Joining Forces for Sepsis and Women’s Health

On March 8, celebrating International Women’s Day, the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) and the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. 

In line with the MWIA President's triennial theme – One Humanity: Health Solutions Through our Partnerships, the GSA and MWIA agree to collaborate for the advancement of the global agenda for sepsis as an essential milestone towards improving Women’s Health. 

  • Every year, sepsis affects 48.9 million people worldwide and claims the lives of 13.7 million children, women, and men

  • 26.2 million cases of sepsis are estimated to occur in women compared to 22.7 million cases in men

  • Globally, maternal sepsis cases are estimated at 5.7 million, and

  • Every year, we lose 261,000 mothers as they give birth

This immense human suffering is preventable and global health partners have a critical role to play in raising awareness, advocating for policy changes, and training healthcare providers on the latest knowledge in sepsis, especially on the impact of sepsis among women and girls. 

Given the above, the Medical Women’s International Association and the Global Sepsis Alliance agree on the following:

  1. MWIA as the WHO Non-State Actor and ECOSOC-accredited NGO to support GSA in high-level advocacy on sepsis at the World Health Assemblies (WHA), ECOSOC Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Sessions, and WHO Executive Board Meetings.

  2. GSA to convene high-level sepsis side events on the margins of UN General Assembly Sessions, the World Health Assembly, World Health Summit, and UNITE Summits with MWIA as a policy partner.

  3. MWIA to ensure the organization of webinars for members of 42 officially affiliated National Associations of MWIA on sepsis, including how it affects women and girls.

  4. GSA to provide public awareness raising and training tools for healthcare providers on prevention, early identification, and treatment of sepsis.

  5. Sepsis Survivors and family members of the GSA network to support MWIA webinars for raising awareness on sepsis among medical women.

  6. GSA and MWIA to ensure consistent advocacy on sepsis among national governments, global health authorities, UN agencies, academia, and civil society.

  7. GSA, through its Regional Sepsis Alliances, Member Organizations, and networks, supports MWIA Women’s research and development efforts.

  8. MWIA to support GSA and its Regional Sepsis Alliances in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Eastern Mediterranean in implementation, data collection, and analysis of sepsis-related research.

Katja Couball