AFRO Webinar: Commemoration of World Patient Safety Day
On 14TH September, the Ministry of Health Uganda in partnership WPA, WHO country office, and Community Health and Information Network (CHAIN) organized the AFRO region webinar. The event was a scientific meeting of 20 people at Golden Tulip Hotel, Kampala with 100 online participants from all over Africa, which included officials from the Ministry of Health, JICA head office, WHO, international and regional participants, regional referral hospitals, and other facilities. It was moderated by Dr. Joseph Okware, Director, Governance, and Regulation.
The keynote speaker was Helen Haskell, president of Mothers Against Medical Error and Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, and co-chair of the WHO Patients for Patient Safety Advisory Group presented on the Patient Safety, Global Perspectives and the Key Priorities for the Developing Countries. Helen informed the participants about the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 and its seven strategic objectives adopted by the world nations during the 2021 World Health assembly. Regina Kamoga, Founding Director of WPA and Executive Director of Community Health and Information Network, Uganda highlighted the importance of community engagement and empowerment in patient safety practice. She gave examples from Uganda on how patient organizations have done to empower communities to demand better health care services.
Dr. Olive Ssentumbwe from WHO presented the WHO standards for patient safety practice for maternal newborn and child health (MNCH) services. Dr. Olive said these standards are the key factor to improving maternal and newborn outcomes. Dr. Ernest Konadu Asiedu, Ministry of Health, Ghana spoke on patient safety interventions: strategies, achievements, and challenges: the Ghana experience. He gave practical examples from Ghana, which can be used for benchmark progress in patient safety. Dr. Hema Magge, BMGF-USA presented on the global quality chasm: what is the role of quality improvement in advancing global maternal and newborn health equity at scale? She quoted the example of the Ethiopia Health Care quality initiative and how it improved the quality of maternal and newborn care in the country. Dr. Joseph Ana, Nigeria briefed the participants on whole health system change for quality and safety: 12 pillars of clinical governance. He provided a practical example of a multi-stakeholder intervention driven by evidence and context that improved the health system and reduced maternal and child death in Nigeria. Dr. Ivan Kamya, DHO Kiruhura Hospital presented on leadership as a key factor in advancing patient safety in the national health system and quoted practical experience of one of the districts, Kiruhura in Uganda.