Patient Safety Africa has called for the creation of a full-fledged Directorate of Patient Safety and Clinical Governance in the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to consolidate gains recorded in Nigeria’s healthcare reforms.
The organisation said the upgrade of the ministry’s existing Patient Safety Desk would strengthen efforts to improve patient safety, clinical governance, quality of care and institutional accountability.
President of Patient Safety Africa and consultant at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT), Prof. Asekhame Sonny Isemede, made the call in the organisation’s message to mark the 2026 World Patient Safety Day (WPSD).
The message was presented to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Ali Pate, and the Minister of State, Dr Iziaq Kunle Salako.
Isemede said Nigeria had made significant progress in patient safety and clinical governance under the Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in quality improvement and institutional capacity building.
He said a strategic partnership between the ministry’s Patient Safety Desk and Patient Safety Africa since 2022 had resulted in the training of an increasing number of healthcare professionals in the public and private sectors.
According to him, the trained professionals were contributing to international conferences and quality improvement initiatives, helping to strengthen Nigeria’s role in patient safety across Africa.
The organisation said the progress had also been supported by partnerships with the WHO Patient Safety Flagship Office, Joint Commission International (JCI), ISQua, COHSASA and NHS England.
It also called for inclusive, multidisciplinary leadership involving doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, allied health professionals and administrators, as well as merit-based career pathways across health institutions.
Isemede reaffirmed Patient Safety Africa’s commitment to working with state health commissioners, regulatory councils, professional associations and federal medical directors to build a resilient, person-centred health system where patients receive safe care, institutions are accountable and healthcare workers are valued.