The Morrison Government has today launched the National Strategic Action Plan for Kidney Disease and awarded $3.5 million in funding to organisations to take immediate action.
1.7 million Australian adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease, however less than 10 per cent are aware they have the condition.
In 2017, 17,000 Australians lost their lives to kidney disease and 1.8 million hospitalisations occurred.
Three per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 15 years and over live with the condition, triple the rate of the non-Indigenous population.
Early diagnosis and management can change the course of chronic kidney disease, a disease that is often detected too late to be reversible.
Developed by Kidney Health Australia (KHA), the plan provides a blueprint for transforming kidney disease in Australia over the next 10 years through three priority areas:
- prevention, detection and education
- optimal care and support
- research and data
The Government is providing $1.25 million to Kidney Health Australia over four years, to develop a new digital platform to underpin improved awareness and support for the public and the kidney disease sector.
This will assist the implementation of a number of recommendations identified in the action plan, help build awareness of the disease, and develop services and support for people living with kidney disease and their carers.
This is in addition to the $800,000 investment our Government has provided to Kidney Health Australia, to deliver a national peer support and education program for 500 young people aged 15 to 24 with advanced kidney disease who have received a kidney transplant.
The Government is also committing a further $2.25 million to implement a range of activities under the action plan. Shortlisted recipients include:
- KidGen, led by the University of Queensland
- Flinders University
- The Menzies School of Health Research
- The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
The action plan complements the Indigenous Renal Health Roadmap, and together they will work to close the gap in Indigenous renal health and treatment outcomes.
The Morrison Government has continually demonstrated its commitment to supporting people living with kidney disease.
Last month we listed Pharmacor Cinacalcet® on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme-a medicine that, without the subsidy, would see patients pay more than $700 per year. With the PBS subsidy they will only pay a maximum of $41 per script, or $6.60 with a concession card.
Our Government spends $270 million per year on medicines for the treatment and management of kidney and renal conditions.
We have also invested $214 million in National Health and Medical Research Council grants for clinical research into kidney and renal issues between 2000 and 2019.
The National Strategic Action Plan for Kidney Disease is available at: https://kidney.org.au/
