The African Sepsis Alliance: making a difference in the fight against sepsis in Africa.

Dear Editor,

Sepsis is a global challenge affecting more than 19.5 million people each year [1]. Broad challenges in Low- and Middle-Income Countries relate to the wide-ranging paucity of evidence from epidemiology, through clinical management at the healthcare facility and rehabilitation, to implementation of prevention and treatment at the health system level. The Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) has long advocated for high-quality evidence and patient management [2]. Following the World Health Assembly global resolution on sepsis in May 2017, the formation of the African Sepsis Alliance (ASA) marks a commitment from clinicians and researchers to drive this agenda in Africa, which disproportionately suffers the burden of infection-related mortality [3]. Action is essential to achieve universal health coverage, address antimicrobial resistance, and meet the sustainable development goals. Emerging from the inaugural meeting of the African Federation of Critical Care Nurses (AFCCN) meeting in October 2017, the "Kampala declaration" was co-drafted by the ASA, along with the AFCNN, GSA, and World Federation of Critical Care Nurses, as a clarion call for African-led global advocacy for sepsis and other severe illness in Africa [4]. With over 2,500 signatories representing over 100 countries, the declaration demonstrates the multidisciplinary and wide-ranging response we hope to invoke at the patient, health facility, societal, and governmental level.