World Patient Safety Day 2026; Septembert 17th.

FORUM: “Safe Care for people with Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)” World Patient Safety Day 2026. This year, we will raise awareness of patient safety and mobilize action to reduce avoidable harm in health care. The theme for 2026 is recognizing that people living with NCDs—including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases—require continuous, lifelong care across multiple health care settings, creating numerous opportunities for safety risks and avoidable harm. Globally, approximately one in ten patients experience harm during health care, and nearly half of these events are preventable. Individuals with NCDs are particularly vulnerable due to frequent interactions with health services, complex treatment regimens, multiple medications, and transitions between levels of care. Fragmented services, diagnostic errors, medication-related harm, inadequate follow-up, and inequitable access to quality care can adversely affect health outcomes and increase the burden on health systems. In the Americas, NCDs account for approximately 6 million deaths annually and are the leading cause of mortality and disability. More than 240 million people in the Region live with at least one NCD, making delivery of safe, quality, and people-centered care a critical public health priority. Strengthening patient safety within NCD services is therefore essential to achieving universal health coverage, improving health outcomes, and advancing resilient, integrated health systems. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #17September, #worldpatientSafetyDay, #PatientSafety, #HealthForAll, #Engagingpatients.

EVENTS: On September 17th, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Patient Safety Day 2026 will beobserved. 

About the webinar: In the context of World Patient Safety Day 2026, this regional webinar, jointly organized by the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH) and the Department of Health Systems and Services (HSS) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), will bring together key stakeholders from across the Region of the Americas to exchange experiences, good practices, and lessons learned on patient safety in the prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases, promoting safer, higher-quality, and people-centered care.
Target audience 

Ministries of Health; patient safety and quality teams; noncommunicable disease (NCD) program managers; primary health care professionals; academic institutions; patient organizations; development partners; and civil society organizations.

To learn more about the World Patient Safety Day 2026 campaign, its key messages, and communication materials, please visit the official campaign webpage.


Objective

• Increase awareness of patient safety risks associated with NCD care.
• Promote strategies to reduce preventable harm related to diagnosis, medication use, care transitions, and long-term management of chronic conditions.
• Highlight the role of patients, families, communities, and health workers as partners in improving safety and quality of care for people living with NCDs.
• Encourage policymakers, health system leaders, and health professionals to integrate patient safety principles into NCD-related policies, programs, and service delivery models.

 
Agenda Programme

Moderator: Silvana Luciani, Unit Chief, Noncommunicable Diseases, Violence and Injury Prevention, PAHO11:00 a.m. Opening RemarksDr. James Fitzgerald, Director, Health Systems and Services, PAHO
11:05 a.m. Highlights of global systematic review and WHO campaign for patient safety for people living with NCDsDr. Alarcos Cieza, Unit Head, Management of NCDs, WHO
11:25 a.m. Overview of patient safety in the Americas and PAHO recommendations for safe and quality health systemsDr. Gustavo Rosell, Advisor, Integrated Health Services Delivery, PAHO
11:45 a.m. Panel of country and organizational experiences with improving patient safety and quality, with a focus on people with NCDsMexico: Dr. Laura Cortés Sanabria, Directorate of Education and Quality in Health, Ministry of Health
Brazil: National Patient Safety Program
WONCA: Dr. María Pilar Astier, Working Party on Quality and Safety
International Diabetes Federation: Prof. Pablo Arias, President of the SACA region
12:15 p.m. Interactive session of questions and answers with participants
12:25 p.m. Closing remarksDr. Ernesto Báscolo, Unit Chief, Primary Health Care and Integrated Services Delivery, PAHO

How to participate
DATE: Thursday, 17 September 2026
TIME: 11.00 – 12.30 (Washington, D.C. time)
OTHER TIME ZONES: Buenos Aires, Brasilia (12.00–13.30), Mexico City (9.00–10.30), Bogota, Kingston, Lima, Panama City (10.00–11.30).
PLATFORM: ZOOM (with registration)
LANGUAGES: Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
REGISTER

Light It Orange for Patient Safety & Health System Safety!

For the first time Aotearoa Is lighting Up for World Patient Safety Day
17 September 2026 will be a little different in Aotearoa New Zealand

World Patient Safety Day is a Global Day of Recognition and action, established by the World Health Organization to bring patients, families, health workers, health leaders, policymakers and communities together around a shared goal: reducing avoidable harm in healthcare. It is marked internationally every year on 17 September.

This year, Aotearoa is not simply acknowledging the day. We are showing up!

Led by the Health Consumer Advocacy Alliance, Patient Voice Aotearoa and Kaitiaki Hauora, 2026 will see New Zealand's first nationwide coordinated, patient and whānau-led World Patient Safety Day campaign. And there is already real momentum behind it.

Health organisations, health workers, patients, whānau and communities are finding ways to take part. Some will wear orange. Others are making patient safety visible in their workplaces and communities. Organisations across the country are getting involved, and the campaign continues to grow.

Light It Orange!

On 17 September, landmarks across Aotearoa will be illuminated in orange, joining a global movement of landmarks, buildings and public spaces lighting up to demonstrate a shared commitment to safer healthcare. Auckland's Sky Tower and landmarks in Wellington, Tauranga, Whangārei and Dunedin are already confirmed to take part, with more expected to join. These lights will create powerful images, but the real story is the people behind them. People whose lives have been changed by preventable harm. Patients and whānau who have had experiences they never expected to have. Health professionals who know that safer systems are possible. And decision-makers who have the opportunity to listen and act. View PDF version hereµ