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In 2021, WPA conducted the largest WPSD campaign globally with over 800 events organized all over the world. Read more about it below!
Message from the WPA Chair
Patient Safety and Quality Committee
The World Patient Alliance established the Patient Safety and Quality Committee to focus on promoting better quality and safer practices in health care around the globe. The members of the committee, below, were selected for their experience and commitment to this goal.
World Patient Safety Day Campaign: Safe Maternal and Newborn Care
World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) is observed globally on September 17 every year. The objectives of WPSD are to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and work towards global solidarity and action by all stakeholders to improve patient safety. The theme of WPSD 2021 was “Safe Maternal and Newborn Care” and all stakeholders were urged to “act now for safe and respectful childbirth!”. Maternal and child mortality is one of the major health issues of the current times. Every day we lose 810 women due to pregnancy-related complications, 6,700 newborns lose their lives, and there are 5,400 stillbirths globally. The tragedy is that most of these deaths are avoidable through the provision of safe care.
WPA conducted the largest WPSD campaign globally as over 800 events were organized all over the world. This newsletter presents highlights of these events.
India | Nepal | Lebanon | North Macedonia | Greece | Mali | Uganda | Ghana | Pakistan | Malawai | Cameroon | United States of America
WPSD Regional Webinar Series
WPA organized a regional webinar Series in the month of September 2021, some of which are described here.
Euro Regional Webinar
The WPSD Regional Webinar for European region was held on 06th Sept 2021. The webinar was attended by patients and organizations from all over the European continent. Jolanta Bilinska, WPA founding Board member and President Polish Patients Safety Foundation moderated the webinar. The World Patient Safety Day (WPSD) is observed globally on 17th Sept every year. The objectives of WPSD are to increase public awareness and engagement, enhance global understanding, and work towards global solidarity…
Asia Regional Webinar
On Sept 13, 2021, the WPA Regional Webinar on WPSD was held for the Asian Region (including EMRO). It was a very successful event in which renowned speakers from the region participated, including WHO regional officials, patients’ safety experts, and patient advocates from all over the region. Hussain Jafri, founding WPA Board member, moderated the webinar. The webinar was attended by over 170 patient advocates and organizations from the region. Hussain welcomed participants and speakers…
Afro Regional Webinar
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,…
Latin America Regional Webinar
The Spanish-language WPSD webinar for Latin America was held on September 9 at 12:00 CDMX time, Mexico. The webinar was organized by Helen Haskell and hosted and moderated by WPA board member Karla Ruiz de Castilla and the Peruvian NGO Esperantra. Technical support was ably provided by Haris Khalid of WPA and Alessandra Tarrillo of Esperantra. More than 100 patient advocates and organizations from throughout Latin America registered for the webinar. Speakers covered a wide…
WPSD Activities & Events
In addition to offering webinars, many WPA organizations held seminars and other events highlighting the impact of unsafe practices, particularly in maternal and child health. An important element of the sessions was to energize participants to take action within their communities to redress safety failures.
Here are some of the activities that took place this year.
United States of America
The International Pain Foundation, a WPA member from the United States of America organized an online digital on preventative care for newborns and their mothers on September 17, 2021, the World Patient Safety Day. Attendees included mothers of newborn babies, couples planning to become parents of a newborn in the coming years, and those just wanting info on the topic. The International Pain Foundation is devoted to advancing access and quality care in order to…
Uganda
Awareness Sessions On 7th and 8th September 2021, the Community Health and Information Network (CHAIN) with the support of Uganda Alliance of Patient Organisations (UAPO) and National Drug Authority (NDA) conducted sessions at two government health facilities. The two-day activity attracted 85 participants who included 40 health workers (doctors, nurses, midwives, lab technicians), 20 pregnant women/mothers, 5 men (husbands), and 20 Village Health Teams (VHTs) from Namulonge and Komamboga Health Center IIIs. The sessions were…
Lebanon
The Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL), a national reference for the treatment and support of over 50% of children and adolescents with cancer in Lebanon joined efforts with the WPA on 17th September to commemorate the WPSD 2021. The CCCL developed an engaging video promoting public awareness about medications safety, highlighting the “Five Medication Rights” for patients: Right drug, Right route, Right doze, Right time, and Right person. The contents of the video were…
Pakistan Patients Sessions
Patients & Community Mobilization Sessions The Jahandad Society for Community Development (JSCD), in collaboration with WPA developed a comprehensive campaign and conducted more than 768 patients & community mobilization sessions to create awareness about safe healthcare and rational use of medicines. The community was mobilized using Community Action Process (CAP), which gathers a group of patients & community members of a particular vicinity and motivates them to bring about a positive change in their health…
WPA Statement of Patient Rights on Patient Safety, Quality of Care, and Access to Information
Right to safe, timely medical care that upholds the standard of care. Right to be treated with respect, with regard for personal dignity, and without discrimination as to age, race, gender, sexual identity, social status, economic status, disability, or medical condition. Right to know the name, purpose, risks, and benefits of the treatments and medications you are offered. Right to be informed of your healthcare status and the plan for your care, in language that a reasonable person can be expected to understand.
