No Nigerian Should Be Harmed While Seeking Care — Pate
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring that no Nigerian suffers harm while accessing healthcare.
He stated this at a ministerial press briefing held in Abuja today to commemorate the 2026 World Patient Safety Day, themed “Safe Care for Non-Communicable Diseases,” with the slogan “Safe Care for Life!”
According to him, patients living with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) face heightened safety risks, including unsafe diagnosis, medication errors, poor communication and fragmented care.
He explained that the risks are more pronounced for patients requiring long-term management, as they often have to navigate multiple health services, providers and treatments over time.
“Safe NCD care therefore requires strong health systems, competent and supported health workers, continuity and coordination of care, and meaningful involvement of patients in decisions concerning their health,” Pate said.
He noted that NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases constitute a major health burden in Nigeria, requiring prolonged contact with the health system from prevention and diagnosis to treatment, referral and follow-up.
The Minister added that to strengthen patient safety, the Ministry developed the National Patient Safety and Care Quality Policy and Implementation Strategy in 2024, and in January inaugurated the National Task Force on Clinical Governance and Patient Safety.
The task force he explained, is mandated to institutionalise clinical governance and patient safety across health facilities, and is currently developing a National Framework to guide accountability, quality improvement and monitoring.
Pate stressed that a functional clinical governance system must entrench a “Just Culture,” where health workers can report incidents, near misses and safety concerns without fear.
He highlighted that patient and family engagement must remain central to safety efforts, with patients treated with dignity, adequately informed about their conditions and treatment options, and encouraged to participate in care decisions.
The Minister urged all stakeholders to treat patient safety as a continuous commitment to improving healthcare quality, beyond the annual commemoration.
In her welcome remarks, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Daju Kachollom, said this year’s theme highlights that for people living with chronic conditions, healthcare is not a single encounter but a continuing journey.
Kachollom stressed that a patient living with hypertension, diabetes, cancer or chronic respiratory disease goes through screening, diagnosis, medication, follow-up, referrals and monitoring, interacting with several parts of the health system, and at every stage there must be responsibility to prevent avoidable harm.
She said patient safety goes beyond preventing errors, and must be built into how care is designed, delivered and experienced through standards and protocols, support for health workers, reliable information, strengthened referral pathways, and a culture where risks are identified and lessons are learned.
According to her, a strong health system is not one that only expands access, but one that people can trust to provide safe, effective, people-centred and continuous care.
“The measure of a health system is not only in how many people it can reach, but in how safely it cares for every person it reaches,” Kachollom said
She reaffirmed the Ministry’s mandate to save lives, reduce both physical and financial pain, and produce health for all Nigerians, noting that patient safety is inseparable from that mandate.
Also speaking, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Nigeria, Dr Pavel Ursu, disclosed that many Nigerians have suffered permanent disability or lost their lives due to avoidable errors in healthcare delivery.
He stated that people living with diabetes, cancer, heart disease or chronic respiratory conditions often require years of consultations, tests, medicines and referrals across different facilities, exposing them to higher safety risks.
Ursu disclosed that NCDs caused at least 43 million deaths globally in 2021, accounting for 37 per cent of deaths in the WHO African Region, up from 24 per cent in 2000, with nearly two-thirds occurring prematurely.
According to him, such harm could result from delayed or missed diagnoses, medication errors, adverse drug interactions, weak follow-up systems and poor communication between health services.
The WHO representative therefore called for stronger primary healthcare systems to ensure continuity, early detection and coordinated care, urging governments to embed patient safety in NCD policies and invest in health worker training.
While reaffirming WHO’s commitment to quality healthcare delivery in Nigeria, he encouraged patients and families to ask questions and raise concerns whenever their care is unclear.
