The team at the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) would like to extend their sincere congratulations to the esteemed Laureate of the Virchow Prize 2024 Prof. Johan Rockström for the historic recognition of his work. We are especially grateful for his support of the new 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis.

This occasion is shared with dearest friends and colleagues Prof. Konrad Reinhart, Founding President of the Global Sepsis Alliance and Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and Hon. Keith Martin MD, PC - Former Member of Parliament of Canada and Executive Director of Consortium of Universities for Global Health.

Together, we stand committed to advancing global health and ensuring that sepsis remains a top priority on the world stage.

The Lancet published the Sepsis Survivor’s call to EU leaders to develop the European Sepsis Plan as the follow-up to the September 9 Sepsis patients summit convened in Paris by Sepsis Stronger Together consortium in partnership with the Global Sepsis Alliance and the European Sepsis Alliance.

The September 9 summit “Revealing the Burden of Sepsis” convened on the occasion of the 2024 World Sepsis Day, brought together Sepsis survivors and grieving families from all over Europe.

The summit focused on sharing good practices across Europe, empowering and creating awareness, inspiring health professionals, and conquering sepsis and its long-term consequences.  

Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance, and Simone Mancini, GSA Coordinator of the Regional Sepsis Alliances, joined the event. Mariam Jashi delivered a presentation on the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis in the opening session and highlighted the urgency of action against sepsis, at both the EU and global level.

Paris Declaration, a Call to Action to EU public health authorities demanding the development of a European sepsis plan was issued as an outcome document of the event, covering the following 8 recommendations:   

1. Early detection and treatment

2. Comprehensive patient information

3. Proper documentation and registration

4. Clinical pathway development

5. National public health campaigns

6. Educational programs

7. Universal access to sepsis management

8. Investments in sepsis research

The Paris Declaration and its 8 recommendations complement the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis, as sepsis patients call upon the EU leaders to urgently prioritize Sepsis, accounting for 680,000 deaths in the region every year.

Sepsis claims more lives annually than prostate and breast cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. So why not prioritize this medical emergency and global health threat? Infectious diseases and sepsis do not recognize borders; European countries face similar challenges, so why not share experiences and develop an action plan on a European level?

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**‘Revealing the Burden of Sepsis’** was fully patient-driven: patients, grieving families, and patient organizations united in the Sepsis Stronger Together consortium, took the lead. The summit was supported by the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA), the European Sepsis Alliances (ESA), FHU Sepsis, IHU PROMETHEUS, and 101Fund – an impressive example of patient participation, rarely seen before.

For more information on the Call to Action, please contact Sepsis Stronger Together or check out the Lancet publication.

Update Oct 7, 2024: We have extended the deadline to October 21, 2024, end of day. Please send us your events and pictures by then. Thanks!

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Original article:

Last Friday, September 13, we celebrated World Sepsis Day, and it was a huge success! Across the globe, countless events helped raise awareness about sepsis, the most preventable cause of death. Your participation made a real impact, and we can’t thank you enough for being a part of this life-saving movement.

Now, it’s time to showcase your efforts – we’ll highlight all the incredible events on our website, the 2024 WSD Event Poster, and we have a couple of other ideas as well...

Upload your event now – it only takes a minute. But hurry, the form closes on October 6, so make sure to submit before then. Let’s continue spreading the word and saving lives together.

If you haven’t organized your own event for WSD, it’s not too late to participate via our virtual photo booth…

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The Virchow Foundation – a long-time strategic partner of the Global Sepsis Alliance and the World Sepsis Day Movement – and the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin) are delighted to host the distinguished Virchow Lectures in honor of Lucy Gilson and Johan Rockström, the Virchow Prize 2024 Laureates. They will explore the critical and timely topic of holistic and systems-based approaches to safeguarding “Health for All” and the interconnectedness of health with the different levels of health systems, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the planetary boundaries of environmental sustainability, highlighting the importance of integrated strategies to address complex global challenges towards our common goal of attaining SDG3 “Good Health and Well-being.”

