PAHO calls for safe care for all newborns and children on World Patient Safety Day 2025 – PAHO/WHO

This year’s campaign highlights the need to protect the youngest from preventable damage in medical care environments

Washington, DC, September 16, 2025 (PAHO) – On the occasion of World Patient Safety Day 2025, observed on September 17, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urges governments, health professionals and communities of the Americas to prioritize safe and equitable care from the beginning of life. Under the theme «Patient security from the beginning!», The campaign seeks to raise awareness and reduce the risks associated with pediatric and neonatal medical care.

This year’s approach underlines the unique vulnerabilities of newborns and children, who face greater risks of damage to medical care environments due to their rapid development, specific needs and dependence on caregivers and health systems. It also emphasizes that a single error in medical care can have life consequences for the health and development of a child.

«Each newborn and each child deserve safe and high quality attention from the first moment of life,» said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, director of Paho. «In our region, preventable errors such as errors with medications, erroneous diagnoses or infections associated with health threaten the future of the most vulnerable. This day of the world is a call to close these gaps and strengthen the health systems that protect our children,» he added.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, in 2020, 8.9% of living births, more than 800,000 babies, were premature or small for their gestational age, facing greater risks of preventable conditions such as sepsis, congenital anomalies and intrapartum complications. Neonatal mortality represents more than 50% of children’s deaths in the region, with prematurity and sepsis among the main causes.

This reality requires hospital care all day, continuous training in the staff and participation of the active family. In addition, simple measures promoted by the PAHO, such as hand washing, prenatal steroid administration and skin -to -skin contact (kangaroo method), could prevent a significant proportion of deaths in premature babies.

In its 61st Director Council, held in October 2024, Paho adopted a resolution that establishes the «strategy and action plan to reduce the load of sepsis (2025-2029)». This regional roadmap includes key actions in consciousness, infections prevention (including vaccination), hospital hygiene and equitable access to diagnosis and attention, especially for vulnerable populations.

Worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in ten patients suffer from damage to medical care environments due to errors in prescription, diagnosis or infections associated with health. These risks also affect children and newborns, which are particularly vulnerable. More than half of this damage can be prevented.

Regional Web Seminar and Global Campaign

To commemorate World Patient Safety Day, Pah will celebrate a regional web seminar on September 23 at 10:00 am (EDT), with experts from Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, the United States and Caribbean countries. The event will address the best practices in safety for children’s patients, digital health, neonatal sepsis prevention and the role of parents as active partners in care. To register at the Web Seminar, visit this page.

On September 17, iconic monuments around the world will be illuminated in orange as a symbol of solidarity, which represents a collective commitment to safe attention from the beginning of life. Who will illuminate the emblematic Jet d’Auu de Geneva and invites communities to join this campaign.