Abstract. Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges worldwide. GLOFs have attracted significant attention amongst scientists and practitioners in the past 2 decades, with particular interest in the physical drivers and mechanisms of GLOF hazard and in socioeconomic and other human-related developments that affect vulnerabilities to GLOF events. This increased research focus on GLOFs is reflected in the gradually increasing number of papers published annually. This study offers an overview of recent GLOF research by analysing 594 peer-reviewed GLOF studies published between 2017 and 2021 (Web of Science and Scopus databases), reviewing the content and geographical focus as well as other characteristics of GLOF studies. This review is complemented with perspectives from the first GLOF conference (7–9 July 2021, online) where a global GLOF research community of major mountain regions gathered to discuss the current state of the art of integrated GLOF research. Therefore, representatives from 17 countries identified and elaborated trends and challenges and proposed possible ways forward to navigate future GLOF research, in four thematic areas: (i) understanding GLOFs – timing and processes; (ii) modelling GLOFs and GLOF process chains; (iii) GLOF risk management, prevention and warning; and (iv) human dimensions of GLOFs and GLOF attribution to climate change.
In: Taylor , P (ed.) , Allpress , S (ed.) , Carr , M , Lupu , E , Norton , J , Smith , L , Blackstock , J , Boyes , H , Hudson-Smith , A , Brass , I , Chizari , H , Cooper , R , Coulton , P , Craggs , B , Davies , N , De Roure , D , Elsden , M , Huth , M , Lindley , J , Marple , C , B , M , R , N , J , N , R , P , Radanliev , P , Rashid , A , D , S , Skatova , A , Taddeo , M , Tanczer , L , Vieira-Steiner , R , Watson , JDM , Wachter , S , Wakenshaw , S , Carvalho , G , Thompson , RJ & Westbury , PS 2018 , Internet of Things: realising the potential of a trusted smart world . London .
This report examines the policy challenges for the Internet of Things (IoT), and raises a broad range of issues that need to be considered if policy is to be effective and the potential economic value of IoT is harnessed. It builds on the Blackett review, The Internet of Things: making the most of the second digital revolution, adding detailed knowledge based on research from the PETRAS Cybersecurity of the Internet of Things Research Hub and input from Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering. The report targets government policymakers, regulators, standards bodies and national funding bodies, and will also be of interest to suppliers and adopters of IoT products and services.
Background: Detailed understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) regional transmission networks within sub-Saharan Africa is key for guiding local public health interventions against the pandemic. Methods: Here, we analysed 1139 SARS-CoV-2 genomes from positive samples collected between March 2020 and February 2021 across six counties of Coastal Kenya (Mombasa, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Tana River, and Lamu) to infer virus introductions and local transmission patterns during the first two waves of infections. Virus importations were inferred using ancestral state reconstruction, and virus dispersal between counties was estimated using discrete phylogeographic analysis. Results: During Wave 1, 23 distinct Pango lineages were detected across the six counties, while during Wave 2, 29 lineages were detected; 9 of which occurred in both waves and 4 seemed to be Kenya specific (B.1.530, B.1.549, B.1.596.1, and N.8). Most of the sequenced infections belonged to lineage B.1 (n = 723, 63%), which predominated in both Wave 1 (73%, followed by lineages N.8 [6%] and B.1.1 [6%]) and Wave 2 (56%, followed by lineages B.1.549 [21%] and B.1.530 [5%]). Over the study period, we estimated 280 SARS-CoV-2 virus importations into Coastal Kenya. Mombasa City, a vital tourist and commercial centre for the region, was a major route for virus imports, most of which occurred during Wave 1, when many Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) government restrictions were still in force. In Wave 2, inter-county transmission predominated, resulting in the emergence of local transmission chains and diversity. Conclusions: Our analysis supports moving COVID-19 control strategies in the region from a focus on international travel to strategies that will reduce local transmission. Funding: This work was funded by The Wellcome (grant numbers: 220985, 203077/Z/16/Z, 220977/Z/20/Z, and 222574/Z/21/Z) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), project references: 17/63/and 16/136/33 using UK Aid ...
