Patient safety is one of the most foundational and fundamental principles of medicine, essential for every country’s journey towards universal health coverage and other health targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

WHA72.6 resolution on Global action on patient safety  urges all Members States to recognize patient safety as a priority in all health sector policies and implement systemic measures to reduce risk of avoidable harm in health care and requests WHO to measure and report on the progress made by Member States in the implementation of the resolution. Further, WHA decision WHA74(13) adopted the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 requested the Director-General to report back on the implementation progress every two years. The plan provides a set of core and advanced indicators aligned with the strategic objectives to be measured. 

In response to this mandate, the WHO secretariat conducted first Member State survey in 2022-2023 to measure progress in achieving the goals and strategic objectives of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030. The data was collected using the Global Patient Safety Assessment Tool.  By May 2023, official responses were received from 108 Member States through a designated focal point responsible for patient safety in the country. This survey will be repeated very two. 

The Global Patient Safety Observatory serves as a vital step forward in establishing a measurement agenda for patient safety globally. The trends and insights from this observatory will assist countries in making informed policy decisions and fostering data-driven improvements in patient safety.