How Minnesota’s Hmong Community is Raising Kidney Disease Awareness

By Jennifer Cramer-Miller

Kidney disease affects more than 1 in 7 adults in the U.S. Some groups, like the Hmong community, are at higher risk.

Minnesota has the second-largest Hmong population in the U.S., with nearly 95,000 Hmong people. The Twin Cities area, especially St. Paul, has the largest urban Hmong community. Because of this, the Minnesota National Kidney Foundation (NKF) is working hard to raise awareness about kidney disease in this community.

Diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes of kidney disease. These conditions are more common in the Hmong community.

This is not due to race. It's due to a mixture of social and medical factors outside one's control called social determinants of health.

Another challenge is a distrust of Western medicine, which can lead to late-stage kidney disease diagnoses.

Learn more about kidney disease risk factors. 

To get the word out, the Minnesota NKF office works with Hmong community members to provide kidney health resources at two major Hmong celebrations: the International Freedom Festival and the Hmong New Year.

Held in June, this festival brings over 50,000 people to St. Paul.

Visitors enjoy shopping and sampling traditional Hmong foods like nqaij qaib tis (stuffed chicken wings) and ncuav fuam (soybean rice cakes). The festival also features sports competitions, including soccer, flag football, and Kato—a game similar to volleyball but played without using hands or arms.

Attendees will also find an NKF booth with passionate advocates like Ka Yang, a Hmong translator.

Born in Laos, Ka moved to the U.S. at age seven with her family. Growing up, Ka watched many of her loved ones get sick with gout and kidney failure. She also saw how mistrust in healthcare led to delayed diagnoses in her family.

Now, Ka works with NKF to create educational materials that Hmong community members can understand and relate to.

"This is personal for me," Ka explained. "Both my parents had kidney failure, so this cause touches my heart."

Ka also volunteers at NKF's booth during Hmong New Year, an event hosted in St. Paul by the United Hmong Family, Inc.

Join us in the fight against kidney disease. There's a role for you whether you want to educate your community or advocate for policy change. Volunteer with NKF. 

Every winter, people from around the world gather to celebrate Hmong New Year. It's a time to honor ancestors, pass down traditions, and welcome the coming year.

Shirly Yang, an NKF board member and advocate, also volunteers at the event. Fluent in both English and Hmong, Shirley believes it's important for Hmong attendees to see a familiar face at the NKF booth.

"Our goal,” Shirley said, “is to check attendees' kidneys free of charge within nine minutes.”

Like Ka, Shirley's involvement is personal. She lost her father and 39-year-old sister to kidney failure. These losses fuel her passion for raising awareness and providing resources to her community.

"Community matters. You can Google kidney disease, but there's no trust in these resources," Shirley said. "I want to be the bridge between the Hmong community and NKF."

Are you at risk of kidney disease? Take our one-minute quiz to find out.

Thanks to volunteers like Ka and Shirly, NKF Minnesota is building trust and raising awareness about kidney disease in the Hmong community. Their work encourages early detection and treatment, helping more people take control of their health.

Want to make a difference? See all the ways you can get involved with NKF.