About
Vision: World Burns Week envisions a world where burns are prevented, and access to timely and effective care is equitable - regardless of location, income, gender, age or ability.
Mission: The mission of World Burns Week is to raise awareness about burns as a global health priority; advocate for equity in burn prevention, care and survivorship; and promote international collaboration to reduce the burden of burns in low-/middle-income settings.
Partners
World Burns Week is a global collaboration of organizations representing burn care, public health, advocacy, and survivor support.
Together we work to unite stakeholders along the burn prevention, care and survivorship continuum, fostering understanding, partnership, and action to address burn injuries as a global health priority.
Steering Committee
World Burns Week is guided by a Steering Committee, who helps to shape the annual theme and key messages, ensuring that its impact resonates around the world:
Regional representation:
- International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI), represented by Michael Serghiou
- Asia Pacific Burn Association (APBA), represented by Prof. dr. Vinita Puri
- Pan African Burn Society (PABS), represented by Dr. Mansour Fall
- Federación Latinoamericana de Quemaduras (FELAQ), represented by Dr. Orlando Flores
- Euro-Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (MBC), represented by Dr. Ronan Le Floch
- European Burns Association (EBA), represented by Dr. Mamta Shah
- American Burn Association (ABA), represented by Maureen Kiley
- Australian & New Zealand Burn Association (ANZBA), represented by Siobhan Connolly
Survivor representation:
- Phoenix Society for Burn Survivors, represented by Amy Acton
NGO representation:
- Interburns, represented by Lucy Kynge
Supportive role:
- G4 Alliance Burns Working Group: Dr. David R Schieffelers, Leslie Long, Natalie Sheneman, Dr. Rachel L Weber
Endorsing Partners:
- World Burns Week is endorsed by (list will be updated regularly):
Are you an organization that is interested in endorsing World Burns Week? Help us make World Burns Week a reality by becoming a partner.
Become an Endorsing Partner
Why “World Burns Week”?
Burn injuries represent a significant global health challenge, with millions of new cases annually and a disproportionate burden on low- and middle-income countries. World Burns Week serves as an international platform to raise awareness, facilitate greater collaboration, and work together towards global equity in the burden and care continuum of burn injuries. By convening stakeholders, promoting understanding, and advocating for change, we strive to make a tangible difference in the lives of those affected by burns worldwide.
Understanding burns
Facts
- Every day, over 30,000 people suffer burns severe enough to require medical attention - an estimated 11 million new burns annually.1
- 70% of all burns occur in low and middle income countries (LMICs).1
- It is estimated that 180,000 people will die from burn injuries each year.2 The vast majority of these deaths occur in places where access to resources is limited.3
- Severe burn injuries extend beyond what is immediately visible as they can trigger an inflammatory response that affects the whole body.4
- Comprehensive burn care means coordinated multi disciplinary services including wound care, nutrition, surgery, rehabilitation, and psychological support.6
- Burn treatment is complex and involves different kinds of topical medications and dressings, coupled with high-level decision-making from providers.5
- Most individuals who suffer burn injuries survive, but many will go on to experience ongoing challenges with pain, disfigurement, and varying levels of disability.6
The Burden of Burns
- Burn injuries are responsible for some of the greatest burden of morbidity according to the World Health Organization (WHO).2 Burns cause lasting changes, impact physical and mental health, and can reduce quality of life.8
- Economic losses are significant.7 The direct financial costs of burn care range from 26 to 211 million USD annually.6
- Indirect costs including lost wages, care expenses, and the hidden impact of deformity and emotional trauma, are significantly higher and harder to quantify.6
References
Key issues
- Unequal burden of burns
- Low and middle income countries vs high income countries
The difficulty of accessing safe and affordable surgical treatment in low and middels income countries leaves approximately 5 billion people without proper acute burn management.1
Major barriers for patients and providers include the lack of trained teams, as well as access to equipment and resources.1
Early intervention following resuscitation is crucial for reducing mortality in both adults and children.12
Access to early burn care is pivotal; patients unable to undergo surgical treatment for deep burns in functional areas often develop contractures.12
In some regions, the burden of burns is so great that its impact on local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeds that of diseases such as cervical cancer and HIV (South Asia), and Tuberculosis (Sub-Saharan Africa).13
- Women vs Men
Vulnerable populations, including the poor, and women and girls, are at higher risk of long-term complications, reducing economic productivity and hindering community integration.12
Female burn patients are less likely than their male counterparts to receive surgical treatment, and are more likely to die during their hospital stay and/or be discharged with a disability.12
According to the WHO Global Burn Registry, women and girls have more severe burn injuries, with larger burn sizes and more frequent inhalation injuries.12
Burns to functional areas, such as arms and legs, are more common in women.12 These injury patterns have significant long-term implications for disability and functional recovery, often requiring treatments and resources that are limited in LMICs.12
- Children and Elderly
Children and the elderly are two groups that are most vulnerable to fire related injury and death.14,15
Children in low-income countries are more frequently burned than those in high-income countries.5, 14
The elderly over 65 years, experience the worst anticipated outcomes due to their vulnerability to malnutrition, altered mental status and infection.16
References
- Closing the Care Gap
One of the greatest challenges to recovery is staving off infection. Burn injury suppresses the immune system, leaving patients vulnerable to sepsis and organ failure.17
Globally, 26.93% of burn incidents involve infections; Africa has the highest proportion of burn infections, with 53.50% of cases affected.5Advances in burn care have reduced morbidity and mortality in developed countries, with standard-of-care regimes introducing new wound-healing modalities in clinical settings.5 But there is a lack of robust understanding of effective prevention strategies in LMICs.1Knowing that comprehensive burn care includes many facets of medicine from wound care, nutrition, and surgery, to rehabilitation and psychological support,6 there is limited understanding of the global availability of these services and how access affects burn injury outcomes.
