WHO urges safer care for people living with noncommunicable diseases

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged African countries to strengthen patient safety in the care of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Mohamed Janabi, made the call on Thursday in a message to mark World Patient Safety Day 2026, themed “Safe care for noncommunicable diseases”, with the slogan “Safe care for life!”

NCDs include conditions such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory diseases.

“For a person living with diabetes, cancer, heart disease or a chronic respiratory condition, health care is rarely a single encounter,” he said.

“It may involve years of consultations, tests, medicines, referrals and treatment. Each interaction should improve health, yet each can also expose a patient to avoidable harm.”

NCDs in Africa

Mr Janabi said NCDs caused at least 43 million deaths globally in 2021 and accounted for 37 per cent of all deaths in the WHO African Region in 2019.

He said the proportion had increased from 24 per cent in 2000.

“Nearly two-thirds of NCD deaths in the Region are premature, compared with 41.7 per cent globally,” he said.

According to WHO, NCDs are also a major cause of long-term disability and loss of function in the region.

“Their growing burden is linked to risk factors including unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, hypertension, obesity and air pollution,” he noted.

Patients face several safety risks

Mr Janabi said patients living with NCDs could suffer harm from delayed or missed diagnoses, medication errors, adverse drug interactions, poor follow-up and inadequate communication when they move between health services.

He said the risks could occur at different stages of care, including diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care and self-management.

He added that stigma, discrimination and difficulties accessing essential medicines and health technologies could further increase the risks faced by patients.

“Expanding access to NCD services must therefore go hand in hand with improving their safety and quality,” Mr Janabi said.

Stronger primary healthcare

Mr Janabi further said stronger primary healthcare could improve continuity of care, enable earlier identification of health problems and help coordinate services across different levels of the health system.

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He also called for health workers to receive practical guidance, reliable supplies and supportive workplaces where errors can be reported and used to improve care without fear of blame.

He urged African countries to integrate patient safety into NCD policies and programmes, strengthen systems for reporting and learning from harm, and invest in health worker training and the safe use of medicines and technologies.

He also called on patients and families to ask questions and raise concerns whenever aspects of their care are unclear.

“Every person should be protected from avoidable harm throughout their health journey,” Mr Janabi said.