News

Under the slogan “Safe care for life!”, World Patient Safety Day 2026 called for multisectoral and multistakeholder action to ensure that no one is harmed while receiving care for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which account for roughly three quarters of deaths worldwide. The 2026 theme reflects the reality that people living with NCDs (cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes) typically need continuous care across multiple settings over long periods, creating repeated points where safety risks can arise, from diagnosis through long term management and self care. WHO built the campaign around input from a working group of experts with lived experience and health workforce backgrounds, convened earlier in the year, with a central message of treating people with NCDs as partners rather than passive patients. Across the Eastern Mediterranean Region, country offices marked the day with hybrid events bringing together health ministries, hospital and primary care managers, and WHO technical staff. Iran’s observance, for instance, involved deputy ministers and university medical science leadership reaffirming commitments to translate the global priorities into concrete hospital and primary care action. Landmark illuminations in orange, including Geneva’s Jet d’Eau, served as the campaign’s global visual signature.

🔗 Read more