From December 12-15, leaders from the International Society of Nephrology, the International Society of Hypertension, the World Heart Federation, the International Diabetes Federation, and the International Atherosclerosis Society met for a three-day conference on the prevention of vascular diseases, namely diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. The aims of the meeting were to bring together all the vascular specialties to lay out the parameters of the chronic disease problem and seek ways to reduce their burden particularly in the developing world. John Dirks and Sheila Robinson report.