March is known as women’s month, a fact that we here at FN love, but every second Thursday of this month, the world also celebrates an important cause we all need to pay attention to: the future of our kidneys. With two weeks to go before World Kidney Day, we thought it imperative to bring to light some facts about chronic kidney disease (CKD), a serious and widespread condition that affects a lot of Filipinos. In fact, according to the Philippine Information Agency, CKD is now the 10th cause of mortality in the country. This year, the theme of World Kidney Day is “Kidneys for Life—Stop Kidney Attack!” And the first step toward that, we believe, is awareness.

In an effort to spread the word, Sanofi–Aventis brought together medical experts from St. Luke’s Medical Center, Asian Hospital and Medical Center, and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute for an informal sit-down to discuss our kidneys. Big or small, tall or short, male or female, we all need our kidneys to function efficiently to live a decent life. Scroll through the gallery for some fast facts about CKD.