Highlighting the Basics: Karima Khalid Champions EECC at the World Health Assembly

In May 2025, health leaders and decision-makers from across the world gathered in Geneva for the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO). Among the many important discussions and side events, Karima Khalid—one of EECC Global’s founders—was there to spotlight a message we care deeply about: the power of Essential Emergency and Critical Care (EECC) to save lives.

EECC is a set of simple, low-cost treatments that can make a life-or-death difference for critically ill patients. It includes things like monitoring vital signs, giving oxygen or IV fluids, helping patients with breathing, and ensuring health workers can recognize and respond to critical illness early. These basic actions can have a big impact, especially in hospitals that are under pressure.

Karima spoke at two key side events, sharing findings from our work and calling for urgent action to improve care for the critically ill—especially those outside of intensive care units.

1. The ECO Continuum: How ACAN is Driving Better Patient Outcomes
Hosted by the Acute Care Action Network (ACAN), WHO’s platform for improving acute and emergency care around the world, this session looked at how health systems can deliver better outcomes across the whole patient journey—from emergency departments and surgery through to hospital wards and rehabilitation.

Karima’s message was clear: while there has been real progress in scaling up intensive care, surgery, and emergency services, one crucial area remains overlooked—care in hospital wards.

“Globally, great efforts have been made to improve ICU, emergency, and surgical care,” Karima said. “But many patients never make it to these services. For the impact to be maximized ward care must be improved. Too many critically ill patients in regular hospital wards still die because they don’t receive the most basic, life-saving care.”

She pointed to findings from the African Critical Illness Outcome Study (ACIOS), a large multi-country study led by EECC Global and our partners, which revealed a concerning picture: more than half of critically ill patients in hospital wards across Africa did not receive basic care like oxygen, IV fluids, or monitoring.

“This is where ACAN can really lead,” Karima added. “We need to connect and strengthen existing efforts—whether it’s in quality improvement, workforce training, or monitoring systems—to make sure that essential emergency and critical care is available for all critically ill patients.”

Karima speaking at the ACAN event

2. Data to Action: How Metrics and Standards Are Improving Patient Safety
Karima also joined a panel hosted by the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), which focused on how data can drive safer, better care.

Here, she spoke in more detail about the ACIOS study. Conducted in over 50 hospitals across 10 African countries, the study found that critical illness is common in hospital wards—and too often goes unrecognized and untreated.

“We found that 1 in 8 adult patients in hospital wards had signs of critical illness,” Karima explained. “But more than 50% of them didn’t receive basic life-saving care, even though it was available in the hospital.”

The study also showed that simple actions—like checking vital signs, providing oxygen, or starting IV fluids—were often missed. These are not high-tech interventions. They are part of EECC. But without them, patients are dying unnecessarily.

Karima made a strong case for using this kind of data to guide action. It’s not just about collecting information—it’s about making sure that the standards of care are raised across the board, especially in the places where care is often weakest.

Karima speaking with other panellists at the WFSA event.

What This Means for the Future of Critical Care

Karima’s participation at these events brought EECC to the forefront of international health discussions. Her message was a powerful reminder that saving lives doesn’t always require advanced equipment or complex procedures. Often, it starts with the basics.

At EECC Global, we believe that no critically ill patient should die for lack of simple care. The tools and knowledge exist. What’s needed now is action—at every level of the health system.

The World Health Assembly is where countries set priorities for global health. With more attention on EECC, we are hopeful that countries and partners will commit to making essential care available everywhere. Because wherever people fall seriously ill—whether in a high-tech ICU or a rural hospital ward—they deserve a fair chance to survive.