West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (FCT Zone) Marks World Patient Safety Day 2025 with Call to Action on Newborn and Child Health
By Ujunwa Eunice Nwankwo
The West African Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP), FCT Abuja Zone, joined global health advocates today to commemorate World Patient Safety Day 2025, highlighting the urgent need for safer healthcare practices for newborns and children under the theme: “Safe Care to Every Newborn and Every Child” and the slogan “Patient Safety from the Start.”
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Abubakar Danraka, FPCPharm, PhD, MIPAN, underscored the collective responsibility of healthcare professionals, institutions, and government agencies to protect the most vulnerable members of society—newborns and children.
Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Danraka reminded attendees that patient safety is defined as “the absence of preventable harm to a patient and the reduction of risk of unnecessary harm to an acceptable minimum.” He noted that 1 in 10 patients globally is harmed during healthcare delivery, with over 3 million deaths annually attributed to unsafe care.
“Patient safety is a shared obligation, and it begins from the very start of life,” he emphasized. “Medication errors, diagnostic mistakes, surgical complications, patient misidentification, and communication breakdowns are all too common. These can and must be prevented.”
Dr. Danraka lauded the efforts of consultant pharmacists working in secondary and tertiary hospitals within the Federal Capital Territory, noting their significant contributions to promoting patient safety. These pharmacists, he explained, go beyond dispensing medications — they play vital roles in educating healthcare teams, monitoring medication use, and preventing avoidable errors, thereby building a stronger culture of safety.
He also commended eight federal agencies in the FCT that have integrated consultant pharmacists into their healthcare systems, calling it a “game-changing move” that has elevated patient safety standards and fostered stronger interprofessional collaboration.
As part of its call to action, the WAPCP urged the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and Federal Health Institutions (FHIs) to prioritize patient safety across Nigeria. The College emphasized the importance of upholding the Patients’ Bill of Rights, ensuring that patients and caregivers are well-informed, empowered, and able to hold healthcare providers accountable.
“Protecting every child and newborn through safe and effective pharmaceutical care is not optional—it is imperative,” Dr. Danraka declared. “By empowering consultant pharmacists to operate at their full capacity in all health institutions, we can transform patient safety from an aspiration into a reality.”
He concluded with a rallying call for continued vigilance, innovation, shared responsibility, and strong partnerships to advance safe healthcare practices for all, especially the youngest and most at-risk.
