Safe care for every newborn and child: World Patient Safety Day 2025

Summary

The importance of patient safety and quality of care has been highlighted in the global community since the 2002 World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution that encouraged countries “to pay the closest possible attention to the problem of patient safety, followed by the 2019 WHA resolution on “Global action on patient safety.”

International efforts have followed to develop global norms and standards for patient safety and quality of care, promote research and evidence-based policies, recognise excellence in patient safety, foster collaboration and partnerships, and assist countries in building systems to ensure the care is safe and high quality and contributes to improved health outcomes.

However, a great deal of work remains to improve health for children. In 2020, an estimated 5 million children under 5 years old died globally. Approximately half of those deaths were among newborns in the first 28 days of life. Safeguarding and improving the health of children is a fundamental priority for global health and sustainable development.

 In this Editorial in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, Albert Wu and colleagues reflects on the theme of this year's World Patient Safety Day, “Safe care for every newborn and every child” and the slogan “Patient safety from the start!".

Further reading on the hub:

• Patient Safety Learning: World Patient Safety Day 2025
• Patient safety for babies and children: key resources