It is my pleasure to deliver this message to mark the second World Patient Safety Day.
Since 2014 achieving universal health coverage (UHC) has been one of eight Flagship Priorities in the WHO South-East Asia Region.
To achieve our goal, strengthening the quality of services for all people, of all ages and backgrounds to stay healthy and well continues to be a top priority.
Quality includes safety. No one goes to a health care facility to get sick.
Member States have in recent years made steady progress in implementing the Regional Strategy for Patient Safety, which identifies five strategic objectives and areas of action.
Last year the Region developed its fit-for-service information dashboard, which monitors Member State efforts to create cleaner, safer health facilities.
All countries participated in the first-ever World Patient Safety Day, reflecting the Region’s growing momentum, which continues to be harnessed in our battle against COVID-19.
For example, all countries have scaled up infection prevention and control protocols to minimize the transmission of COVID-19 within health facilities and to maintain the safe functioning of essential services.
The safety of health workers – upon which patient safety depends – has been a key area of action.
The Regional Office continues to provide Member States tailored guidance to protect health workers from all risks – including from mental health and psychosocial causes – via a cross-departmental working group.
The Regional Office has so far procured and delivered more than 1.1 million pieces of personal protective equipment to countries in the Region and continues to work with its many partners to procure and deliver more.
Throughout the response and into the recovery and beyond, the Regional Office is committed to securing sustained investments in health workforce strengthening, including to ensure all health workers can carry out their work safely.
A strong and safe health workforce is a common good for health that increases health system capacity on the road to UHC and also strengthens the resilience of health systems when responding to acute events.
In this International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and as we continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded more than ever before that safe health workers make for safe patients.
Let us make this Decade of Patient Safety a success, for all patients, for all health workers, for all people everywhere.