MAURITIUS AND AFRICAN NEPHROLOGY 13 DECEMBER 2020
Mauritius may be some 2000 km away in the south-west Indian Ocean but Africa is the closest continent to our country. There are also important historical and cultural ties between Mauritius and Africa even though most Mauritians are descendants of immigrants from Asia.
The Renal Association is linking up with overseas nephrology societies. Building relationships with Africa is a priority. In addition to having a representative on the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) African Regional Board, the Renal Association is also joining the Africa Association of Nephrology (AFRAN).
It is therefore fitting to read this recent article in Kidney International – Nephrology in Africa: forgotten no more
Africa, home to 1.34 billion people distributed over 54 countries, has been called the cradle of humanity. Despite being endowed with immense natural and human resources as well as great cultural, ecological, and economic diversity, Africa remains the most underdeveloped of all continents. Africa’s share of global income has been dropping consistently, and African countries occupied 30 of the 32 lowest spots on the 2018 United Nations Human Development Index.
Africa has the youngest (median age, 18 years) and most rapidly growing (annual growth rate, 2.5%) population in the world. Infectious diseases and neonatal and/or maternal deaths are the major causes of death and disability. An overwhelming majority of global deaths attributable to tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV infections occur in Africa. At the same time, the burden of noncommunicable diseases, including kidney diseases, is also rising. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, apart from a few countries in Central America and Southeast Asia, African countries have the highest age-standardized rates of disability-adjusted life years attributable to chronic kidney disease.
THE RENAL ASSOCIATION IS NOW AFFILIATED WITH THE ISN 3 NOVEMBER 2020
~ adminrenalassociationmauritius ~ Edit “The Renal Association is now affiliated with the ISN!”
This a great moment for Nephrology and for kidney patients in Mauritius. By joining up with the International Society of Nephrology (ISN), we hope to make Nephrology grow into a fully fledged specialty in our country. to the benefits of our patients. We can also now participate in the global effort in education, training and research spearheaded by the ISN against kidney disease.
OUR FIRST WEBINAR: The ‘INS’ AND ‘OUTS’ OF URETERIC OBSTRUCTION
Apologies for the recording missing out the first minute of the webinar. The missing slides can be consulted in the pdf presentation below.
This recorded webinar comes all the way from UK from our compatriot and colleague Mr Rajan Veeratterapillay, Consultant Urological Surgeon on the surgical and medical management of different types of ureteric obstruction. He kindly geve up some time from his busy schedule to share his knowledge and experience on the 9th of September 2020. He comes regularly to Mauritius and in pre-covid-19 years gave face to face lectures.
This is his biography (mostly from http://www.newcastleurology.org.uk):
Mr Rajan Veeratterapillay studied at Royal College Curepipe and obtained the SSR Scholarship in 2000.
Mr Rajan Veeratterapillay graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne with distinction in 2006 and undertook specialist training in urology in the North East before completing his FRCS(Urol) examination in 2014.
He completed a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery and renal transplantation at the Freeman Hospital before being appointed as a Consultant Urological Surgeon in 2016. He specialises in laparoscopic nephrectomy (keyhole surgery) for kidney cancer. His other interests include stone surgery and laser surgery for benign prostate problems.
Mr Veeratterapillay has published widely in the field of urology and has experience of systematic review (including Cochrane) and has contributed to guidelines for the European Association of Urology (EAU). He has received a number of awards for presentations at international conferences and won the American Urology Association Resident Bowl Award in 2014. He is actively involved in medical education including simulation training for junior surgeons. His research interests include renal cancer, urinary stone disease and surgical aspects of renal transplantation. https://www.scribd.com/embeds/475896625/content?start_page=1&view_mode=slideshow&access_key=key-B7B5ZoZDrtUEO3FcLrp1
FIRST CPD MEETING EVER 16 JULY 2020
~ adminrenalassociationmauritius ~ Edit “First Educational Meeting”
On Thursday 16 July 2020, the Renal Association had its first educational meeting ever. It should have occurred in early April but the Covid-19 lockdown put paid to that. Dr O Bheekharry presented “The Filter, the Pump and the Pill”, a review of the latest SGLT2 inhibitors trial.
It was an opportunity to invite 2 prospective members of the association Dr Guttee, Dr Purrunsing and Dr A Rughoobur Bheekhee. The latter was able to follow the presentation from 550km away in Rodrigues via a web link. Another innovation was the video recording of the presentation which hopefully will become the norm for our educational meetings.
You can access the abstract, the slides and the video of the talk here.
OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY 26 JUNE 2020
Our team met on June 26th, 2020 to celebrate the First Year Anniversary of our long awaited Renal Association. It was a time of rejoicing for all members, especially as it gave us all a few moments of respite, in the post COVID 19 phase, when all members, being frontliners, had been working with no break for weeks on end.
It was also the perfect occasion to officially launch our website, which was created with much effort from the side of Dr Davy Ip. Such a website is not built in 1 day, and in due time with input from one and all, I am sure it will evolve into the place to be for doctors and the public at large, to get information about nephrology and renal services in Mauritius .
Renal Association of Mauritius 