The Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA), through its strategic partnership with the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) and collaboration with the Governments of Guyana and Egypt, the UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, the Virchow Foundation, Sepsis Stiftung, and CHAI, is proud to have convened the first-ever Official Side Event on Sepsis at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva.
In line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the WHO’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work, the meeting aimed to consolidate political momentum for the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis, launched by the Global Sepsis Alliance at the German Parliament in September 2024 in partnership with the Global Health Sub-Committee of the German Bundestag, with a special video address from Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The event featured opening remarks from distinguished leaders in global health, including high-level officials from co-convening partners and the World Health Organization:
H.E. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Ambassador and former Minister of Health of Guyana, reiterated the commitment of H.E. President of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, to reduce the burden of Sepsis with special focus on improving maternal, neonatal, and child healthcare services, and shared examples from Guyana’s integrated health system approach towards prevention and management of Sepsis. Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance, thanked Minister Frank Anthony for his unwavering support of the global Sepsis response and expressed interest in even closer collaboration with the Government of Guyana for the advancement of the Sepsis fight.
Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO Regional Director for the Americas, delivered a statement, highlighting the work of PAHO and the member states in reducing the burden of Sepsis in the region. Under the guidance of Dr. Barbosa, the Region of the Americas became the first WHO region to develop and adopt a comprehensive Regional Strategy and Plan of Action on Sepsis, setting the global example to follow. Dr. Mariam Jashi used the opportunity to reiterate the historic leadership of PAHO in the field and handed to Dr. Barbosa a copy of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis that acknowledges this achievement.
Dr. Rudi Eggers, Director, Integrated Health Services, WHO, reviewed the collaboration with the Global Sepsis Alliance, including WHO’s contribution to the development and launch of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis at the German Bundestag. Dr. Eggers highlighted the critical need for an integrated approach to Sepsis, which covers infection prevention and control interventions and health-system strengthening aspects.
Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi, President of MWIA and Co-chair of the IA2030 Partnership Council, expressed gratitude to the Global Sepsis Alliance for the ongoing collaboration and focused on the urgency of raising awareness and understanding of the Sepsis threat by communities and societies in general. Dr Jashi thanked Dr. Nwadinobi for the unique opportunity of hosting the very first official World Health Assembly side event within the framework of the strategic partnership with MWIA.
Prof. Niranjan ‘Tex’ Kissoon, President of the Global Sepsis Alliance, in his video address highlighted the importance of political commitment and multi-stakeholder engagement in moving the 2030 Global Sepsis Agenda forward. He thanked the co-convening partners of the event, including the Medical Women’s International Association, the Governments of Guyana and Egypt, UNITE, Virchow Foundation, and Sepsis Stiftung. Prof. Kissoon reiterated that the GSA, through its six Regional Sepsis Alliances in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, stands ready to support national governments in developing Sepsis-related policies, action plans, protocols, and public awareness campaigns.
Prof. Konrad Reinhart, President of Sepsis Stiftung and Founding President of the Global Sepsis Alliance, shared a recently published website, MICROBE, as the joint collaborative initiative of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and Oxford University. He highlighted that the latest estimates on Sepsis-related mortality are even more alarming, with more than 21 million deaths associated with Sepsis as of 2021. Prof. Reinhart emphasized that the majority of Sepsis cases are preventable. He shared success stories from Australia, China, the UK, and other countries and called for urgent actions for averting Sepsis morbidity and mortality both in low and middle-income countries as well as high-resource settings, including in the European region.
The meeting was also attended by Dr. Nedret Emiroglu, WHO Director for Country Readiness Strengthening. Dr. Emiroglu discussed the importance of Sepsis prevention and control during health emergencies at a special bilateral meeting with Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance.
Hon. Mariam Jashi, CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance, presented the 5 strategic pillars and actionable targets of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis. She also summarized the progress made since the launch of the first global strategy, including the establishment of the Global Sepsis Innovations Platform and the Global Sepsis Survivor and Family Committee. Finally, she presented the intention of the Global Sepsis Alliance to establish a High-Level Political Panel on Sepsis, with 10-12 political leaders from both LMICs and HICs, to consistently lead integration of Sepsis in high-level political dialogue at G7/G20, UN General Assembly, World Health Assembly, the Davos World Economic Forum and other global, regional and national forums.
