Rt. Hon. Helen Clark

Helen is a respected global leader in sustainable development, gender equality, and international co-operation. She served three successive terms as Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1999 and 2008. Following her tenure in government, she assumed the role of Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for two terms from 2009 to 2017.

During this tenure, Helen Clark oversaw programmes addressing maternal and newborn health, communicable diseases, and health system resilience in low- and middle-income countries, all areas in which sepsis is a major but often under-recognised contributor to mortality. Her leadership on pandemic preparedness has also highlighted the critical importance of early detection, coordinated response, and public awareness, principles central to effective sepsis prevention and treatment. In 2026, she became Patron of the NZ Sepsis Trust.