Humanity is on a deeply unsustainable trajectory. We are exceeding planetary boundaries and unlikely to meet many international sustainable development goals and global environmental targets. Until recently, there was no broadly accepted framework of interventions that could ignite the transformations needed to achieve these desired targets and goals. As a component of the IPBES Global Assessment, we conducted an iterative expert deliberation process with an extensive review of scenarios and pathways to sustainability, including the broader literature on indirect drivers, social change and sustainability transformation. We asked, what are the most important elements of pathways to sustainability? Applying a social–ecological systems lens, we identified eight priority points for intervention (leverage points) and five overarching strategic actions and priority interventions (levers), which appear to be key to societal transformation. The eight leverage points are: (1) Visions of a good life, (2) Total consumption and waste, (3) Latent values of responsibility, (4) Inequalities, (5) Justice and inclusion in conservation, (6) Externalities from trade and other telecouplings, (7) Responsible technology, innovation and investment, and (8) Education and knowledge generation and sharing. The five intertwined levers can be applied across the eight leverage points and more broadly. These include: (A) Incentives and capacity building, (B) Coordination across sectors and jurisdictions, (C) Pre-emptive action, (D) Adaptive decision-making and (E) Environmental law and implementation. The levers and leverage points are all non-substitutable, and each enables others, likely leading to synergistic benefits. Transformative change towards sustainable pathways requires more than a simple scaling-up of sustainability initiatives—it entails addressing these levers and leverage points to change the fabric of legal, political, economic and other social systems. These levers and leverage points build upon those approved within the Global Assessment's Summary for Policymakers, with the aim of enabling leaders in government, business, civil society and academia to spark transformative changes towards a more just and sustainable world. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. ; Fil: Chan, Kai M. A. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Boyd, David R. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Gould, Rachelle. University of Vermont; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Jetzkowitz, Jens. Staatliches Museum fur Naturkunde Stuttgart; Alemania ; Fil: Liu, Jianguo. Michigan State University; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Muraca, Bárbara. University of Oregon; Estados Unidos ; Fil: Naidoo, Robin. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Beck, Paige. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Satterfield, Terre. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Selomane, Odirilwe. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfrica ; Fil: Singh, Gerald G. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Sumaila, Rashid. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Ngo, Hien T. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; Alemania ; Fil: Boedhihartono, Agni Klintuni. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Agard, John. The University Of The West Indies; Trinidad y Tobago ; Fil: de Aguiar, Ana Paula D. Stockholms Universitet; Suecia ; Fil: Armenteras, Dolors. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Colombia ; Fil: Balint, Lenke. BirdLife International; Reino Unido ; Fil: Barrington-Leigh, Christopher. Mcgill University; Canadá ; Fil: Cheung, William W. L. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Díaz, Sandra Myrna. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina ; Fil: Driscoll, John. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Esler, Karen. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfrica ; Fil: Eyster, Harold. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Gregr, Edward J. University of British Columbia; Canadá ; Fil: Hashimoto, Shizuka. The University Of Tokyo; Japón ; Fil: Hernández Pedraza, Gladys Cecilia. The World Economy Research Center; Cuba ; Fil: Hickler, Thomas. Goethe Universitat Frankfurt; Alemania ; Fil: Kok, Marcel. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency; Países Bajos ; Fil: Lazarova, Tanya. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency; Países Bajos ; Fil: Mohamed, Assem A. A. Central Laboratory for Agricultural Climate; Egipto ; Fil: Murray-Hudson, Mike. University Of Botswana; Botsuana ; Fil: O'Farrell, Patrick. University of Cape Town; Sudáfrica ; Fil: Palomo, Ignacio. Basque Centre for Climate Change; España ; Fil: Saysel, Ali Kerem. Boğaziçi University; Turquía ; Fil: Seppelt, Ralf. Martin-universität Halle-wittenberg; Alemania ; Fil: Settele, Josef. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research-iDiv; Alemania ; Fil: Strassburg, Bernardo. International Institute for Sustainability, Estrada Dona Castorina; Brasil ; Fil: Xue, Dayuan. Minzu University Of China; China ; Fil: Brondízio, Eduardo S. Indiana University; Estados Unidos
