World Alliance for Patient Safety. The Second Global Patient Safety Challenge: Safe surgery saves lives

Summary

In October 2004 the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the World Alliance for Patient Safety. The Alliance raises awareness and political commitment to improve the safety of care and supports Member States to develop patient safety policy and practice. Each year the Alliance organises programmes covering systemic and technical aspects for improving patient safety around the world.

A core element of the work of the Alliance is the formulation of Global Patient Safety Challenges. Every two years a Challenge is formulated to galvanise global commitment and action on a patient safety issue which addresses a significant area of risk for all WHO Member States.

The first Challenge focused on health care-associated infection, while safe surgery has been chosen as the topic for the second Global Patient Safety Challenge.