World Kidney Day is a global campaign to raise awareness of the importance of our kidneys. It started back in 2006 with the theme "Are Your Kidneys Ok?". 

At the start of the holiday, 66 countries observed this date. Within two years, this number rose to 88. World Kidney Day has been expanding ever since. It is held annually on the second Thursday in March. This year, it will be held on March 10. 

The awareness is not only focused on kidneys but also intended for overall health that may lead to various kidney diseases. The campaign's objective is to reduce the frequency and impact of kidney disease and associated health problems worldwide. 

The 2022 campaign will focus on efforts to increase education and awareness about kidney health and on reducing the high level of Chronic Kidney Disease knowledge gap at all levels of kidney care.

What is Chronic Kidney Disease?
Chronic Kidney Disease or CKD is a long-term condition where the kidneys don't work as well as they should. It's a common condition often associated with getting older. The main risk factors for developing kidney disease are diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and a family history of kidney failure. 

The kidneys filter waste and excess fluid from the blood. To know more about how to take care of your kidney, please check our recommendation.

However, when kidneys fail, waste builds up in the body system. Some people have no symptoms at all and can only be diagnosed by a lab test. However, some others develop the symptoms slowly and aren't specific to the disease. 

According to Mayoclinic, people who have progressive CDK will follow some of these symptoms: nausea and vomiting, muscle cramps, loss of appetite, swelling via feet and ankles, dry, itchy skin, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, urinating either too much or too little. 

A joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF), according to their reports, one out of 10 adult people worldwide have CKD. This disease could be deadly if left untreated. 

Thus, this year, the World Kidney Day Joint Steering Committee has declared 2022 to be the year of “Kidney Health for All”. Specifically, it calls to all the people to work on bridging the knowledge gaps to better kidney care. 

How can I get involved?
As WKD is approaching, the kidney organizations and the nephrology community are getting busier. There is a way to help this organization expand more effectively and anyone from all over the world can do it. 

The first thing that can be done is to utilize social media to spread World Kidney Day’s messages. On WKD's official website, anyone could explore the social media toolkit as a starting point and get some ideas on how to create social media campaign including visuals and wording that could be used as social media posts. 

There is also a toolkit that is ready to help people who are new to social media.  To top it all off, all materials from WKD are free and available for download under specific conditions. Additionally, they have particular educational school kits for children.