Helping save lives from sepsis
the challenge
Sepsis leads to 11 million deaths every year
Although sepsis incidence has declined since 1990, there are still around 11 million sepsis-related deaths every year. This equals almost 20 % of global deaths and is a higher burden than cancer or heart disease.
About 85% of sepsis cases and 84% of sepsis deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Almost 50 % of all sepsis cases and 25 % of all sepsis deaths occur among children under five.
Better prevention and treatment could save many of the lives lost today.
Opportunities
Global alliance to improve emergency care
Sepsis is among the focus areas of the global Acute Care Action Network the World Health Organization established in 2023, with co-funding from Laerdal Foundation.
One of the early priorities for the network is to scale-up of the Basic Emergency Care course. This course has shown a remarkable improvement in patient outcomes, including for acute infections, in numerous settings. Early recognition and resuscitation for patients with sepsis and septic shock is emphasized throughout the course materials.
Preventing newborn sepsis
Sepsis is a significant cause of neonatal and child mortality, but it can be prevented by avoiding infections and treating infections early.
Prevention of sepsis through good hygiene, clean equipment and skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding is a central theme throughout all our Helping Babies and Mothers Survive programs.
Preterm newborns are particularly vulnerable to sepsis and infections. Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has been shown to reduce the risk of premature mortality and particularly sepsis compared to conventional care, in particular when done immediately after birth. Scaling up Kangaroo Mother Care is a central component in the Saving Little Lives program in Ethiopia.
Preventing maternal sepsis
Sepsis is also among the leading causes of maternal mortality. X % happen after C-section. Together with implementation and research partners, we work along two axis;
1) Preventing unnecessary C-sections by keeping births normal and scaling up vacuum assisted delivery as an option to C-section.
2) Scaling up access to safe C-section. Laerdal Foundation is a global impact partner to WFSA to help scale up the Safe OB programs. MamaBirthie C-section has been developed to support effective simulation-based training in C-section.
Surviving sepsis campaign
In January 2024, the Society for Critical Care launched an ambitious project to decrease sepsis mortality in low-resource settings. The Laerdal Foundation has funded the first phases of this seven-year research and resource development project.
The project will survey clinicians to assess needs, summarize the evidence base, and identify gaps in knowledge, and based on this create toolkits and resources, and capture how these are used. The later phases will focus on implementing, disseminating, and assessing impact in 20 global regions.
Early identification and effective treatment of sepsis is a challenge in low-resource settings due to limited training, access to healthcare resources, infrastructure, therapies, and tools. This initiative aims to address these significant gaps and access to essential resources, which requires a multifaceted, multiprofessional approach.