Our Ambassadors

”Sepsis presents a medical and scientific challenge worldwide. It is the third most frequent cause of death in Germany. In the joint effort to combat sepsis, appropriate prevention strategies are just as important as the early detection and treatment of the disease. The World Sepsis Day informs and, in doing so, makes a valuable contribution to the fight against sepsis.”
Federal Minister of Health, Germany

”I support the World Sepsis Day and the targets of the World Sepsis Declaration because I have learned that apparently even physicians and health care workers know by far too little about sepsis. But everybody knows sepsis is not only a highly dangerous, but unfortunately also a rather common disease. Sepsis can be controlled, but only if understood and very early diagnosed. Thus sepsis education must get a top priority if health care providers in all parts of the world shall be enabled to treat sepsis successfully.”
Former minister of state (1972 - 1974), Germany

”Sepsis causes many deaths. One in two patients who develop sepsis die as a result. We know too little about the causes and consequences of sepsis. This has to change. We must create structures that enable the world’s best scientists to work on fighting sepsis. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has been supporting national and international sepsis research for some time. Our aim is to be able to detect sepsis at an early stage, treat it effectively, and prevent long-term consequences. World Sepsis Day makes an important contribution to raising awareness of this life-threatening condition.”
Former Federal Minister of Education and Research, Germany

”From birth to death, sepsis is one of the most severe life-threatening diseases known in any field of medicine. Broad-based prevention (hygiene) measures, early recognition of seemingly harmless symptoms, and immediate administration of fast-acting antibiotic therapies save lives. That’s why the medical faculties, with their mandate of training future doctors and providing ongoing education for specialists, have a special responsibility to support the World Sepsis Day and the Global Sepsis Alliance.”
President, MFT Medizinischer Fakultätentag der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e. V., President Hannover Medical School. Division Research and Training, Hannover, Germany

”150 years after Semmelweis, nosocomial infections represent the most common infections in industrialized nations. The most serious form of such infections is sepsis, particularly in areas with an increased risk like intensive care, hematology/oncology or neonatology. Effective treatment of sepsis is difficult, and is affected increasingly by the problem of antibiotic resistance. In addition to evidence-based recommendations for the prevention of sepsis, prepared in Germany by the KRINKO at the RKI, the early detection and the improvement in therapy is important, considering at the same time the prudent use of the remaining antibiotics. The German antibiotic resistance strategy DART focuses on these topics. Therefore, the RKI strongly supports the goals and activities of the World Sepsis Day.”
President, Robert Koch-Institute (RKI), Hamburg, Germany

”Patient safety must never be taken for granted: the next challenge is always just around the corner.
Sepsis remains a major challenge to healthcare, and is one of our biggest causes of unchecked deterioration and avoidable patient harm.
The statistics concerning the number of patients affected by sepsis and the numbers of lives claimed are frightening. Awareness of this condition is low among health professionals and members of the public, and access to healthcare for some poor. As a result, patients with sepsis can present to our doctors and nurses late, the severity of their condition may not be recognised, and essential life-saving treatments are too often delayed. I believe that the improvement of reliability in sepsis care should be a key priority in planning the next phase of strategies to improve patient safety, and that achieving this reliability will save countless lives each year. I fully support the work of the World Sepsis Day coalition in helping to drive and inform the necessary change.”
WHO Envoy for Patient Safety; Chair in Health Policy; Institute of Global Health Innovation

”I was dependent on an artificial heart while waiting for a heart transplant. During that time I developed sepsis. Surviving the disease was like getting a second lease on life. Today I'm a patron of the German Sepsis Aid Organization and the German Sepsis Society, and I fully support World Sepsis Day.”
Former German Olympic champion (1980 Moscow, 50km walk)

”Sepsis is a medical emergency that could be the #1 cause of death in the World! 
As the #3 cause of death in the US, we at the Sepsis Alliance are dedicated to get the word out to the public and health care givers / facilities throughout the States. Amazingly, only 4 out of 10 Americans has heard the word sepsis.
When you see estimates of 10's of millions dying worldwide annually, the unknown number of disabilities / amputations, and suffering for survivors, all of us globally need to be united behind the GSA and the WSD events to " speak in one voice" about this "Blanket of Death". Government, Industry, Philanthropy and Academia, etc. need cohesive efforts to stop this deadly crisis. The Sepsis Alliance supports the GSA/WSD ( September 13th ) that occurs during the US September Sepsis Awareness Month, 'SO MORE SURVIVE' !”
Founder Sepsis Alliance

