The Pediatric Nephrology Society of Bangladesh (PNSB), was established on 14th September 2004, at a meeting held at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka. Professor M.M. Hossain and Professor M. Hanif were elected its Chairman & General Secretary respectively. Then they formed a 13 members organizing committee in its 2nd meeting.
PNSB is the only association for pediatric nephrology health professionals in Bangladesh and its head office is in Dhaka. At present there are 21 Pediatric Nephrologists among 44 active members within the society.
It is impressive that PNSB brings a positive change in the society`s plan of action in the recent years & is involved more closely with programming & planning of child health policies & is playing a decisive role in creating treatment guidelines for different types of child kidney diseases.
As a nation, we have achieved a lot in last 2-3 decades in child health & child survival through various child health programs. That is our under- five mortality rate now stands at 38, IMR at 45.67, NMR at 23. However, this is not enough. In a hospital based study, it is shown that in our country 4.5% of our children have kidney diseases and 3.26% children have hospital acquired acute kidney injury, which also contribute in child mortality. We know that most of these deaths are preventable as like other diseases , if we could somehow manage to deliver some of the interventions , like urinary screening , early detection of renal anomaly & by public awareness. Effective implementation of these measures will involve huge programmatic & planning efforts. All the members of the PNSB are aware that they have a huge responsibility in doing their part of work, in playing their role.
One of the major activities undertaken by the PNSB since its inception has been to organize continuing medical education (CME) programs by holding conferences, symposia, lectures & other meets all over the country.
PNSB conducted three international conferences in Dhaka. These meetings had big success; over 400 delegates attended from home & abroad in each meeting.
During recent years there has been an increasingly demand for specialized care for children with kidney disease in Bangladesh. It is imperative to provide suitable facilities to promote growth of pediatric nephrology in our country.