Elsevier established a free COVID-19 resource centre in January 2020, offering English and Mandarin information on the virus. The centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, and the company grants permission for free access to its research in PubMed Central and other repositories for research and analysis. The article discusses the global burden of critical illness, emphasizing that critical care has evolved from treating polio patients to caring for severely ill individuals regardless of location or technology. Population-based studies in developed countries suggest that the burden of critical illness is higher than generally appreciated and will increase with an aging population. Critical care capacity is needed in developing countries, but efforts to improve care are emerging. Challenges include high costs and economic constraints, requiring better measurement of the global burden and development of both preventive and therapeutic interventions. Critical care medicine is a young specialty with challenges in defining its identity. It involves interdisciplinary teams providing care for patients with acute organ dysfunction, post-operative monitoring, and end-of-life care. The global burden of critical illness is difficult to define due to varying definitions, data collection challenges, and differences in healthcare systems. Observational studies show that critical illness syndromes like sepsis and acute lung injury have high mortality rates, especially in low-resource settings. The global burden of critical illness is expected to increase due to an aging population, natural disasters, conflict, and inadequate primary care. Trends suggest increased demand for critical care services, but the ability to pay may decrease. The article highlights the need for better guidelines, training, and telemedicine to address these challenges. It also discusses the impact of pandemics, wars, and natural disasters on critical care, as well as the economic burden of critical illness on healthcare systems. The article concludes that intensive care medicine must measure the global burden of critical illness and develop scalable interventions to improve outcomes for critically ill patients worldwide. Challenges include defining critical illness, ensuring equitable access to care, and addressing the economic and logistical constraints of providing critical care in low-resource settings.Elsevier established a free COVID-19 resource centre in January 2020, offering English and Mandarin information on the virus. The centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, and the company grants permission for free access to its research in PubMed Central and other repositories for research and analysis. The article discusses the global burden of critical illness, emphasizing that critical care has evolved from treating polio patients to caring for severely ill individuals regardless of location or technology. Population-based studies in developed countries suggest that the burden of critical illness is higher than generally appreciated and will increase with an aging population. Critical care capacity is needed in developing countries, but efforts to improve care are emerging. Challenges include high costs and economic constraints, requiring better measurement of the global burden and development of both preventive and therapeutic interventions. Critical care medicine is a young specialty with challenges in defining its identity. It involves interdisciplinary teams providing care for patients with acute organ dysfunction, post-operative monitoring, and end-of-life care. The global burden of critical illness is difficult to define due to varying definitions, data collection challenges, and differences in healthcare systems. Observational studies show that critical illness syndromes like sepsis and acute lung injury have high mortality rates, especially in low-resource settings. The global burden of critical illness is expected to increase due to an aging population, natural disasters, conflict, and inadequate primary care. Trends suggest increased demand for critical care services, but the ability to pay may decrease. The article highlights the need for better guidelines, training, and telemedicine to address these challenges. It also discusses the impact of pandemics, wars, and natural disasters on critical care, as well as the economic burden of critical illness on healthcare systems. The article concludes that intensive care medicine must measure the global burden of critical illness and develop scalable interventions to improve outcomes for critically ill patients worldwide. Challenges include defining critical illness, ensuring equitable access to care, and addressing the economic and logistical constraints of providing critical care in low-resource settings.