WHO Urges Africa To Put Patient Safety At Heart Of NCD Care
As non-communicable diseases increasingly drive premature deaths across Africa, the World Health Organisation has called for stronger safeguards to prevent avoidable harm throughout patients’ long-term care.
WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, made the call in his message to mark World Patient Safety Day 2026, themed “Safe care for noncommunicable diseases”, with the slogan “Safe care for life!”
Janabi said people living with diabetes, cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory conditions often navigate years of consultations, tests, medicines and referrals, creating multiple points where errors and poor communication can cause harm.
He noted that NCDs caused at least 43 million deaths globally in 2021, while accounting for 37 per cent of deaths in the WHO African Region in 2019, up from 24 per cent in 2000.
The WHO official identified delayed diagnosis, medication errors, drug interactions, weak follow-up and poor communication between health facilities as key patient-safety risks.
Janabi urged governments to integrate patient safety into NCD policies, strengthen reporting and learning systems, and invest in health-worker training, reliable supplies and safer use of medicines and medical technologies.
He also called for greater involvement of patients and families in decisions about their care, stressing that their experiences can help identify risks and improve health outcomes.
According to him, stronger primary healthcare systems, supported by approaches such as WHO PEN and PEN-Plus, can bring quality NCD services closer to communities while improving continuity and safety of care.
Join Our WhatsApp Community
