Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), and International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) have broadly agreed to collaboratively work on the Africa Patient Safety Initiative. The Africa Patient Safety Initiative is designed to be a strategic opportunity to build on the WHA72.6 resolution on “Global action on Patient Safety”, capitalize on synergies and provide a common platform to plan, implement and/or share experiences and initiatives in patient safety in the African Region.
The event
This high-level forum was jointly organized by WHO, IHI, PSMF and ISQua and attended by 140 participants from 22 countries in the African region. The programme of work included the sharing of country experiences, discussion of medication safety in the African region and high-level commitment through “TOGETHER for Safer Care: Consensus Statement for urgent action on Patient Safety in Africa, as well as common approached and collaborative mechanisms for action in patient safety. The event was inaugurated by high-level dignitaries, including senior leadership from all the partner organizations. The main working language of the event was English with simultaneous interpretation provided in French and Portuguese.
Outcomes of the event
The outcomes of the two-day forum include:
- high-level consensus statement- ‘TOGETHER for Safer Care’;
- regional launch of the third WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm;
- high-level political commitment, international collaboration and resource support for action on patient safety, aligned with WHA resolution on ‘Global Action on Patient Safety’;
- prioritization of concerted actions for developing patient safety action plans in WHO Member States in the African region; and
- establishment of foundation for further collaborative work on patient safety in Africa involving all relevant stakeholders.