2022 in Review, Plans for 2023, and Season’s Greetings from the Team at the Global Sepsis Alliance
Can you believe the year is almost over again? Feels like we have just been here...in any case, thank you from our entire team for supporting the Global Sepsis Alliance, World Sepsis Day, and the global fight against sepsis throughout the year – your support means the world to us. Another year shaped by a global pandemic, but with light at the end of the tunnel...and also a successful year for sepsis awareness around the world. Below, we have summarized our 2022 for you, and look ahead to 2023.
A Look Back on 2022
January / February / March
The year started out with updated toolkits for 2022, as almost every year does. We also announced the “WSC Spotlight: Novel Therapeutic and Diagnostic Approaches for COVID-19 and Sepsis” for April 2022 and shared the new video series on sepsis by our colleagues and friends from Australia. In March, we joined the call for peace in Ukraine, especially focused on healthcare workers and civilians – most people grossly underestimate the toll infections and sepsis have in humanitarian and health emergencies. Later that month, the GSA officially supported the IMC White Paper, which proposes a holistic infection management roadmap integrating AMR and sepsis.
April
In April, all eyes turned to the 2022 WSC Spotlight. Over the course of 8 distinctive and highly relevant sessions, 39 speakers from all regions of the world spoke on the newest therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for COVID-19 and sepsis, covering all novel aspects of our understanding of bacterial and viral sepsis, from new methods of diagnosis and risk assessment to novel treatment modalities, and beyond.
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 have the time to catch up on a talk or two during the holidays…
The congress was a big success – more than 10,000 people from 176 countries signed up to participate, 65% from low- and middle-income countries. The full report is available here.
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 two years, COVID-19.
Later in May, we shared Tereza’s sepsis story, who went from fit to sepsis and back again.
The month concluded with a direction-setting announcement by the G7 Health Ministers, who committed to boosting the implementation of the WHA 70.7 Resolution on Sepsis in their communiqué. The G7 Health Ministers also made a clear link from successful sepsis treatment to antimicrobial resistance, a connection we explored in our 2020 joint WSC Spotlight with the WHO, and which will be a large topic at our 4th World Sepsis Congress in April 2023 as well.
June / July / August
In June, we shared fresh resources, inspiration, and ideas for hosting your perfect WSD Event, as well as the “Action on Sepsis Podcast”, which tells the whole journey of sepsis from the perspective of the patient – really worth a listen.
In July, Australia launched a groundbreaking national sepsis clinical care standard, and we published the aforementioned 2022 WSC Spotlight Report, sharing detailed statistics and numbers from our congress.
In August, gearing up for #WorldSepsisDay, we announced both our #10YearsWSD Event for September – a hybrid event organized jointly with the Sepsis Stiftung – as well as the 5th Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance. Later in August, the new interactive World Map and Photo Booth went live, and the GSA member organizations elected a new GSA Board and Executive Committee.
September
Hurray, finally September, once again World Sepsis Day. Hundreds of events all over the world took place to raise awareness for sepsis – thank you all for stepping up. The 2022 WSD Event Poster summarizes these events, and you can order printed copies for free. Switzerland made good use of the occasion and announced their Swiss National Action Plan – congratulations.
On September 16, shortly after WSD, it was time to gather in Berlin, Germany, for our #10YearsWSD event at the beautiful Wannsee. It was amazing to see so many of you there after such a long time and have time to chat, catch up, and listen to amazing presentations and speakers. Thanks to everyone who joined the live stream as well, and all talks are available on YouTube or the event website to recap.
Following closely on the heels of WSD on September 13, World Patient Safety Day on September 17 once again put sepsis in the spotlight, as healthcare-acquired infections represent around 20% of sepsis cases.
The following week, we got together in Brussels for the 5th Annual Meeting of the European Sepsis Alliance – you can watch the recording of the event here, including the intervention of Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.
Closing out September were the Winners of the 2021 GSA Awards – namely Karl Lauterbach, the Houston Methodist Hospital, Victorien Dougnon, and Matthew Wiens.
October / November / December
In October, we joined forces with our colleagues from the World Health Summit to design a workshop on ‘Addressing Sepsis on the Global and National Level’ – you can watch it here. We also added Dr. Emmanuel Nsutebu’s breathtaking book ‘From Struggles to Success’ to our online shop.
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 2022 and #GivingTuesday.
In December, we finally completed the 2022 WSD Event Poster and issued a save the date for our upcoming 4th World Sepsis Congress in April 2023.
Looking Ahead to 2023
In 2023, we will keep on tirelessly advocating for sepsis to be prioritized as the major global health threat that it is, and many of the milestones of 2022 lay the foundation for our work in 2023. For this purpose, we are also planning to expand our team…
We are currently hard at work on the ‘4th World Sepsis Congress – One Global Health Threat: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance’, to be held on April 25 and 26, 2023 – save the date, registration will open in late January or early February.
You can also expect the 2022 GSA Awards, and, as every year, we will translate more material into more languages. We are hoping to meet with some of you face to face at our WSD Supporter Meetings, and are also planning a couple of events with our Regional Sepsis Alliances.
And of course and as every year, our efforts will cumulate on World Sepsis Day on September 13 – hopefully with you and your participation. Stay safe and have a great start in 2023.