The event – including the lectures of the Virchow Prize 2024 Laureates and the following panel discussion – will be live-streamed for free, requiring only a short registration here. To participate in person in Berlin, please register via this link.

• About the Virchow Prize

  Established by the non-profit Virchow Foundation, the Virchow Prize is an international award annually celebrated in Berlin and endowed with €500,000. Rudolf Virchow, the inspiration and namesake of the prize, is a symbol and role model for the required holistic approaches to improve health for all, thereby providing an example of global responsibility for future generations. In this spirit, the Prize, deeply rooted in the highest-quality research and humanistic values, intends to further strengthen our efforts to a better future. Individuals and their work embody the spirit of the United Nations 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, specifically addressing SDG3 “Good Health and Well-being”.

• About ESMT Berlin

  Founded in 2002 by 25 leading global companies, ESMT Berlin offers master’s, MBA, and PhD programs, as well as executive education across its campus in Berlin, various locations around the world, online, and in an online blended format. Additionally, the international business school provides an interdisciplinary platform for discourse between politics, business, and academia. ESMT is a non-profit private institution of higher education, accredited by AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS, and FIBAA, and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion across all its activities and communities.

On September 11, 2024, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, alongside Senators Susan Collins and Bob Casey, introduced the bipartisan SEPSIS (Securing Enhanced Programs, Systems and Initiatives for Sepsis) Act to the US Senate.

This legislation aims to reduce sepsis-related deaths by directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand their dedicated efforts on sepsis prevention, building on their ongoing work to combat this deadly condition. The bill builds on the success of Rory’s Regulations, a life-saving initiative in New York State.

The Global Sepsis Alliance wishes to congratulate Orlaith and Ciaran Staunton and their team at END SEPSIS for their continuous leadership and vision and for repeatedly putting sepsis in front of policymakers in the US and beyond.

“Sepsis is a devastating medical condition, which unjustly claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. The true tragedy is that many of these fatalities are preventable if there is early enough detection. The federal government must continue to bring more awareness and research to combat this ruinous condition and save lives. I sincerely thank the Stauntons, who faced an unimaginable loss when their son Rory – a 12-year-old from Queens – died from sepsis a decade ago. They have turned their profound suffering into tangible action so that hopefully no parent or family has to experience the same pain.”

— Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, United States

“We congratulate Senator Schumer for this lifesaving bill, which will help prevent hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths from sepsis. No one has worked harder, given more of his time, and helped bring profound change in the battle against sepsis than the beloved senator from New York. Since our cherished son Rory died from sepsis 12 years ago, we have devoted our lives to ensuring there will be no more Rory Staunton cases, no families shattered, no parents weeping, no brothers and sisters bereft, no families left to face a thousand lonely nights because of death from a preventable condition. Thanks to this bill, we have taken an enormous step forward, ensuring the federal battle to end sepsis is now underway. As a child, Rory liked nothing better than helping people and lifting them up. He is still lifting us all up now and urging us to fight even harder. Our promise to him is that we will.”

— Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, Founders, END SEPSIS

The SEPSIS Act would task the CDC with dedicated sepsis work, building on their ongoing efforts to reduce the burden of sepsis through the Hospital Sepsis Program Core Elements.

The CDC’s work will include:
• An education campaign about addressing sepsis in hospitals
• Improving data collection on pediatric sepsis,
• Sharing information with HHS on data collection, including CMS on sepsis quality measures and
• Development and implementation of a sepsis outcome measure.

The SEPSIS Act also requires a report on developing and implementing a sepsis outcome measure and a Congressional briefing on CDC’s sepsis activities.

Lastly, the SEPSIS Act includes a voluntary recognition program for hospitals that maintain or improve effective sepsis programs over time.

Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance, spoke at the first panel of the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on AMR in New York on September 26.

“Lives lost to AMR are lives lost to sepsis.”

— Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO Global Sepsis Alliance

On behalf of the Global Sepsis Alliance, Dr. Jashi welcomed the historic progress made in AMR advocacy, culminating in the political declaration of the UNGA79 High-Level Meeting.

However, she stressed that the inspiring dialogue among political and global health leaders and the final draft of the political declaration was missing adequate focus on sepsis, as the major killer of children, women, and men worldwide.

