World Prematurity Day on 17 November is one of the most important days in the year to raise awareness of the challenges and burden of preterm birth globally. Initiated by EFCNI and European parent organizations in 2008 and joined by the US organization March of Dimes, the African organization LittleBigSouls, and the Australian National Premmie Foundation in 2010, individuals and organizations from across the world now join forces with activities and events to draw attention to the topic of preterm birth and improve the situation of preterm babies and their families.

The symbol for World Prematurity Day is the socksline. The small pair of purple socks - framed by nine full-size baby socks - symbolizes: 1 in 10 babies is born preterm. Worldwide.

This year’s global World Prematurity Day motto is “World Prematurity Day 2020: Together for babies born too soon – Caring for the future”, highlighting that investing in the care of this vulnerable patient group is an investment in the future generation. With worldwide approximately 15 million babies being born preterm each year, this would be a stand to improve the lives of many children and their families.

Babies born prematurely often have a weakened immune system, also they are more likely to receive intensive medical treatment, making them especially susceptible to sepsis.

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The article above was written by Sarah Fuegenschuh, Head of Communications, EFCNI. Thanks, Sarah!

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On November 10th, 2020, the Board of the Global Sepsis Alliance elected Niranjan ‘Tex’ Kissoon as the new President of the Global Sepsis Alliance. Tex succeeds Konrad Reinhart, who co-founded and successfully led the GSA since its inception in 2010. Although Konrad stepped down as President earlier this month, he will remain on the GSA Executive Committee.

Tex is the Executive Medical Director of Children’s and Women’s Global Health at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, Canada, and Professor at the University of British Columbia. He has an extensive background in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and critical care. He has been serving as Vice President of the Global Sepsis Alliance previously and has been an important pillar of the GSA from the very beginning.

“I am grateful for your support and confidence in me to lead the GSA. There is much to be done. I look forward to the challenges but success depends on all of us. I am excited to harness our collective talent and energies to continue to fight against sepsis. A world free of sepsis is worth the effort.”

— Tex Kissoon, President Global Sepsis Alliance

The team here at the GSA HQ wishes to congratulate Tex and is thrilled to continue to be working with him. Here’s to changing the world for the better.

Update Nov 19th, 2020: The 10% discount has been extended to November 30th, 2020. Happy shopping!

Original article:

With our brand new WSD Face Masks, you can fight COVID-19 whilst also expressing your support for World Sepsis Day. They are on sale now for just 9€, with worldwide shipping available.

To celebrate the launch of our new masks, you can get 10% off your entire order as long as it includes at least one face mask – just use the code FACEMASK at checkout. Offer valid for the next 14 days. This is a great opportunity to stock up on t-shirts, stickers, thumb drives, and much more.

The mask is high-quality black material, with our logo in white. It is highly breathable with an included filter, comfortable, reusable, washable, sustainable, easy to take on or off, and even has adjustable ear straps.

Accompanying our mask is a new infographic detailing how to wear and handle your mask safely.

P.S.: While our new WSD Face Masks say ‘Stop Sepsis Save Lives’, wearing a mask does not necessarily stop sepsis. Our logo on the mask simply promotes the fight against sepsis. However, it can help prevent infections like COVID-19, which is known to lead to sepsis in more severe cases. Please refer to our infographics on how to identify signs of sepsis requiring medical attention.

Every November, Movember is celebrated all around the world, raising awareness for men’s health, especially focused on mental health, suicide prevention, as well as prostate and testicular cancer.

This year, with a raging pandemic holding the world hostage, the work of the Movember Foundation has never been more important – and they have never needed your support more.

Although sepsis does not primarily affect males - it strikes women and men about equally - we encourage you to join the noble cause of Movember this year, by growing a mo to save a bro, move 60km, host an mo-ment, get involved on social media, and more.

The sixth and final session from the 2020 World Sepsis Congress Spotlight is now available on YouTube (embedded above) and as a Podcast on Apple Podcasts (just search for World Sepsis Congress in your favorite podcast app).

It was chaired by Ron Daniels from the United Kingdom, and features the following presentations and speakers:

• Keynote: Bringing the Fight Against Sepsis to the Next Level – Konrad Reinhart, Global Sepsis Alliance, Germany

• Management and Treatment of Possible Serious Bacterial Infection in Infants in Resource-Limited Settings  – Shally Awasthi, King George‘s Medical University, India

• The Role of the Pathogen in the Management of Sepsis – Arjen Dondorp, Asia Pacific Sepsis Alliance, Thailand

• Pediatric Sepsis: Guidelines and More – Rana Sharara-Chami, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Lebanon

• The Role of Sepsis and AMR for Patient Safety – Abdulelah Al-Hawsawi, Saudi Patient Safety Center, Saudi Arabia

This was the final session of the 2020 WSC Spotlight: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance – Global Health Threats of the 21st Century. All sessions and presentations are now available on our YouTube Channel, Apple Podcasts, and the congress website.

