World Patient Safety Day 2026

🩺🌍 World Patient Safety Day 2026 | 17 September 💙

This year, the World Health Organization shines a spotlight on safe care for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) under the slogan:

💫 Safe Care for Life! 💫

🔎 Noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases affect billions of people worldwide and often require lifelong care. Yet, globally, 1️⃣ in 🔟 patients experience harm during healthcare, and around half of these incidents are considered preventable. People living with NCDs are particularly vulnerable due to frequent interactions with healthcare systems and long-term treatment needs.

 

❗This year’s key messages emphasise:

🔶 People living with NCDs are at increased risk of harm in health care. This risk is driven by the long-term and complex nature of NCDs, health system challenges (e.g., fragmented care, poor coordination) and broader factors that affect access to safe care (e.g., poverty, discrimination).

🔶 Risks must be addressed across the continuum of care and in daily life. Safety risks can arise at every stage, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and long-term management, across health care settings, homes and communities.

🔶 Strong, integrated health systems and a supported health workforce are essential for safe care. Strengthening primary health care, supporting health workers and addressing barriers that affect access to safe care through multisectoral action are key to reducing harm.

🔶 People living with NCDs must be partners in safe care. People with lived experience play a vital role in reducing harm and improving care. Supporting health literacy, meaningful engagement, shared decision-making and learning from lived experience leads to safer, better-quality care.

 

🧐 At the ENDOTARGET EU Project, we are working to improve the understanding, prevention, and management of chronic rheumatic diseases through research on inflammation, the gut microbiome, and disease prediction. Better knowledge and earlier interventions can contribute to safer, more personalised care throughout a patient’s life.

For more information about this year’s campaign, see here 👉 https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-patient-safety-day/2026