She reiterated that the 4.95 million AMR-related deaths are only part of the 13.7 million sepsis-related deaths and that the lives lost to AMR are the lives lost to sepsis.

With almost 50 million people affected by sepsis every year, including 20 million newborns and young children, and 5.7 million pregnant women, Dr. Jashi stated that we cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, Universal Health Coverage, or aspiration of the AMR political declaration without prioritizing sepsis.

In her concluding remarks, she highlighted that the Global Sepsis Alliance launched the very first global strategy for sepsis – the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis – in partnership and leadership of the Global Health Sub-Committee of the German Parliament. 

Dr. Jashi applauded US Senators for the recent submission of the sepsis bill and expressed hope for a successful outcome of the legislation process.

Finally, Mariam Jashi called the UN Member States, the United Nations Secretariat and its specialized agencies, and multiple public, private, academic, and civil society stakeholders to prioritize sepsis in the Sustainable Development and AMR agenda.

The Global Sepsis Alliance, in partnership with Medical Women’s International Association, UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, and Sepsis Stiftung is convening a side event in parallel to the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly to highlight the critical importance of sepsis for the attainment of SDGs and to present the newly launched 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis.

This meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, from 9:30 am to 11:00 am EDT at the New York University (NYU) Langone Health.

Joining the free Zoom livestream does not require a registration.

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Objectives of the Side Event

• To present the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis, as the first multi-year global strategy to alleviate the significant human, societal, economic, and healthcare burden of sepsis

• To reach a consensus on the urgent need for reinvigorating the Sepsis responses at global, regional, and national levels for the attainment of 2030 SDGs including the aspirations for Universal Health Care, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health, AMR, Pandemic PPR, Gender Equality, Peace and Partnerships for Development

• To discuss the critical role of healthcare workers, especially the medical women, representing over 70% of the health workforce globally, in the promotion and implementation of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sepsis, and

• To call for the establishment of a High-Level Political Platform for Sepsis to lead the integration of this global health threat into the mainstream of health and development dialogue and architecture, including G7 and G20 Summits, World Health Assemblies, UN General Assemblies, and World Economic Forums.

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The side event will include interventions and presentations from the following

distinguished speakers:

• Hon. Ricardo Baptista Leite – President, UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health

• Prof. Konrad Reinhart (online) – President, Sepsis Stiftung

• Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi – President, Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA)

• Hon. Mariam Jashi – CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance, MWIA Secretary-General, and UNITE Global Board Member

• Ciaran Staunton (online) – Founder, END SEPSIS, The Legacy of Rory Staunton

• Thomas Heymann – President and CEO, Sepsis Alliance

• Michael Wong – Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety (PPAHS)

The meeting will be moderated by Dr. Connie Newman – MWIA Vice-President for North America and Representative to the United Nations.

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Sepsis and the Sustainable Development Goals

Sepsis is one of the leading causes of mortality, disability, and healthcare expenditures worldwide, accounting for approximately 20% of all annual deaths. This global health threat affects 48.9 million people every year, including 20.3 million children and 5.7 million women during pregnancy, delivery, or postpartum. According to the latest estimates from the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Sepsis is responsible for 13.7 million deaths annually, including 4.95 million deaths associated with or attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and related aspirations for Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH), UHC, AMR, and Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPPR) cannot be achieved without robust actions against Sepsis at national, regional and global levels.  A reinvigorated sepsis response is essential to accelerate progress toward health-related SDG 3 and 8 other Sustainable Development Goals.

• Over 350,000 U.S. adults killed each year

• It’s the leading cause of death in U.S. hospitals

• Over 49 million people worldwide affected each year

This is sepsis.

Join Sepsis Alliance this September to learn more about how you can help better identify, diagnose, and treat this deadly condition in your practice. Mortality increases 4-9% for every hour that treatment is delayed. YOU can help save lives and limbs by staying up-to-date on current recommendations and guidelines around sepsis by joining us, virtually, at the free 5th Annual Sepsis Alliance Summit on September 25-27.