Cameroon
Active Search for Pediatric HIV/AIDS (ASPA) in Cameroon organized events at maternity wards of two hospitals which included Mamfe Urban Integrated Health Center and New Life Clinic maternity ward in Mamfe. Young mothers were informed about the danger signs to be aware of during pregnancy and during the neonatal period. Covid 19 kits were distributed to the maternity wards. Back to WPSD Special Edition Newsletter
Ghana
Awareness Session and Street Theater The Healthier & Happier Life Foundation (HHLF) in collaboration WPA commemorated the WPSD in Accra, Ghana by organizing an awareness session and street theater on patient safety. In the downtrodden community of Jorge town, this street theatre (drama) was presented to the people in simple language. The drama was followed by a panel presentation by two pregnant women, followed by an open discussion and a presentation by a midwife who…
Greece
Webinar on Safe Maternal & Newborn Care The WPA member from Greece, Hellenic League Against Rheumatism (ΕΛΕΑΝΑ) orgnaized a webinar on safe maternal and newborn care to commemorate the WPSD. The webinar was held in Greek language and was attended by patients, healthcare providers, journalists, and the community. Speakers of the webinar included a gynaecologist and a health visitor, who spoke on maternal and child health care issues faced during pregnancy, child birth and postnatally. …
Nepal
Cancer NGOs Federation (CANFED) Nepal, the umbrella organization of cancer NGOs in Nepal invited all member organizations and other stakeholders to participate in a 2-kilometer Awareness Rally, which drew 121 participants, which included local government representatives, health workers, students, teachers, journalists, women’s groups, Lions Club members, civil society leaders, member organization representatives, and hospital owners. The event raised awareness of patients' rights and patient safety, maternal health, and newborn care and was praised by stakeholders…
WPA’s Global Call To Action For COVID-19
The COVID-19 is the biggest challenge that the world nations have faced in the last 100 year. The governments and health systems have been unable to cope adequately with this crisis. The COVID-19 has affected nearly all countries of the world countries; both high-income as well as low- and middle-income countries found it hard to cope adequately with this crisis. There is no medicine available for the cure of COVID-19 that has resulted in millions of deaths globally. However, vaccines have now been invented
Malawi
World Patients Alliance member from Malawi, The Women’s Coalition Against Cancer (WOCACA) organized an event to commemorate World Patient Safety Day at the Malawi National Cancer Centre. The event was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and was held in conjunction with a session organized to acknowledge a donation received to help cancer patients live a life with dignity despite the physical side effects and symptoms of the disease. This donation, from Brustkrebs Deutschland…
Mali
Awareness Session The Malian Observatory for the Quality and Safety of Care (OMAQUASS) with support from WPA commemorated the WPSD 2021 at the National Institute for Health Sciences Training, Mali. The event aimed to build awareness among health professionals, patients and community and to seek their commitment to carry the message of patient safety back to their local communities. The event was attended by nursing and midwifery students from National Institute for Training in Health…
North Macedonia
The Association HEMA for help and support of patients and caregivers with hematological diseases in collaboration with WPA marked the WPSD by organizing a virtual event and social media campaign in Macedonia. The social media campaign was run on social media channels including Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, YouTube channel, TV stations and other electronic media. WPA promotional posters and banners on WPSD were translated into Macedonian language and posted on the social media channels every…
India
The National Thalassemia Welfare Society (NTWS), in association with the Genomics and Public Health Foundation and Youth Thalassemics Alliance, organized a webinar on 19th September to mark the third WPSD to support WHO Global Campaign on Patient Safety. Dr JS Arora, member of the WHO Advisory Group Patients for Patient Safety program, founder of PFPS India and founder-president of NTWS informed the participants about the high maternal and child mortality rates and said that the…
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