Background: Chronic diseases are the leading cause of premature death and disability in the world with over-nutrition a primary cause of diet-related ill health. Excess quantities of energy, saturated fat, sugar and salt derived from fast foods contribute importantly to this disease burden. Our objective is to collate and compare nutrient composition data for fast foods as a means of supporting improvements in product formulation. METHODS/DESIGN: Surveys of fast foods will be done in each participating country each year. Information on the nutrient composition for each product will be sought either through direct chemical analysis, from fast food companies, in-store materials or from company websites. Foods will be categorized into major groups for the primary analyses which will compare mean levels of saturated fat, sugar, sodium, energy and serving size at baseline and over time. Countries currently involved include Australia, New Zealand, France, UK, USA, India, Spain, China and Canada, with more anticipated to follow. DISCUSSION: This collaborative approach to the collation and sharing of data will enable low-cost tracking of fast food composition around the world. This project represents a significant step forward in the objective and transparent monitoring of industry and government commitments to improve the quality of fast foods. ; E Dunford is supported by a Sydney Medical School Foundation scholarship and B Neal by an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship. ; http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/559 ; am2013
In this paper, we outline the need for a coordinated international effort toward the building of an open-access Global Ocean Oxygen Database and ATlas (GO(2)DAT) complying with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). GO(2)DAT will combine data from the coastal and open ocean, as measured by the chemical Winkler titration method or by sensors (e.g., optodes, electrodes) from Eulerian and Lagrangian platforms (e.g., ships, moorings, profiling floats, gliders, ships of opportunities, marine mammals, cabled observatories). GO(2)DAT will further adopt a community-agreed, fully documented metadata format and a consistent quality control (QC) procedure and quality flagging (QF) system. GO(2)DAT will serve to support the development of advanced data analysis and biogeochemical models for improving our mapping, understanding and forecasting capabilities for ocean O-2 changes and deoxygenation trends. It will offer the opportunity to develop quality-controlled data synthesis products with unprecedented spatial (vertical and horizontal) and temporal (sub-seasonal to multi-decadal) resolution. These products will support model assessment, improvement and evaluation as well as the development of climate and ocean health indicators. They will further support the decision-making processes associated with the emerging blue economy, the conservation of marine resources and their associated ecosystem services and the development of management tools required by a diverse community of users (e.g., environmental agencies, aquaculture, and fishing sectors). A better knowledge base of the spatial and temporal variations of marine O-2 will improve our understanding of the ocean O-2 budget, and allow better quantification of the Earth's carbon and heat budgets. With the ever-increasing need to protect and sustainably manage ocean services, GO(2)DAT will allow scientists to fully harness the increasing volumes of O-2 data already delivered by the expanding global ocean observing system and enable smooth incorporation of much higher quantities of data from autonomous platforms in the open ocean and coastal areas into comprehensive data products in the years to come. This paper aims at engaging the community (e.g., scientists, data managers, policy makers, service users) toward the development of GO(2)DAT within the framework of the UN Global Ocean Oxygen Decade (GOOD) program recently endorsed by IOC-UNESCO. A roadmap toward GO(2)DAT is proposed highlighting the efforts needed (e.g., in terms of human resources). ; All authors would like to thank IOC-UNESCO, International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project (IOCCP), NOAA, and the German SFB754. MG is funded by the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FRS-FNRS) and received fundings from the FNRS BENTHOX program grant T.1009.15, the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 BRIDGE-BS project under grant agreement No. 101000240. MG, VG, KI, and BDew are supported by the Project CE2COAST funded by ANR (FR), BELSPO (BE), FCT (PT), IZM (LV), MI (IE), MIUR (IT), Rannis (IS), and RCN (NO) through the 2019 "Joint Transnational Call on Next Generation Climate Science in Europe for Oceans" initiated by JPI Climate and JPI Oceans. MT, KC, and VG acknowledge support from the United States National Science Foundation grant OCE-1840868 to the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR, United States). BoD also acknowledges support from ANID grants R20F0008-CEAZA and 1190276. This research (through VG, AP and BoD) received fundings from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 869300 (FutureMARES). CB, AP, VG, LC, BrD, VR, VT, and CS acknowledge support of the French CES ODATIS Oxygen through INSU funding. SKL acknowledges support from the Research Council of Norway (Grant No. 269753). This manuscript is a contribution to the UN Decade Global Ocean Oxygen (GOOD) Program.
