WHO Technical Expert Meeting on Sepsis

As you probably know, a resolution on improving the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of sepsis was adopted at the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017, spearheaded by the Global Sepsis Alliance and its partners.

This resolution requests the WHO to develop guidance for the prevention and management of sepsis, to produce a report on the epidemiology and burden of sepsis, and to support countries to obtain the necessary infrastructure, laboratory capacity, strategies and tools to address sepsis. The WHO is also expected to work with partners to improve access to quality, safe, efficacious, and affordable treatments for sepsis and tools for infection prevention and control (IPC), including immunization, particularly in developing countries.

In January 2018, experts on sepsis, associated stakeholders and professionals, including several representatives of the Global Sepsis Alliance and the African Sepsis Alliance, participated in a WHO-organized technical expert meeting to discuss sepsis-related issues.

Overall, the meeting aimed to provide support and input for the implementation of the resolution. Its main objectives were to share an overview of current major initiatives on sepsis worldwide, to present WHO activities and plans, to discuss global needs and priorities for action, to gather input on the critical role of WHO and key areas of work, and to explore areas for collaboration between WHO and other key players with the common goal of furthering global efforts on sepsis.