Dr. Mariam Jashi Calls on World Health Assembly to Prioritize Sepsis
At the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA), Dr. Mariam Jashi delivered two official statements, calling on WHO Member States and key global health players to prioritize Sepsis as the leading cause of death and disability worldwide.
Dr. Jashi attended WHA78 in her capacity as Secretary General of the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) and CEO of the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA). She advocates for Sepsis under the strategic partnership agreement between GSA and MWIA, announced on March 8, 2024.
Amidst the diminishing multilateralism and the de-prioritization of global health, Dr. Jashi urged the government to ensure increased national investments in Universal Health Coverage (UHC), and integration of Sepsis into UHC, as the best proxy indicator of how well national health services function. She reiterated that the global community will not be able to attain Sustainable Development Goals and UHC without prioritizing Sepsis.
“We cannot attain Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage without prioritizing Sepsis.”
— Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO, Global Sepsis Alliance
Dr. Jashi also participated in high-level discussions on strengthening the global health architecture for health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response.
She expressed concern that the current global architecture underestimates the fact that, similar to COVID-19, every future disease outbreak or pandemic will face escalated risks of Sepsis, as the final common pathway to death and disability. She further warned that armed conflicts, the climate crisis, and large-scale displacement increase the risk of infection and Sepsis among civilians, healthcare workers, humanitarian personnel, and peacekeeping forces.
Therefore, she urged that the global architecture for health emergencies should prioritize stronger risk communication, surveillance, and capacity building for Sepsis, along with increased R&D for new vaccines, antimicrobial therapies, and pathogen-agnostic immunomodulatory solutions.
“Similar to COVID-19, every future disease outbreak or pandemic will face escalated risks of Sepsis, as the final common pathway to death and disability.”
— Dr. Mariam Jashi, CEO, Global Sepsis Alliance
The 78th World Health Assembly was historic for the Global Sepsis Alliance, marking the first official WHA78 Side Event on Sepsis, held on May 24. A detailed report on the Sepsis WHA78 Side Event will be posted separately in due course.