Background and objectives The 52‐week, randomized, double‐blind, noninferiority, government‐funded NOR‐SWITCH trial demonstrated that switching from infliximab originator to less expensive biosimilar CT‐P13 was not inferior to continued treatment with infliximab originator. The NOR‐SWITCH extension trial aimed to assess efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in patients on CT‐P13 throughout the 78‐week study period (maintenance group) versus patients switched to CT‐P13 at week 52 (switch group). The primary outcome was disease worsening during follow‐up based on disease‐specific composite measures. Methods Patients were recruited from 24 Norwegian hospitals, 380 of 438 patients who completed the main study: 197 in the maintenance group and 183 in the switch group. In the full analysis set, 127 (33%) had Crohn's disease, 80 (21%) ulcerative colitis, 67 (18%) spondyloarthritis, 55 (15%) rheumatoid arthritis, 20 (5%) psoriatic arthritis and 31 (8%) chronic plaque psoriasis. Results Baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups at the time of switching (week 52). Disease worsening occurred in 32 (16.8%) patients in the maintenance group vs. 20 (11.6%) in the switch group (per‐protocol set). Adjusted risk difference was 5.9% (95% CI −1.1 to 12.9). Frequency of adverse events, anti‐drug antibodies, changes in generic disease variables and disease‐specific composite measures were comparable between arms. The study was inadequately powered to detect noninferiority within individual diseases. Conclusion The NOR‐SWITCH extension showed no difference in safety and efficacy between patients who maintained CT‐P13 and patients who switched from originator infliximab to CT‐P13, supporting that switching from originator infliximab to CT‐P13 is safe and efficacious.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The 52‐week, randomized, double‐blind, noninferiority, government‐funded NOR‐SWITCH trial demonstrated that switching from infliximab originator to less expensive biosimilar CT‐P13 was not inferior to continued treatment with infliximab originator. The NOR‐SWITCH extension trial aimed to assess efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in patients on CT‐P13 throughout the 78‐week study period (maintenance group) versus patients switched to CT‐P13 at week 52 (switch group). The primary outcome was disease worsening during follow‐up based on disease‐specific composite measures. METHODS: Patients were recruited from 24 Norwegian hospitals, 380 of 438 patients who completed the main study: 197 in the maintenance group and 183 in the switch group. In the full analysis set, 127 (33%) had Crohn's disease, 80 (21%) ulcerative colitis, 67 (18%) spondyloarthritis, 55 (15%) rheumatoid arthritis, 20 (5%) psoriatic arthritis and 31 (8%) chronic plaque psoriasis. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups at the time of switching (week 52). Disease worsening occurred in 32 (16.8%) patients in the maintenance group vs. 20 (11.6%) in the switch group (per‐protocol set). Adjusted risk difference was 5.9% (95% CI −1.1 to 12.9). Frequency of adverse events, anti‐drug antibodies, changes in generic disease variables and disease‐specific composite measures were comparable between arms. The study was inadequately powered to detect noninferiority within individual diseases. CONCLUSION: The NOR‐SWITCH extension showed no difference in safety and efficacy between patients who maintained CT‐P13 and patients who switched from originator infliximab to CT‐P13, supporting that switching from originator infliximab to CT‐P13 is safe and efficacious.
Background and objectives The 52‐week, randomized, double‐blind, noninferiority, government‐funded NOR‐SWITCH trial demonstrated that switching from infliximab originator to less expensive biosimilar CT‐P13 was not inferior to continued treatment with infliximab originator. The NOR‐SWITCH extension trial aimed to assess efficacy, safety and immunogenicity in patients on CT‐P13 throughout the 78‐week study period (maintenance group) versus patients switched to CT‐P13 at week 52 (switch group). The primary outcome was disease worsening during follow‐up based on disease‐specific composite measures. Methods Patients were recruited from 24 Norwegian hospitals, 380 of 438 patients who completed the main study: 197 in the maintenance group and 183 in the switch group. In the full analysis set, 127 (33%) had Crohn's disease, 80 (21%) ulcerative colitis, 67 (18%) spondyloarthritis, 55 (15%) rheumatoid arthritis, 20 (5%) psoriatic arthritis and 31 (8%) chronic plaque psoriasis. Results Baseline characteristics were similar in the two groups at the time of switching (week 52). Disease worsening occurred in 32 (16.8%) patients in the maintenance group vs. 20 (11.6%) in the switch group (per‐protocol set). Adjusted risk difference was 5.9% (95% CI −1.1 to 12.9). Frequency of adverse events, anti‐drug antibodies, changes in generic disease variables and disease‐specific composite measures were comparable between arms. The study was inadequately powered to detect noninferiority within individual diseases. Conclusion The NOR‐SWITCH extension showed no difference in safety and efficacy between patients who maintained CT‐P13 and patients who switched from originator infliximab to CT‐P13, supporting that switching from originator infliximab to CT‐P13 is safe and efficacious. ; publishedVersion ; Open Access CC-BY
The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020.