Statements by Strategic Partners
Strategic partners shared their support for the Global Sepsis Alliance and called for bolder cross-sectoral collaboration in the fight against Sepsis:
Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite, President of the UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, reaffirmed his commitment to the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis through his special video address for the event. He expressed gratitude to the Global Sepsis Alliance for its leadership and joint collaboration. In addition to the importance of political leadership for transformative changes in the Sepsis response, Dr. Leite highlighted the potential of AI-enabled tools in epidemiological and clinical management aspects of Sepsis.
Dr. Amany Asfour, MWIA President-Elect, representing the National Council for Women of Egypt, presented a detailed report from the Government of Egypt on the progress made in women’s health and wellbeing. She highlighted initiatives of the national government for the improvement of maternal health, including the prevention and management of Sepsis. Dr. Mariam Jashi once again thanked Dr. Asfour and the National Council for Women for co-organizing the first official World Health Assembly side-event on Sepsis.
Prof. Detlev Ganten, Cofounder of the Virchow Foundation and Virchow Prize, in his special video address, summarized the staggering numbers of the Sepsis burden. He reiterated that despite the catastrophic figures, with 11 million deaths annually and 40% of cases occurring among young children, Sepsis remains one of the most underrecognized and politically neglected global health challenges. Prof. Ganten commended the GSA for the launch of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis at the German Bundestag, as, for the first time, we have a structured, science-based multi-sectoral roadmap on how to reduce Sepsis-related deaths and disabilities with measurable targets and policy recommendations for countries at all levels of development. Prof. Ganten reaffirmed full support for the Global Sepsis Alliance for the establishment of a High-Level Political Panel for Sepsis around the 2025 World Sepsis Day.
Dr. Janet Diaz, Unit Head, Safe Scalable Care, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, briefly reviewed the ongoing collaboration with the Global Sepsis Alliance. She reiterated the importance of effective prevention and management of Sepsis during health emergencies and summarized the work of the World Health Organization in the development of guidance and toolkits in the field.
Multistakeholder Engagement
The event also envisaged interventions from civil society organizations, including medical associations, youth representatives, and faith-based groups.
Rev. Nicole Ashwood, as the Programme Executive of the World Council of Churches, represented a fellowship of 352 member churches throughout the globe. The World Council of Churches has a Commission of Churches on Health and Healing, which often addresses critical issues of health and health-related matters affecting men and women of faith. Rev. Nicole Ashwood thanked MWIA and GSA for the invitation to this important meeting and noted that, similar to their engagement in HIV/AIDS programs since the Beijing Conference and obstetric fistula, the World Council of Churches could be an important partner in awareness raising on Sepsis.
Patrick Ayres Taran, CEO of the Global Migration Policy Associates (GMPA), not only attended the WHA78 Sepsis Side Event, but had circulated a draft Brief on Sepsis risks and determinants among migrants, including the migrants living in urban settings worldwide, as well as in refugee and IDP camps. He noted that the Sepsis challenge addresses the bigger picture of migration and mobility for every health system in the world. He emphasized that full-scale implementation of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis requires all-inclusive migrant and gender-specific approaches.
Dr. Eliza Lo Chin, CEO of the American Medical Women’s Association, prepared a comprehensive report on clinical epidemiology, successes, and challenges in the national Sepsis response in the United States. Sepsis remains the leading cause of hospital-related deaths in the US and the second leading cause of maternal deaths in the country. She specifically highlighted the increased risks of maternal Sepsis since the adoption of the abortion ban laws. She summarized ongoing education, training, and surveillance programs under the leadership of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including the Core Element for Sepsis Care.
Anna Liakopoulou represented the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA), one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run organizations, representing 1.2 million medical students from over 130 countries. In her speech, Anna highlighted the potential role of medical students in raising awareness on Sepsis as the leading cause of death in mothers, children, and patients. Students, especially in the digital era, can make a critical contribution to education and AI-enabled solutions. IFMSA expressed support for the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis; however, it highlighted the importance of stronger awareness raising on Sepsis as a preventable medical emergency. “Sepsis story should be told stronger with one voice” was one of the highlights of the speech.
We thank each co-organizer and speaker of the event for the historic support in advancing the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis at the first official side-event of the World Health Assembly.