”Sepsis is a life-threatening disease that affects many people worldwide. Even in the developed countries the incidence of sepsis is rising dramatically. Sepsis has not only an enormous relevance for public health care systems but also for research and education. Therefore, AWMF, the working group of all scientific medical societies in Germany, supports World Sepsis Day and wishes it to become a great success.”
President AWMF, Germany

”The fight against sepsis is a challenge that indispensably calls for the worldwide cooperation of scientists, physicians, and healthcare workers. As a microbiologist, I am sure that the World Sepsis Day helps to make our knowledge about sepsis widely available to all who are needed to win that fight.”
President, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Halle (Saale) Germany

”When my father died, sadly this taught me what sepsis may lead to. Therefore, I support the World Sepsis Day and all efforts to eliminate sepsis as life-threatening danger to mankind.”
Between 1988 and 1992, Uwe-Jens Mey was the world's top 500 m skater. He captured the Olympic title in the distance in both 1988 and 1992, the former representing East Germany, the latter competing for the reunited Germany. In the years in between he also won the 500 m World Cup three times (1989-1991), in addition to three 1000 m World Cups (1988-1990).

“Even in the 21st century, sepsis remains a formidable challenge, both in developing and developed countries. But sepsis can be prevented. One of the simpler measures is to encourage healthcare workers to comply with hand hygiene recommendations, notably the “My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene” now used worldwide and promoted through the WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Promotion Strategy. Hands are often the vectors of disease transmission. In the very recent 2012 edition of the WHO initiative “Save Lives: Clean Your Hands”, 10 million healthcare workers from all continents participated to say “No, infection won’t be spread by me”. I believe that our collective power can generate a significant awareness of the need to reduce the burden of sepsis for all patients in our care. For this reason, I strongly support The Global Sepsis Alliance and World Sepsis Day.”
Director, Infection Control Programme and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland; External lead: WHO First Global Patient Safety Challenge “Clean Care is Safer Care”

”We support the World Sepsis Day because future doctors need a solid foundation to fight against sepsis.”
President, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA)

”Many people who suffer from sepsis die quickly. That is why sepsis remains mostly unnoticed by media, politics, and society. Awareness of sepsis among health professionals and the general public is essential to increase sepsis survival rates, reverse the rise in sepsis incidents, and generate support among scientists and policymakers. I am proud to serve as an ambassador for the “Stop sepsis save lives” campaign, which culminates in the World Sepsis Day on 13 September 2012. In particular, I will strive to help improve public and political understanding of sepsis, with the aim of achieving deeper insight into the molecular medicine of sepsis and discovering new clues for prevention, diagnosis and therapy.”
Past-President of the Leibniz Association (2005-2010), Germany

”I support the World Sepsis Day because too many children and adults die from sepsis and I want to support those who care about better prevention and therapy of sepsis.”
Former German track athlete (Olympic champion in the decathlon in 1988 South Korea), Patron of German Alliance Against Depressions, Project Manager of “Sporthilfe Elite-Forum” at Castle Liebenberg, Germany

"This important day must increase awareness of the public for a dangerous disease, and help to support research to find better treatments and improve outcome in these patients.”
Prof. em. of Medicine, University of Geneva; Former President, Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland

”I support the World Sepsis Day because many lives could be saved if lay people, politicians, physicians and health care workers would know more about sepsis.”
Former German javelin thrower and Olympic champion (1972 Munich)

”I support the World Sepsis Day because as a patient and physician I know that sepsis can strike people out of the blue. Unfortunately, very few people know enough about this deadly disease. Medical students, young doctors and nurses need better education about prevention, early recognition and treatment of sepsis. The World Sepsis Day can help to make a change for the better in the next years.”
Olympic Games discus champion (1996, Atlanta) who also won at the 1990 and 1994 European Athletics Championships