In: Micah , A E , Cogswell , I E , Cunningham , B , Ezoe , S , Harle , A C , Maddison , E R , McCracken , D , Nomura , S , Simpson , K E , Stutzman , H N , Tsakalos , G , Wallace , L E , Zhao , Y , Zende , R R , Abbafati , C , Abdelmasseh , M , Abedi , A , Abegaz , K H , Abhilash , E S , Abolhassani , H , Abrigo , M R M , Adhikari , T B , Afzal , S , Ahinkorah , B O , Ahmadi , S , Ahmed , H , Ahmed , M B , Rashid , T A , Ajami , M , Aji , B , Akalu , Y , Akunna , C J , Al Hamad , H , Alam , K , Alanezi , F M , Alanzi , T M , Alemayehu , Y , Alhassan , R K , Alinia , C , Aljunid , S M , Almustanyir , S A , Alvis-Guzman , N , Alvis-Zakzuk , N J , Amini , S , Amini-Rarani , M , Amu , H , Ancuceanu , R , Andrei , C L , Andrei , T , Angell , B & Global Burden Dis Hlth Financing 2021 , ' Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050 ' , Lancet , vol. 398 , no. 10308 , pp. 1317-1343 . https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01258-7
Background: The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods: We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$ per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings: In 2019, health spending globally reached $8·8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8·7–8·8) or $1132 (1119–1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total, $40·4 billion (0·5%, 95% UI 0·5–0·5) was ...
In the Internet era, the digital architecture that keeps us connected and informed may collaterally amplify the spread of misinformation and falsehood. The magnitude of this problem is gaining global relevance, as evidence accumulates that misinformation interferes with democratic processes and undermines collective responses to environmental and health crises. Therefore, understanding how misinformation generates and spreads is becoming a pressing scientific, societal, and political challenge. Advances in this area are delayed because high-resolution data on coherent information systems are difficult and time-consuming to acquire at global scales. We collated a high-resolution database of online newspaper articles on spider-human interactions. Spiders are widely feared animals that frequently appear in the spotlight of the global press. Our database covers a global scale (5,348 news articles from 81 countries and 40 languages) while providing an expert-based assessment of the content and quality of each news article. Here, we first show that the quality of news on spiders is exceedingly poor—47% of articles contained different types of error and 43% were sensationalistic—and we consolidate a quantitative understanding of the relationship between article quality and different news-level features. Among other factors, the consultancy of spider experts, but not doctors and other professionals, decrease sensationalism. Next, we show that the flow of spider-related information occurs within a highly interconnected global network and provide evidence that sensationalism, along with other predictors including numbers of spider species and internet users in a country, are key factors underlying the spread of information. Our results improve understanding of the drivers of (mis)information across broad-scale networks. They also represent a starting point to formulate recommendations for improving journalism quality. In the specific case of spiders, a more accurate media framing would translate into measurable benefits, limiting resource waste and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts and the prevalence of widespread arachnophobic sentiments.
The global nephrology community recognizes the need for a cohesive strategy to address the growing problem of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). In March 2018, the International Society of Nephrology hosted a summit on integrated ESKD care, including 92 individuals from around the globe with diverse expertise and professional backgrounds. The attendees were from 41 countries, including 16 participants from 11 low- and lower-middle–income countries. The purpose was to develop a strategic plan to improve worldwide access to integrated ESKD care, by identifying and prioritizing key activities across 8 themes: (i) estimates of ESKD burden and treatment coverage, (ii) advocacy, (iii) education and training/workforce, (iv) financing/funding models, (v) ethics, (vi) dialysis, (vii) transplantation, and (viii) conservative care. Action plans with prioritized lists of goals, activities, and key deliverables, and an overarching performance framework were developed for each theme. Examples of these key deliverables include improved data availability, integration of core registry measures and analysis to inform development of health care policy; a framework for advocacy; improved and continued stakeholder engagement; improved workforce training; equitable, efficient, and cost-effective funding models; greater understanding and greater application of ethical principles in practice and policy; definition and application of standards for safe and sustainable dialysis treatment and a set of measurable quality parameters; and integration of dialysis, transplantation, and comprehensive conservative care as ESKD treatment options within the context of overall health priorities. Intended users of the action plans include clinicians, patients and their families, scientists, industry partners, government decision makers, and advocacy organizations. Implementation of this integrated and comprehensive plan is intended to improve quality and access to care and thereby reduce serious health-related suffering of adults and children affected by ESKD worldwide.