The road to recovery is long, and can include numerous reconstructive surgeries, hospital stays and outpatient follow up. All of this combined with the tangible resources it takes to provide such healthcare, can amount to an enormous cost and create socioeconomic strain for burn patients and families.18
- Prevention and risk
The vast majority of burn injuries are thought to be due to preventable accidents. Emphasis should be placed on making sure everyone is equipped with the knowledge to stay safe and have access to preventative tools.18
Factors that may contribute to a less positive outcome for a burn patient include encountering barriers to ICU, financial constraints and initial burn management from care providers practicing traditional medicine.11
There are studies to suggest that a lower socioeconomic status is a direct contributor to an increased burn burden. This could be in-part due to less formal infrastructure and fewer preventative tools such as smoke detectors.18
- Social stigma
With burn injury recovery requiring immense amounts of physical therapy, physical rehabilitation specialists are invaluable. In some circumstances these professionals can assist with community reintegration and quality of life in addition to helping patients regain the ability to perform activities of daily living.3
Mental health may also be impacted by the traumatic experience of sustaining a severe burn injury.16
References
- Resources
Investing in existing burn care facilities while bolstering efforts to improve education, advocacy, and legislation to reduce burn incidence are all ways we can help decrease the burden of burns.7
https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/safety-and-mobility/burns/global-burn-registry
https://interburns.org/
https://www.surghub.org/
https://intersurgeon.org/
Take Action
- Media
- “Communication Toolkit”
- Launch Event
- Campaigns
- Online Events (to inform, educate, advocate for equity)
References
- Burns in the Third World: an unmet need. Ann Burns Fire Disasters. 2017;30(4):243-246. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6033471/.
- Burns. World Health Organization. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/burns. [Accessed 2024 Sep 21].
- One world one burn rehabilitation standard. Burns. 2016;42(5):1047-1058. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.002.
- Global burden of burns and its association with socio-economic development status, 1990–2019. Burns. Published March 3, 2023. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305417923000293?via%3Dihub.
- Epidemiology of burn injury and the ideal dressing in global burn care – Regional differences explored. Burns. 2023;49(1):1-14. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2022.06.018.
- Associations between burn care services and impairment at discharge after burn injury: Analysis of the Global Burn Registry. Burns. 2024;50(4):813-822. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2024.03.002.
- The Global Macroeconomic Burden of Burn Injuries. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2024;153(3):743-752. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1097/PRS.0000000000010595.
- The epidemiological characteristic and trends of burns globally. BMC Public Health. Published August 22, 2022. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-022-13887-2.
- Management of burns. Surgery (Oxford). 2024;42(7):510-516. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mpsur.2024.03.014.
- A systematic review of burn injuries in low- and middle-income countries: Epidemiology in the WHO-defined African Region. Afr J Emerg Med. 2017;7(1):30-37. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2017.01.006.
- State of burns management in Africa: Challenges and solutions. Burns. 2023;49(5):1028-1038. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2022.12.016.
- World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burn Registry cohort study. Am J Surg. 2022;223(1):157-163. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.07.041.
- The Global Macroeconomic Burden of Burn Injuries. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2021;9(10 Suppl):159-160. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.GOX.0000799928.44727.0f.
- Global burden of thermal burns, 1990–2017: Unbalanced distributions and temporal trends assessed from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Burns. 2022;48(4):915-925. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2021.08.002.
- Epidemiology of injuries from fire, heat and hot substances: global, regional and national morbidity and mortality estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study. Inj Prev. 2020;26(Suppl 1). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2019-043299.
- Burn injury. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020;6(1):11. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-020-0145-5.
- Burns: Pathophysiology of Systemic Complications and Current Management. J Burn Care Res. 2017;38(1) . Available from: https://doi.org/10.1097/BCR.0000000000000355.
- Recent trends in burn epidemiology worldwide: A systematic review. Burns. 2017;43(2):249-257. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2016.08.013.
- The Global Burn Registry: A Work in Progress. J Burn Care Res. 2020;41(5):929-934. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/jbcr/iraa078.