In January 2018, experts on sepsis, and associated stakeholders and professionals from around the world, including from countries already having progressed in the development and implementation of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, participated in a WHO-organized technical meeting to discuss sepsis-related issues. At the Seventieth World Health Assembly in May 2017, Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a resolution (WHA70.7) on improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.
This resolution requests WHO to develop guidance for the prevention and management of sepsis, to produce a report on the epidemiology and burden of sepsis, and to support countries to obtain the necessary infrastructure, laboratory capacity, strategies and tools to address sepsis. The Organization is also expected to work with partners to improve access to quality, safe, efficacious and affordable treatments for sepsis and tools for infection prevention and control (IPC), including immunization, particularly in developing countries.
Overall, the meeting aimed to provide support and input for
the implementation of the resolution. Its main objectives were to share
an overview of current major initiatives on sepsis worldwide, to present
WHO activities and plans, to discuss global needs and priorities for
action, to gather input on the critical role of WHO and key areas of
work, and to explore areas for collaboration between WHO and other key
players with the common goal of furthering global efforts on sepsis.