Kidney disease, leading to kidney failure, afflicts disproportionately more black people than white people.
Thus, there is a huge burden of kidney healthcare costs among black people all over the world.
For instance, in the US, although the black population is only 13% to 14% of the total, black people account for one third of the patients with end-stage kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplantation.
Hypertension, diabetes and HIV, which also cause kidney failure, tend to cause more severe kidney damage and rapid deterioration in black people than in white people.