3 April 2025—Leaders of WHPA members are calling for the safety of health professionals and of patients at the WHO’s 7th Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety, held this year in Manila, Philippines. It is taking place on 3-4 April 2025 at the Asian Development Bank. Experts from WMA and ICN have been active on the steering committee shaping the Summit, and WHPA member FIP is also featured at the meeting via a video being shown between sessions.
ICN’s CEO Howard Catton is moderating a panel entitled “Creating Psychologically Safe and Healthy Workplaces”, on which Ashok Philip, President of WMA, is one of four distinguished panelists. Protecting the mental health of health professionals at work is paramount for ensuring patient safety, but widespread staffing shortages increase stress and burnout in the professions. According to the WHO’s latest figures, presented at its Executive Board session in February 2025, progress on reducing global health workforce shortages is slowing and remains patchy across different regions.
The 7th Global Ministerial Summit on Patient Safety, convened by WHO, is a rare opportunity for international experts to engage with Ministers of Health and other high-ranking political decision makers and health-care leaders for effective collaboration between countries on patient safety. It supports WHO’s Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030 and highlights the current progress and monitoring of its strategic plans. The Summit closes with a presentation of Core Messages from Experts to Ministers, to ensure knowledge transfer into policy-making spheres.
Read the press release in English
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