Strengthen patient safety in NCD care: Health officials urge

16 September 2026, 10:19 am

Byamukama Alozious

Uganda has been urged to strengthen patient safety across the entire healthcare journey as the country prepares to commemorate World Patient Safety Day 2025.

The call was made by Dr Charles Olaro, Director General of Health Services at the Ministry of Health, while speaking to journalists during a media briefing at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Wandegeya, Kampala.

The national commemoration will take place on September 17 at Naguru Hospital in Kampala, under the theme “Safe Care for Noncommunicable Diseases: Safe from the Start.”

Dr Olaro said safe care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) should begin with prevention and continue through screening, early detection, treatment and follow-up.

“Safe non-communicable disease care should cover the entire patient journey, from health promotion and prevention to early screening, detection, treatment, and follow-up,” he said.

He encouraged Ugandans to take greater responsibility for their health through healthy lifestyles, regular exercise and good nutrition.

“Every individual has a role to play in preventing disease through healthy lifestyles, regular exercise, good nutrition, and responsible choices,” Dr Olaro said.

He also called for a change in the culture of seeking healthcare only after falling sick.

“We must change the culture of seeing health facilities only as places to go when we are sick; prevention begins when we are still healthy,” he said.

The message comes amid a growing NCD burden in Uganda. Ministry of Health figures presented during the briefing indicate that 26 percent of adults have hypertension, about 716,000 people are living with diabetes, and the country records approximately 6,000 new cancer cases annually.

Nearly 89 percent of people living with diabetes are estimated not to know they have the condition, while obesity is also increasing, with rates reportedly exceeding 13 percent in Kampala.

Globally, about one in 10 patients is harmed while receiving healthcare, making patient safety a major public health concern.

The Ministry of Health says it is strengthening prevention, early detection, safe treatment, referral and follow-up, including through community health workers and referral facilities such as Kiruddu National Referral Hospital, Uganda Cancer Institute, Uganda Heart Institute and Butabika National Referral Hospital.

Patient safety, officials say, is a shared responsibility. Patients are encouraged to ask questions, understand their medicines and participate in treatment decisions, while health workers are expected to communicate clearly, check carefully, report incidents and respect patients.

Health facilities are also expected to strengthen quality improvement, infection prevention and control, healthcare waste management, antimicrobial stewardship and patient-safety incident reporting.