Reflecting on 2023, Anticipating 2024: Global Sepsis Alliance Extends Warm Season's Greetings
It's hard to believe the year is drawing to a close once again, isn’t it? Time seems to have flown by. The perfect time to express our heartfelt gratitude from the entire team for your unwavering support of the Global Sepsis Alliance, World Sepsis Day, and the worldwide battle against sepsis throughout the year. Your support is truly invaluable to us. We're pleased to report that it's been a successful year for sepsis awareness worldwide. Below, we've provided a summary of our 2023 journey and a glimpse into what lies ahead in 2024…
A Look Back on 2023
January / February / March
The year started with updated toolkits for 2023, as almost every year does. Shortly thereafter, we took the wraps off the 4th World Sepsis Congress, aptly titled ‘One Global Health Threat: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance’. In March, we translated our ‘What Is Sepsis?’-Video into Korean (it’s also available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Turkish, German, Arabic, and Russian (YouTube links)) and honored the unsung women leading the fight against sepsis on International Women’s Day. Towards the end of March, our friends from the European Sepsis Alliance hosted their 6th Annual Meeting live from Brussels.
April
In April, all eyes turned to the 4th World Sepsis Congress – One Global Health Threat: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance. Over two days and 16 highly relevant and diverse sessions, more than 85 speakers from more than 35 countries presented on all aspects of sepsis, including the link to pandemics and AMR, the role of AI, ML, big data, patient safety, the impact of policy, novel trial design, the latest research, and much more.
The congress was held entirely online and participation was free of charge. The talks are still available on YouTube and as a podcast on Apple Podcasts – just search for ‘World Sepsis Congress’ in your favorite podcast player. Maybe you’ll make time to catch up on a talk or two during the holidays?
The congress itself was a huge success – more than 15,400 people from 187 countries signed up to participate, 61% from low- and middle-income countries. The full report is available here, including a ton of interesting numbers and feedback from attendees.
May
May was kicked off by World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5 – clean healthcare is among the most urgent challenges identified by the United Nations to be addressed by the global community in the next 10 years and is highly relevant in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as fighting infections, sepsis, and, most prominently in the last couple of years, COVID-19.
We also started to release the sessions from the 4th WSC – as mentioned above, they are still available on YouTube and as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, if you aren’t caught up yet.
Later in May, we shared Marianne’s sepsis story, a Superwoman who is now engaged in raising awareness about sepsis in Spain.
May concluded with us sharing fresh ideas, inspiration, and resources for hosting an amazing World Sepsis Day event and our virtual World Sepsis Day Supporter Meeting, a forum that will for sure return in 2024.
June / July / August
In June, we published the aforementioned 4th WSC Report, announced CME credits for said congress, and shared Tess’s sepsis story. Tess was only 18 when she almost lost her life to a so-called “lung infection”…
In July, we announced this year’s WSD Event, titled 'The Enactment of the WHO Sepsis on the National and International Level' and held in Berlin in collaboration with the ‘Germany Recognizes Sepsis’-coalition, the European Sepsis Alliance, and the Sepsis Stiftung.
September
Finally, September. Finally, World Sepsis Day again. Across the globe, hundreds of events were organized to amplify awareness for sepsis, and we extend our gratitude to everyone who contributed. The 2023 WSD Event Poster summarizes these impactful events, and you can request complimentary printed copies to further support the cause and as a token of our appreciation for your work.
Shortly before WSD, on September 12, we convened in Berlin for ‘The Enactment of the WHO Sepsis Resolution on the National and International Level’ – a full-day hybrid event featuring intriguing speakers and panels, organized jointly with the Sepsis-Stiftung. You can recap the event here or on YouTube.
Leading up to the event, we published Dr. Tedros's welcome address for the event, as well as the Berlin Declaration. The Berlin Declaration calls for the urgent enforcement of the WHA Resolution on Sepsis and reinvigorated global action on sepsis and has been signed by over 75 organizations from all over the world.
On September 14, we announced that Dr. Mariam Jashi will join the GSA as its designated CEO, an important step to further cement our mission to provide global leadership to reduce the worldwide burden of sepsis.
Shortly after, the spotlight turned to sepsis once more with World Patient Safety Day on September 17, underscoring the significance of sepsis as healthcare-acquired infections account for approximately 20% of sepsis cases worldwide.
On September 21, we flew to New York for the 78th United Nations General Assembly – precisely, to host the first-ever High-Level Side Event on Sepsis, titled ‘Synergizing Global Actions for Sepsis, AMR, and PPPR for Attaining Health Related SDGs’. Serving as a platform for fostering collaboration and innovation in the fight against sepsis and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and promoting public-private partnerships for health-related SDGs, this pivotal gathering was co-hosted by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the Global Antibiotic Research & Development Partnership, the Global Sepsis Alliance, the Medical Women’s International Association, the Sepsis Stiftung, UNITE, and the Virchow Foundation for Global Health. The event was live-streamed and if you haven’t yet, you can catch up here or on YouTube.
October / November / December
In October, we convened a High-Level Luncheon on Sepsis on the Margins of the 2023 World Health Summit, bringing together senior officials from Parliaments, Governments, UN agencies, The G20 & G7 Health and Development Partnership, civil society, the private sector, and academia. Video recaps of selected talks are available here.
In November, we encouraged you to participate in Movember, raising awareness for men’s health, especially focused on mental health, suicide prevention, as well as prostate and testicular cancer. Later in the month, we celebrated World Prematurity Day 2023 and the 2nd Long COVID Congress in Jena.
On November 27, we brought you the free live stream of ‘Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic’, featuring Dr. Uzma Syed, and Prof. Konrad Reinhart, as well as a panel discussion on ‘Key Lessons on Pandemic Preparedness and Response to Non-Covid Sepsis’ with inspiring thought leaders in global health, focusing on the interrelated topics of pandemics, covid, and sepsis.
In December, we promoted the ‘Sepsis Alarm Boek’ by our friends in the Netherlands, and finally completed the 2023 WSD Event Poster, which you can download or order free printed copies of here.
Throughout the year, we also held regular meetings with members, sponsors, partners such as the WHO, our Board, and more, discussing how to accelerate the global fight against sepsis to an even faster speed – stay tuned!
Looking Ahead to 2024
In 2024, our relentless advocacy for prioritizing sepsis as a major global health priority will continue, building upon the significant milestones achieved in 2023. To support our endeavors, we're planning to expand our team as well.
Currently, we're diligently working on the next World Sepsis Congress Spotlight, scheduled for April 2024. Stay tuned for more…
You can also count on the 2024 GSA Awards, along with our ongoing commitment to translating more materials into more languages, in addition to creating entirely new materials and educational resources. We look forward to potential face-to-face meetings at our WSD Supporter Meetings and have exciting events planned with our Regional Sepsis Alliances.
As tradition holds, our efforts will culminate on World Sepsis Day on September 13, and we hope to have your active participation. We wish you a safe and prosperous start to 2024.