Cabinet Secretary For Health Attends Global Summit To Improve Patient Safety In Kenya

Montreux (Switzerland), February 24, 2023.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health, Dr. Nakhumicha S. Wafula, is currently attending the Patient Safety, 5th Global Ministerial Summit in Montreux, Switzerland. The summit is themed "Less harm better care - from resolution to implementation," and is aimed at ensuring sustainable implementation of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan by the World Health Organization (WHO).
During a panel discussion, the Cabinet Secretary highlighted Kenya's commitment to the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan and the strides made in ensuring patient safety and quality of care. 
These strides include the formation of the Division of Patient and Health Worker Safety, which has three main programs aimed at combating healthcare-associated infections, preventing and containing antimicrobial resistance, and addressing all issues of safety beyond healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance.
Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary noted the formation of the National Patient Safety Advisory Committee, a multisectoral committee geared towards ensuring patient safety.
Kenya has also developed and implemented a national monitoring and evaluation system with nationally identified indicators anchored within the Kenya Health Information System (KHIS), which has a component tracking patient safety. 
Moreover, the country has developed a national patient safety curriculum to support capacity building and implementation of the developed action plan.
The Cabinet Secretary also addressed the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic concerning patient safety, noting the unprecedented demand for care leading to a strain on health systems, surges in the numbers of COVID-19 patients leading to shortages in space, staffing, and supplies, interruptions of essential health and specialized healthcare programs, and disruptions that have led to impacts on acute, chronic, and preventive care, and a decline in patients seeking routine medical care and screenings.
The Cabinet Secretary's attendance at the summit underscores Kenya's commitment to improving patient safety and quality of care, as well as the country's dedication to addressing the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.