of solitude—alone in our work, in our curiosities, and in the quiet sense that we have more to say and more to contribute. That the places we come from and the experiences we carry hold stories worth telling and sharing. At times, we may feel constrained—by geography, by the definitions imposed by our credentials or workplaces, or by the boundaries of national healthcare agendas.

In this context, global health—and any initiative that invites us into the international dialogue—offers a chance to bridge those distances and connect us with a kindred community committed to health equity. Beyond advancing our careers or contributing to global efforts, these experiences serve as powerful catalysts, deepening our advocacy and purpose back home. Since its first iteration in 2017, the International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN-GKHA) has been cultivating this. With a growing number of young GKHA fellows from around the world, it aims to create a community in which wisdom and responsibility is passed from one generational iteration to the next. Within thematic or regional working groups, fellows are engaged and trained in using data from multinational surveys and literature reviews to conduct policy-relevant works that can inform kidney care and get those findings published.  With the overarching aim to define and assess the global capacity for kidney care, the ISH-GKHA examines areas such as health workforce availability, access to medications and technologies, treatment costs, and policy frameworks. It provides critical data for global advocacy and policymaking, influencing how resources are allocated and highlighting disparities in kidney care delivery across income levels and regions. Now in its third iteration, it has produced multiple publications across all facets of kidney care across the spectrum of kidney disease (acute kidney injury [AKI], chronic kidney disease [CKD], kidney replacement therapy, conservative kidney management) and recently launched an interactive global kidney care map (https://gkha.theisn.org) to expand its reach and utility as well as enhancing public access to information.

The roundtable provided a powerful platform for young nephrologists—many of us first-time contributors to global initiatives—to reflect on how our involvement in the ISN-GKHA has shaped our careers.

A roundtable in March 2025, marked a collaborative effort between the ISN-GKHA and PLOS Global Public Health, aimed at amplifying recent publications that emerged from the 2023 ISN-GKHA iteration. The joint initiative emphasized open access research and equity-driven publishing. You can access the collection here.

The five key themes from the papers presented during the roundtable were:

1. Global access to medications and health technologies for CKD.
2. Disparities in kidney care for vulnerable populations, including children, refugees, and the elderly.
3. Capacity to detect and manage acute kidney injury (AKI).
4. Disparities in kidney replacement therapy in low- and lower-middle-income countries.
5. Regional CKD hotspots, exploring social, environmental, and occupational determinants of kidney disease.

The roundtable provided a powerful platform for young nephrologists—many of us first-time contributors to global initiatives—to reflect on how our involvement in the ISN-GKHA has shaped our careers. Common themes included how the ISN-GKHA strengthens leadership and advocacy at home, the personal impact of contributing to work that bridges clinical care, research, and policy, and the power of global collaboration and collective data to spotlight neglected issues like CKD of unknown origin (CKDu). Importantly, the roundtable reminded us that the journey—how an initiative brings people and ideas together—is just as valuable as the final, published result. The process of working across borders, learning from one another, and contributing to a shared goal builds not only skills but also a sense of purpose and connection. The relationships and ideas formed through these collaborations will continue to grow, helping to overcome professional isolation and supporting the development of a new generation of leaders committed to advancing health equity.

About the author

Marina Wainstein is a nephrologist and global health researcher with a focus on health equity and kidney care across Australia and Latin America. She is the former chair of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) Young Nephrologists Committee and served as the ISN representative to the WHO Youth Council. Marina is committed to advancing research, advocacy, and leadership opportunities for young healthcare professionals.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by contributors are solely those of individual contributors, and not necessarily those of PLOS.