Han transcurrido ya dos décadas en que se mantienen en ascenso los casos y muertes por la enfermedad renal crónica (ERC) en algunas partes de las Américas. La prevalencia general en la región centroamericana varía entre 10% y 16%. La mortalidad específicamente por ERC es alta en varios países: Nicaragua (42.8/100 000 habitantes), El Salvador (41.9/100 000 habitantes), Perú (19.1/100 000 habitantes), Guatemala (13.6/100 000 habitantes) y Panamá (12.3/100 000 habitantes). Canadá y Cuba han reportado los índices más bajo de mortalidad por ERC del hemisferioy el de El Salvador es 17 veces el de Cuba.[1]

For two decades now, cases and deaths from chronic kidney disease (CKD) have been on the rise in parts of the Americas. General prevalence in the Central American region varies from 10% to 16%. CKD-specific mortality is high in several countries: Nicaragua (42.8/100,000 population), El Salvador (41.9), Peru (19.1), Guatemala (13.6) and Panama (12.3). Canada and Cuba have reported the lowest CKD mortality in the hemisphere, and El Salvador’s is 17 times that of Cuba.[1]

In El Salvador, our Ministry of Health’s report for 2011–2012 compiled data from the hospital network confirming end-stage renal disease as the third cause of hospital deaths for adults, the first cause among men and fifth among women, with a case fatality rate of 12.6%.[2] A major factor contributing to this alarming picture is a new type of CKD not explained by traditional causes (such as hypertension and diabetes), which has struck our farming communities, targeting people and families already living in poor and often precarious socioeconomic conditions. As a consequence, our Ministry of Health and government have acted on several fronts, our main goal to halt this complex and devastating epidemic.