26 September 2021 – World Patient Safety Day is celebrated as a worldwide movement that aims to enhance global understanding of patient safety and support global solidarity and action in the quest towards achieving WHO’s vision of a world in which, and everyone receives safe care, every time, everywhere.

World Patient Safety Day is marked annually on 17 September, which provides a great opportunity to build partnerships, promote all aspects of patient safety and identify priority areas to be addressed in the journey towards universal health coverage. This year the Day targets another facet of safety under the slogan "Safe maternal and newborn care".

To mark the day in Jordan, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the WHO country office and the Health Care Accreditation Council, organized a round table discussion on 14 September among different stakeholders, mainly service providers, to discuss main challenges of patient safety with focus on safe maternal and newborn care and come up with recommendations to address the challenges. 

Dr Randa Obeidat, Institutional Development and Quality Control Directorate at the Ministry of Health, said, “The Mministry of Health considers patient safety as one of its top priorities and acknowledges the role of the community in addressing this issue.” 

Ms Salma Al Jaouni, Chief Executive Officer of The Health Care Accreditation Council, added, "It is important to make concerted efforts to develop standards on maternal and newborn safety and include them within quality standards”.

“It’s time to act in solidarity with the Ministry of Health and decision-makers to curtail maternal and child deaths through developing policies and programmes on safe health care delivery and encouraging patient safety by abiding to best practices,” said Dr Jamela Al-Raiby, acting WHO Representative to Jordan, during her opening remarks. 

Celebrating the occasion WHO country office staff in Jordan supported the Ministry in illuminating landmarks and monuments in orange, including the Arch of Hadrian in Jerash city, the Ministry’s building, and the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department at AlBashir Hospital in Amman.