On September 17th the WHO marks World Patient Safety Day with this year’s theme: safe maternal and new-born care. The World Health Assembly established World Patient Safety Day in 2019. This year’s slogan is a call to action:
“Act now for safe and respectful childbirth!”
The WHO describes the objectives as follows:
- Enhance global understanding of patient safety
- Increase public engagement in health care safety
- Promote global action to prevent and reduce avoidable harm in health care
The emphasis on maternal health is “dedicated to the need to prioritise and address safety in maternal and new-born care”. A warning that “most harm occurs” around childbirth focuses this further.
Sobering statistics
The WHO reports several statistics that bring home the importance of this year’s focus:
Each day approximately 5,400 stillbirths occur.
Each day 810 women lose their lives.
Each day 6,700 new-borns lose their lives.
The call to action, therefore, is a pertinent one.
Back to the vax
We thought about the role that vaccines play in this crucial stage in health care. Some of our recent pieces have explored the importance of including pregnant patients in clinical research to present the population with safety data. We have also considered the dangers of trending social scares. To read a selection of articles that we have chosen to mark World Patient Safety Day 2022, follow the appropriate link below.
- Exploring the reasons behind low vaccination rates in pregnant patients
- Discussing the damage done by a social media post incorrectly identifying a danger in COVID-19 vaccines
- Responding to a study that demonstrates that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe
- Understanding how VACCELERATE’s analysis reveals that the maternal population is excluded from safety discourse
- Marking World Hepatitis Day 2022 and learning about childhood immunisation
- Sharing Pfizer’s approval of the GBS vaccine
- Presenting findings of AMR bacteria in new-borns
If you would like to learn more about how vaccines play a role in fighting some of the world’s most dangerous diseases get your tickets to the World Vaccine Congress in Europe 2022.
