Every year on 17 September, the World Health Organization invites governments, health institutions, patients and communities across the globe to pause and reflect on a simple yet far-reaching question: how can we make health care safer for everyone? Established in 2019 by the World Health Assembly, World Patient Safety Day has become a powerful catalyst for global action against avoidable harm in health care, and each edition shines a spotlight on a specific priority.
In 2026, that spotlight turns to a challenge that touches billions of lives: the safety of people living with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Under the slogan Safe care for life!, this year’s campaign calls on the entire health community to prevent harm across every stage of NCD care, because for those managing a chronic condition safety is a lifelong journey.
The hidden burden of unsafe care
The numbers behind patient safety are sobering. Globally, around one in ten patients is harmed while receiving health care, and at least half of that harm is considered preventable. Harm from adverse events is likely to rank among the ten leading causes of death and disability worldwide, and roughly two-thirds of these events — and of the years lost to disability and death — occur in low- and middle-income countries. The economic toll, in lost lives, permanent disability and diminished productivity, is estimated to run into the trillions every year; the psychological cost to patients and families, though harder to measure, is no less real.
It was in response to this burden that the World Health Assembly recognised patient safety as a global health priority in 2019, and that WHO launched its flagship initiative A Decade of Patient Safety 2020–2030 the following year. Yet despite pioneering work in some settings, global efforts have not achieved substantial change over the past fifteen years, a reminder that safety must be actively built into cultures, processes, technologies and behaviours, at every point of care.
Why noncommunicable diseases?
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions: noncommunicable diseases affect billions of people worldwide and are responsible for around 43 million deaths every year — some 74% of all deaths globally — most of them in low- and middle-income countries. Behind these figures lie countless individual stories of long-term treatment, regular monitoring and daily self-management.
It is precisely this long-term, complex nature of NCDs that heightens the risk of preventable harm. People living with chronic conditions typically receive care in multiple settings, from multiple providers, over many years, and every transition, every prescription, every diagnostic step is a point where something can go wrong. This repeated exposure to the health system compounds risk over time: with some conditions, such as cancer, up to one in three patients experiences adverse events during care. Many people, moreover, live with more than one chronic condition, which increases the danger further. Diagnostic delays, medication errors, health care-associated infections and the unsafe use of medical devices are among the most common sources of harm.
These risks are amplified by health system challenges — barriers to accessing care, fragmented and poorly coordinated services — and by broader determinants of health such as poverty, limited health literacy, stigma, discrimination and harmful environmental exposures.
The objectives for 2026
The 2026 campaign embraces the full continuum of NCD care: prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment (including self-care), rehabilitation and palliative care. Ensuring safety along this entire pathway requires health systems oriented towards primary health care, systems in which care is accessible, coordinated and centred on the person rather than the disease.
One of the most striking messages to emerge from the campaign’s development is that safe care extends beyond the walls of hospitals and clinics: people living with NCDs should be recognised as partners, not merely patients, and safety should be understood as something relevant to everyday life, not only to health care settings.
The campaign pursues four main goals:
● raising global awareness of the patient safety challenges linked to NCDs across the continuum of care, taking into account disease-related factors, health system challenges and the determinants of health that increase the risk of harm;
● promoting meaningful engagement of people living with NCDs and their communities in identifying safety risks and co-developing solutions together with health practitioners, organisational leaders and policy-makers;
● encouraging stakeholders to embed patient safety principles in NCD-related legislation, policies, strategies and programs, with an emphasis on strengthening primary health care-oriented systems;
● supporting health workers in reinforcing patient safety practices, from safer diagnosis to medication safety and genuine patient engagement.
These goals align with a broader international framework: the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs (extended to 2030), the Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030 and the 2025 United Nations Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health, which identified safe care as a critical component of better health outcomes.
Menarini Group’s Commitment to Patient and Caregiver Empowerment
Ensuring safety does not merely mean operating in cutting-edge clinical environments; it implies a holistic approach that places the patient, and those who assist them, at the center of every medical decision. The active involvement of patients and their families is internationally recognized as one of the most effective strategies for reducing therapeutic errors and improving clinical outcomes. On this day, the Menarini Group reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that pharmaceutical innovation is increasingly accompanied by concrete educational support throughout the treatment journey.
For Menarini, attention to patient safety begins in its laboratories and extends into the home. Often, the effectiveness and safety of a treatment also depend on those who assist the patient in their daily lives. As highlighted by data collected, over 40% of patients rely on a family member as their primary caregiver. However, these individuals often find themselves managing complex chronic regimens without having adequate specific training. This lack of support and awareness can generate direct risks: Real-World Data demonstrates that a lack of educational resources interferes with optimal therapy adherence by patients.
To address these critical issues, the Menarini Group is exploring the development of integrated models to complement pharmacological therapy with dedicated Patient Support Programs (PSPs), aiming to provide health education that protects the patient and prevents self-management errors. A virtuous example of this vision is the Programa de Todo Corazón Plus (PDTC+), an initiative with a strong patient-centered focus supported by the Menarini Group in Latin America. Based on the structured CARES (Community, Adhesion, Resources, Empowerment, and Support) framework, this module is designed to provide holistic support for patient health.
Through an approach that combines in-person meetings with advanced digital tools, the program aims to equip patients and their caregivers with the necessary skills to manage the illness more safely. This support program offers specific resources for caregivers, alongside general nutritional education and physical exercise recommendations primarily linked to cardiac rehabilitation (provided through virtual or in-person sessions), as well as psychological support to better cope with the moment of diagnosis.
The clinical results of this approach demonstrate that an educated and supported patient is a safer patient: during the first 12 months of treatment within the program, a 90% therapeutic adherence rate was recorded. This is a fundamental milestone for preventing deviations from medical prescriptions and ensuring better clinical outcomes.
A world lit up in orange
On and around 17 September 2026, activities will unfold across the globe: awareness campaigns, policy dialogues, technical events and community-led initiatives. And as in previous years, the campaign’s signature gesture will return: the illumination of iconic monuments, landmarks and public spaces in orange, a luminous symbol of global solidarity and of a shared commitment that concerns us all. Because caring safely for people with chronic conditions means, quite literally, safe care for life.