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The WSC Spotlight: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance – Global Health Threats of the 21st Century is co-organized by the World Health Organization and the Global Sepsis Alliance, initiator of World Sepsis Day and World Sepsis Congress.

The World Health Summit is one of the world's leading strategic conferences for global health – it brings together leading international scientists, politicians, and representatives from industry and civil society.

Usually an in-person conference in Berlin, Germany, this years special situation has made the 2020 World Health Summit an entirely digital conference. This is a great opportunity for you to participate and enjoy the 50 sessions and 300 speakers – interactive and free of charge, without a registration.

The core topic of the World Health Summit 2020 is COVID-19: Current knowledge about the virus, new strategies in the worldwide fight against pandemics, and the role of Europe and the WHO in global health. Other topics include the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs), climate change, and the latest approaches in health research.

The World Health Summit 2020 welcomes 300 speakers, including but not limited to:

• Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Federal President - Germany

• Jens Spahn, Minister of Health - Germany

• Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights - United Nations

• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General - World Health Organization

Global health can only be improved by strengthening partnerships and international cooperation. That is why the World Health Summit actively facilitates and promotes the constructive exchange between stakeholders from all sectors in an environment of academic freedom. During the three-day summit, leading experts from science, politics, industry, and civil society discuss solutions for improving global health care.

At the end of each World Health Summit, the "M8 Alliance Declaration", a final declaration with recommendations for action for international policymakers, is drafted. The "M8 Alliance of Academic Health Centers, Universities and National Academies" is the academic backbone of the World Health Summit and currently consists of 28 academic institutions in 19 countries, including the association of National Academies of Medicine in 130 countries.

Participation in the digital World Health Summit is free of charge and possible without registration; each session can be accessed via a link in the program. There you will also find details on sessions, topics, and speakers.

The fifth session from the 2020 World Sepsis Congress Spotlight is now available on YouTube (embedded above) and as a Podcast on Apple Podcasts (just search for World Sepsis Congress in your favorite podcast app).

It was chaired by Folasade Ogunsola from Nigeria, and features the following presentations and speakers:

• WHO IPC Strategy to Prevent AMR and Sepsis – Benedetta Allegranzi, World Health Organization, Switzerland

• Keynote: Preventing Infection and Improving Health in LMICs: Lessons Learned from Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Programmes  – Kelly Ann Naylor, UNICEF, United States of America

• The Impact of BCG Vaccination on COVID-19 and Respiratory Infections – Evangelos Giamarellos, European Sepsis Alliance, Greece

• Preventing Sepsis and AMR in ICU Patients – Mervyn Mer, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Sessions are released weekly on Tuesdays. The next session will be ‘Early Identification and Appropriate Clinical Management of Sepsis Saves Lives and Prevents AMR ’ on 20 October 2020.

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The WSC Spotlight: Sepsis, Pandemics, and Antimicrobial Resistance – Global Health Threats of the 21st Century is co-organized by the World Health Organization and the Global Sepsis Alliance, initiator of World Sepsis Day and World Sepsis Congress.

Today, we are incredibly excited to officially announce the winners of the 2020 GSA Awards. While the Global Sepsis Awards, which are kindly sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation, honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management, they are even more inspirational in times of COVID-19, given the close link that COVID-19 and sepsis share and the significant burden it has imposed on our time and resources.

Congratulations to all winners of the 2020 GSA Awards:

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WINNERS CATEGORY I - GOVERNMENTS AND HEALTHCARE AUTHORITIES

The winner in category I is Queensland Health, the ministerial health department of the Queensland Government in Australia.

Queensland Health and its Queensland Pediatric Sepsis Project (QPSP) have created an inspiring and effective response to tackle sepsis, highlighting their commitment to the WHO sepsis resolution and the Australian Sepsis Network Stopping Sepsis: National Action Plan.

In Queensland, sepsis represents a leading cause of preventable death and persistent harm in children, and rural and remote regions are disproportionally affected. In order to respond effectively to this, Queensland Health conducted a needs analysis and secured funding to scale up their Pediatric Sepsis Pathway. They also provided extensive interventions including;

• providing targeted sepsis and AMR education and support,

• statewide support system networks for care closer to home,

• peer mentoring for families,

• tele-health systems,

• the first Pediatric Sepsis Clinical Nurse Consultant in Australia,

• and the development of the first multi-centre Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) in sepsis research.

The Jury awarded Queensland Health for their impressive program tackling sepsis in Queensland, creating a global shining example of long-term and sustainable interventions to prevent and respond effectively to sepsis.

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WINNERS CATEGORY II - NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, PATIENT ADVOCATE GROUPS, OR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER GROUPS

The winners in category II are Sepsisfonden and the African Research Collaboration on Sepsis (ARCS).

Sepsisfonden (The Swedish Sepsis Trust) raise funding for research aiming to improve diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, and increase awareness and knowledge about sepsis among the public, policy makers, and medical staff. Sepsisfonden were awarded due to their dedicated and tireless work in increasing awareness around sepsis in Sweden.

