The Federal Government has commenced moves to strengthen clinical governance and patient safety systems across health institutions to reduce avoidable harm and improve care for Nigerians living with non-communicable diseases.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the commemoration of the 2026 World Patient Safety Day.
The 2026 observance was themed, “Safe Care for Noncommunicable Diseases,” with the slogan, “Safe care for life!”
Pate said non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, remained a major health burden and often required prolonged interaction with the healthcare system.
He explained that the lengthy nature of NCD care created several points where patients could be exposed to safety risks, including during prevention, diagnosis, treatment, referral, follow-up and long-term management.
The minister said patient safety remained fundamental to effective healthcare delivery, stressing that the right care must be provided to the right patient at the right time and in the right manner while minimising avoidable harm.
Pate recalled that the ministry developed the National Patient Safety and Care Quality Policy and Implementation Strategy in 2024.
He added that the ministry further strengthened the national patient safety architecture in January 2026 with the establishment and inauguration of the National Task Force on Clinical Governance and Patient Safety.
According to him, the task force is currently developing a National Framework on Clinical Governance and Patient Safety to provide a coordinated approach to governance, accountability, quality improvement, patient safety practices, learning systems, monitoring and reporting across health institutions.
Pate said safer healthcare delivery required more than the individual commitment of medical professionals, noting that strong leadership, clear standards, competent health workers, reliable data and functional incident-reporting systems were also necessary.
He called for the promotion of a “Just Culture” in health institutions, where healthcare workers could report incidents, near misses and safety concerns without fear of inappropriate punishment.
The minister said functional clinical governance structures, evidence-based standards, quality improvement mechanisms and regular performance reviews were essential to building a culture of safety and continuous learning.
He said the focus on NCDs in this year’s patient safety observance highlighted the need to address risks associated with unsafe diagnosis, medication errors, poor communication, inadequate follow-up and fragmented care.
Pate therefore stressed the importance of continuity and coordination of care, as well as the active involvement of patients in decisions concerning their health.
He also urged health institutions to ensure that patients were treated with dignity and respect, adequately informed about their conditions and treatment options, and encouraged to participate in decisions about their care.
The minister said patient safety should not be treated as an annual observance but as a continuous commitment to improving healthcare delivery.
“Let us move from commitment to action; from reporting to learning; and from learning to sustained improvement,” Pate said.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that Nigerians received healthcare that was safe, effective, timely, equitable and respectful.
The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Daju Kachollom, in her welcome address, said patient safety must be embedded in every stage of healthcare through appropriate standards and protocols, reliable health information, effective referral systems and continuous improvement.
Kachollom said patient safety was central to the ministry’s mandate to save lives, reduce physical and financial pain, and promote health for Nigerians.
She noted that a strong health system must not only expand access but also provide care that Nigerians could trust to be safe, effective and people-centred.
The permanent secretary urged health workers, managers, healthcare institutions, development partners, patients and the media to make patient safety a daily responsibility rather than a one-day observance.
She said the measure of a health system was not only the number of people it reached but also how safely it cared for them.
Speaking on behalf of the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, the WHO Country Representative, Parvel Ursu, called for stronger primary healthcare, improved continuity and coordination of services, safe use of medicines and technologies, and systems that allowed health workers to report errors and learn from them without fear of blame.
Ursu also urged patients and families to participate actively in their care by asking questions, communicating concerns and contributing to safer health services.
He said the World Health Organisation remained committed to supporting Nigeria in improving the quality and safety of NCD services and ensuring that the experiences of patients and families informed healthcare delivery.
He commended the ministry for prioritising patient safety and reaffirmed WHO’s support for strategies aimed at reducing avoidable harm and strengthening public trust in the health system.