Saving Life through Safe Practice: Patient Safety Awareness Week and the Future of Health Care in Africa

Saving Life through Safe Practice: Patient Safety Awareness Week and the Future of Health Care in Africa Quality healthcare is founded on patient safety, which is a service that millions of people in the world continue to face harm that can be avoided every day. Patient Safety Awareness Week, held at the beginning of March every year, is a reminder to everyone around the world that safe healthcare practices, clear systems, and equal access to high-quality services are needed, especially in Africa, where health care systems are prone to resource shortages, workforce insufficiency, and inadequate infrastructure development. Health professionals underline that despite the increased safety precautions implemented in many high-income nations with the help of digital health records, clinical guidelines, and ongoing training, still, low- and middle-income areas are more prone to medical errors, healthcare-associated infections, and a reduced involvement of patients in safety measures. Patient Safety is an International Health Concern Safety of the patient means the avoidance of errors and adverse events during the process of care, such as drug errors, surgical errors, delays in diagnostics, or infections. These are problems that affect patients of all ages and are at risk of leading to prolonged hospitalizations, high costs of care and loss of trust in health systems. Global health organizations observe that much of the damage within healthcare environments can be

prevented by ensuring that there are more robust clinical directions, effective interaction across healthcare teams, and patient involvement in care decision making. Patient Safety Problems in Africa Systemic and structural issues that restrict the regular application of safety standards cause Africa greater harm and damage to patients that could have been avoided. Health authorities single out a number of contributing factors: ● Short supply of the necessary medical equipment and supplies. ● Lack of trained medical workers and large patient-to-provider ratio. ● The lack of proper infection prevention and control in other facilities. ● Minimal adoption of electronic health records and reporting of medical errors. ● Poor social knowledge of patient rights and safety measures. Among the most vulnerable patients to the risks of patient safety are rural communities, conflict-affected areas, children, pregnant women, and patients with chronic conditions. Patient Safety Awareness Week: It’s Importance to the African Patients The role of patient safety awareness week in supporting and empowering patients in Africa by improving the effectiveness of health systems is significant. 1. Encouraging Safe Care Practices The hand hygiene, appropriate use of medicines, safe surgical checklists, and the need to ask questions to healthcare providers about the treatments and procedures are part of the public campaigns. 2. Encouraging Patient and Family Engagement Caregivers and patients are urged to take an active role in decisions about care, to speak up if they have concerns and to double-check information—by verifying medication names, dosages and the plan of care. 3. Enhancing Quality Healthcare Accessibility The occasion highlights the necessity of affordable, accessible and well controlled healthcare services especially in undeserved and remote communities. 4. Training and Support for Health Workers The symposiums and workshops as well as the practical training enable the healthcare personnel to stay up to date, for example, regarding safety, hygiene, infection control and ethically correct practices.

5. Improving Policy and Accountability The week enhances national and regional policies that facilitate the open reporting of medical errors, quality improvement systems, and patient rights models. Patient Safety in Africa (2025) —Key Statistics From WHO and the world health surveys: ● An estimated 134 million adverse events occur in hospitals in low- and middleincome countries each year (a large proportion in Africa), and these contribute to approximately 2.6 million deaths annually due to unsafe care. ● Globally, 1 in 10 patients is harmed while receiving healthcare but this risk is greater in low- and middle-income settings with as many as 1 in 4 patients suffering harm related to healthcare services. ● Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been reported to constitute> 50% of cases in a few African hospitals. A systematic review for sub-Saharan Africa reported an overall pooled estimate of 12.9% of hospitalised patients contracted an HAI. ● The incidence of poor quality and falsified medicines in the African region is around 18.7% which may lead to errors in treatment, antimicrobial resistance, and harm to patients. ● Unsafe injections in some African contexts are reported to be as high as 70% and were associated with poor sterilization in use and reuse among other bad practices, putting patients at risk of infections. By not investing in healthcare infrastructure, staff development, and patient interaction on a long-term basis, experts say the strains of unsafe care in Africa will only increase with the population growth and the demand of the medical services. Awareness of the Patient Safety Implications Health care providers and organisations, as well as the related social groups that participate in the initiatives of corporate social responsibility (CSR), can contribute to enhancing patient security in the Africa. These efforts are often focused on: ● Patient rights and safe care practices Community education. ● Healthcare workers Infection control and medication safety training. ● Advocacy of health facilities to use safety checklists and reporting systems. ● Digital health software enhancing communication, record-keeping, and after-care.

Consciousness brings good change Health professionals mention that the patient safety awareness initiatives have a number of benefits: ● Improved patient confidence and trust of the healthcare systems. ● Increased compliance with safety measures by the medical staff. ● Immediate medical error reporting and detection. ● Better quality of care and fewer complications that is avoidable. These results help in creating more robust and resilient health systems which focus on patient well-being at all levels of care. Global Action with Africa at the Center Patient Safety Awareness Week will not be an observance, however, but a call to action. Healthcare training, digital health system, safe facility design and community education can play a major role in preventing harm and improving health outcomes of millions of people across Africa. Organizational Contribution GetWellGo is a promoter of healthcare services that assists in raising awareness about patient safety through promoting informed decisions, patient education, and quality services internationally. The organization assists patients to obtain global healthcare network that links them to accredited hospitals, comprehend the treatment options and get access to appropriate, safe and timely care anywhere across the world. Conclusion Safety in healthcare is a human right, and a core component of high-quality care. Patient Safety Awareness Week provides a great platform to promote the value of transparency, education and equal opportunity in safe healthcare delivery across the continent of Africa. Partners are encouraged to work together to reduce the preventable harm, improve health services and ensure that every patient receives care that is safe and respectful through sustained collaboration among governments, the health sector, communities and the international community.