The Jury were particularly impressed with many of their initiatives and actions in the past year - but in particular their work focusing on; creating both print and digital national sepsis awareness campaigns throughout Sweden (including this film), setting up of sepsis education school projects and creation of a film and pedagogical material for all science teachers to utilize, participating in cross discipline sepsis project - Combat Sepsis and their World Sepsis Day event with lectures, talks from survivors, and the launch of the Swedish Patient Organization.

The African Research Collaboration on Sepsis is a multinational global health research group established in April 2018. ARCS is funded by the National Institute for Health Research to build sepsis research capacity across Sub-Saharan Africa. Centers of Sepsis Research Excellence have been established in Malawi, Uganda, and Gabon, and they act as the central hubs for research activities in twelve African countries.

ARCS was awarded the GSA Award due to their network making outstanding contribution to sepsis research and capacity building across Sub-Saharan Africa. ARCS has and continues to build sustainable partnerships between research and clinical organizations, ministries of health, non-government organizations, and the commercial sector. Their sepsis incidence survey data from ten countries has meant they can begin to accurately quantify the true sepsis burden and enact evidence based policy change. Government ministries in Uganda and Malawi are now listening thanks to their work, and change is on the horizon.

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WINNERS CATEGORY III - INDIVIDUAL NOMINEES

The winners in category III are James Karugaba from Uganda and David Carlbom from the United States.

James Karugba works as the head of nursing at Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital in Uganda. The most prominent health issues in Uganda are respiratory tract infections, malaria, and diarrheal diseases, and neonatal sepsis - due to limited knowledge and finances, most patients resort to traditional healers and only appear in the hospital when they are in a critical condition.

The Jury awarded James Karugba with the GSA Award for his dedicated commitment to leading infection prevention and a control committee in the hospital, and creating necessary outreaches to villages to ensure communities are receiving support and education. In particular, his work trying to combat sepsis through creating effective prevention and treatment was very impressive.

James has successfully influenced several policies at Holy Innocents Hospital with regard to sepsis management, including setting up a new policy that all patients be given their first short of antibiotics from the outpatient department before being transferred to the ward - improving the patient outcomes drastically and helping to reduce mortality in the hospital.

David Carlbom works at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in the United States. He was nominated and chosen for the GSA Award for his many years of dedication to building a robust sepsis program at Harborview, including a high-functioning multi-disciplinary sepsis committee, innovative screening systems for sepsis to help providers recognize sepsis early, multiple educational and performance improvement programs around sepsis, and an annual sepsis conference. The Jury was particularly impressed with his achievements of the growth and reach of the Pacific Northwest Sepsis Conference - which began simply as a small internal workshop at Harborview but then expanded to nurses and providers in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montano. In 2019, the in-person two-day conference hosted more than 400 attendees from around the world. Attendees included physicians, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, quality improvement professionals, students, and sepsis survivors.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the in-person conference for 2020 had to be cancelled. Dr. Carlbom was not deterred and despite a brutal clinical schedule in the COVID and other ICUs this spring, he continued to volunteer his time to build and produce a free virtual sepsis conference that was a huge success. The conference had more than 1800 people register for the live event on June 16, 2020, but the content was recorded and is provided free of charge on an ongoing basis so it has the potential to reach thousands of other people.

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Commendations

In addition to the 2020 GSA Award Winners above, the following organizations and individuals who have applied or have been nominated for the 2020 GSA Awards were honored by the GSA Award Jury for their excellent activities with a Certificate of Commendation:

• Kristina Rudd for her invaluable contribution to the assessment of the global burden of sepsis, with particular emphasis on her contributions to the ‘Global Burden of Sepsis’ Report in The Lancet earlier in 2020.

• Imran Ismail, Governor of Sindh, Pakistan for his commitment to improving sepsis awareness, early recognition, prevention, care and research in Pakistan. We hope the honorable governor Imran Ismail continues to prioritize sepsis through the Karachi Sepsis Declaration and the WHA Resolution on Sepsis.

Over the coming months, we will give both the 2020 GSA Award Winners as well as the activities and initiatives by the entities that were commended the possibility to share their projects and initiatives in more detail on our websites.

We would like to once again applaud all activities in the fight against sepsis and encourage others to become involved in raising awareness of sepsis – congratulations again to all 2020 GSA Award Winners.

All awardees will receive their trophy and certificate at an upcoming international congress, in a COVID-safe manner, naturally. Winners in category II and III will receive $2,500 prize money each. A huge thanks to everybody who applied.

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About the GSA Awards

The Global Sepsis Awards, which are sponsored by the Erin Kay Flatley Memorial Foundation, honor outstanding efforts to increase sepsis awareness and raise the quality of sepsis prevention and management. The awards are granted in three categories, namely governments and healthcare authorities, non-governmental organizations, patient advocate or healthcare provider groups, and individuals, consistent with the aims of the World Sepsis Declaration and the World Sepsis Day Movement.

Applications and nominations for the 2021 GSA Awards open in January 2021 and close on March 31st, 2021.