Phnom Penh, 17 September 2025 — Cambodia marked its first national celebration of World Patient Safety Day (WPSD), joining the global movement to eliminate avoidable harm in health care, with a focus on improving patient safety for newborns and children.
Observed annually on 17 September worldwide since its adoption by the World Health Assembly in 2019, WPSD underscores the urgent need for safety improvements across all levels of healthcare, anchored in the core principle “First, do no harm.” The focus on newborns and children reflects their vulnerability to patient safety risks due to four key factors: their rapid developmental changes, complete dependency on caregivers, distinct disease patterns at different ages, and demographic inequities that can compound these risks.
Unsafe care remains a major global health challenge, contributing to over three million preventable deaths each year. Approximately 134 million adverse events occur annually in hospitals across low- and middle-income countries, which bear the disproportionate burden of patient harm and preventable deaths. In the Western Pacific Region alone, a newborn dies every six minutes, with many deaths linked to preventable safety failures in healthcare delivery.
This year’s theme, “Safe care for every newborn and every child,” and slogan, “Patient safety from the start!” call for collective efforts to protect newborns and children from preventable harm in healthcare. It highlights priority actions such as safer childbirth and postnatal care, infection prevention, safe use of medicines, diagnostic safety, immunisation, and learning systems that turn safety incidents into improvements.
/countries/cambodia/cambodia-celebrates-world-patient-safety-day-2025.jpeg?sfvrsn=f37445cd_4 "Cambodia celebrates World Patient Safety Day 2025")
On 17 September 2025, Cambodia celebrated its first World Patient Safety Day, presided over by H.E. Professor Chheang Ra, Minister of Health; H.E. Atsushi Ueno, Ambassador of Japan; Dr Marianna Trias, WHO Representative to Cambodia; and Ms Sandra Bernklau, UNFPA Representative. © Ministry of Health, Cambodia
Presiding over the opening ceremony, His Excellency Professor CHHEANG RA, Minister of Health, emphasised that patient safety is central to reducing preventable harm for all Cambodians, especially for the youngest. “Patient safety is a foundational element toward Universal Health Coverage,” the Minister stressed. “Promoting a culture of safety and continuous quality improvement is central to achieving equitable health outcomes.” Addressing health facility directors, professional associations, development partners, and healthcare workers, the Minister highlighted priority areas including safe medication practices, preventing and monitoring healthcare-associated infections, and training the health workforce. The event brought together more than 300 in-person participants and over 1,000 online attendees.
Dr Marianna Trias, WHO Representative to Cambodia, echoed this vision, highlighting that strengthening health systems is key to reducing avoidable deaths and harm. “Safer health systems, anchored in strong primary health care, lay the foundation for lifelong well-being. Improving patient safety across all levels of care – from health posts to referral hospitals – is essential to protecting Cambodians even before their very first breath throughout every stage of their life.” The WHO Representative commended Cambodia’s commitment in advancing patient safety reforms and reiterated WHO’s continued support for strengthening integrated safety systems.
Throughout the day, technical sessions and panel discussions explored strategies and practical measures to integrate patient safety measures into maternal and pediatric care, emergency obstetric and newborn services, infection prevention and control, and tracking quality of care through robust health data systems. Special attention was given to patient and family engagement as a core principle of both patient safety and primary health care, highlighting how health facilities can better involve caregivers in promoting safety from community to clinic settings.
Cambodia’s first national celebration of World Patient Safety Day underscores the country’s recognition that patient safety is imperative for health system strengthening. The Ministry of Health, WHO, and partners are committed to integrating priority actions into daily practice, ensuring that safe and high-quality care becomes a reality for every Cambodian child and family.
This event is supported by WHO, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Joint Commission International (JCI), and Sunrise Japan Hospital.