By staff writer, China Africa News
KIGALI, Rwanda , Sept. 19, 2026 — African health and medicines-safety leaders have agreed to advance practical measures to improve patient safety across the continent, following a two-day leadership forum in Kigali that concluded on Thursday.
The Africa Patient Safety Summit Leadership Forum, held on Sept. 16–17 at the headquarters of the African Medicines Agency, brought together experts and leaders from medicines regulation, healthcare, patient advocacy, research and other parts of the health sector.
The meeting examined weaknesses in medicines-safety systems, including gaps in the detection, reporting and coordinated response to risks that can result in preventable harm to patients. On its second day, participants focused on patient experience, institutional capacity and prevention before working on practical actions, responsibilities and areas requiring cooperation across African countries.
No final continental resolution yet
The Kigali meeting did not adopt a final continent-wide patient-safety resolution.
Instead, the forum produced a set of initial working documents that will be developed further through consultation. They include an Africa Patient Safety Leadership Statement, a proposed Priority Action Framework known as the APS Compact 2030, an institutional roles and contributions map, a framework for the next phase and a consultation and action roadmap.
The organisers say the documents will now enter a 90-day consultation and drafting process, with public and stakeholder input helping to shape the next phase of the initiative ahead of the wider Africa Patient Safety Summit planned for 2027.
WHO highlights gaps in patient safety
The Kigali discussions came as the World Health Organization released new findings on patient safety in the African Region.
A WHO regional survey covering 44 of the region’s 47 countries found uneven progress in implementing the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030. Clinical processes were assessed as the strongest area, while information and learning systems showed the largest gap. WHO also identified health-worker capacity, patient and family engagement, and partnerships as areas requiring further strengthening.
WHO is calling on countries to strengthen systems for reporting and learning from patient-safety incidents, invest in health-worker training and supportive supervision, improve the safe use of medicines and health technologies, and give patients and caregivers a greater role in making healthcare safer.
The issue is particularly significant for people living with noncommunicable diseases, who often require years of consultations, diagnostic tests, medicines and follow-up care. WHO said this repeated interaction with health services can create risks including delayed diagnosis, medication errors, adverse drug interactions and poor communication between different levels of care.
From Kigali to continental action
The outcome of the Kigali forum therefore marks the beginning of a process rather than the adoption of a final policy.
The next 90 days are expected to provide an opportunity for governments, regulators, healthcare professionals, patient organisations and other stakeholders to contribute to the proposed framework.
For Africa, the central challenge will be translating the priorities discussed in Kigali into systems that allow countries to detect problems earlier, learn from patient-safety incidents and prevent avoidable harm.
The wider Africa Patient Safety Summit in 2027 is expected to build on this consultation and the work initiated in Kigali
