Message of WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti
World Patient Safety Day, launched in 2019, is celebrated every year on 17 September, to raise awareness of the importance of people-centred care and preventing harm to patients.
The theme for 2021 is "safe maternal and newborn care" with a campaign to “act now for safe and respectful childbirth”.
This is very relevant in the African Region, which accounts for nearly 7 out of 10 maternal deaths and 1 out of 3 newborn deaths globally. The major causes of death among pregnant women and mothers are postpartum haemorrhage, hypertensive diseases, and sepsis. Among newborns, the top causes of death include premature birth, babies not getting enough oxygen during birth, and infections.
Many of these deaths could be prevented by making sure patients feel safe, respected and that their needs are heard and acted on, and by equipping the health workers with the knowledge, skills and tools to take life-saving action.
Women in particular are confronted with a range of challenges as patients. They face physical and verbal abuse, and exclusion from decision-making about their care. For instance, during childbirth, pregnant women are often denied the choice of having a birth companion present or to deliver in their preferred birthing position. Newborn rights, to quality care for example, largely go unprotected.
During the pandemic, some people have avoided seeking care in health facilities, for fear of catching COVID-19 or other infectious diseases. To combat this hesitancy, health systems need to work on building community trust and investing more in good infection prevention and control practices. This includes investing in access to clean water, sanitation and medical waste disposal systems, doing regular refresher training with health workers, and making sure sufficient quantities of gloves, masks and other protective equipment are available.
Care should be provided with compassion and respect, by health workers with the skills to succeed, and in clean and safe environments that prevent the spread of infections.
As WHO we are working with countries to make this happen by implementing the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. In line with this, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi and other countries have developed national quality strategies to improve practices and enhance accountability. Countries like Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Nigeria are adapting WHO standards of care and building capacities as part of quality improvement initiatives. Eswatini, Lesotho and Kenya are among the countries adopting integrated approaches to service delivery built around the needs of patients.
By engaging patients as partners in the provision of quality care, health systems will make tangible progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
So, this World Patient Safety Day, I encourage all stakeholders – governments, civil society, the private sector, health workers and communities – to speak up for patient safety and to act now for safe and respectful childbirth.
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