The Africa Patient Safety Summit Calls for Connected Medicines Safety Systems and Stronger Patient Protection

KIGALI, Rwanda — During the Africa Patient Safety Summit (APSS) 2026 Leadership Forum, held on 16–17 September at the African Medicines Agency headquarters in Kigali, three priorities emerged: connecting fragmented safety systems, strengthening patient participation and turning reports of harm into action.

The Leadership Forum was convened by Medicines for Africa in partnership with the African Medicines Agency (AMA). It brought together patient representatives, healthcare professionals, regulators, policymakers, industry, researchers and international partners to examine how patients can be better protected throughout the medicines journey.

The Forum was notable for its inclusiveness, with strong participation from both francophone and anglophone stakeholders and for its recognition of African Patient Safety Excellence in the areas of patient advocacy, clinical practice, clinical patient safety leadership and distinguished regulatory leadership.

Discussions considered risks from manufacturing and procurement to prescribing, dispensing, treatment and post-market surveillance. Across these stages, the multidisciplinary participants examined a persistent problem. Information about harm does not always reach the people and institutions able to prevent it from happening again. When it does, it is often too late to protect patients.

Her Excellency, Dr Delese Mimi Darko, Director-General of the African Medicines Agency, highlighted the importance of cooperation across national borders:

“A patient should be able to seek care with confidence that the medicine, vaccine or medical device they receive is of assured quality, is appropriately used, and that when something unexpected happens, our systems are able to detect it, understand it and respond. AMA’s role is to connect and strengthen those systems to make it easier for countries to share regulatory intelligence, rely on rigorous scientific work, coordinate where risks cross borders, and act faster when patients may be exposed to harm.”

The forum explored practical approaches to simpler reporting, stronger product traceability, faster investigation, accessible safety communication and feedback to patients and healthcare professionals. Contributions also highlighted the importance of national regulatory capability and regional arrangements that help countries share intelligence and coordinate responses.

Dr Lenias Hwenda, Chief Executive Officer of Medicines for Africa and the Chair of the Summit, called for greater attention to what safety systems achieve for patients:

“When we talk about patient safety, we are talking about ourselves, our families and our communities. That is why the Africa Patient Safety Summit is necessary. If we are being honest about where we are, there is a clear gap between the importance of patient safety and the attention it receives. Patient safety has simply not received the sustained attention it deserves on the African health agenda. It requires greater sustained attention, coordination and leadership across the African health agenda. This initiative brings together the leaders, practitioners and institutions needed to advance patient safety. We are creating a space that is dedicated to driving the African patient safety agenda forward. The Summit provides a platform for shared learning, collective action and accountability—to build momentum, strengthen collaboration and ensure that patient safety becomes a sustained priority across Africa.”

During the Summit, patient and frontline experiences informed discussions on medication-related harm, product-quality concerns, treatment failure and medical-device safety. Working sessions examined how institutions could connect these experiences with investigation, regulatory decisions and changes in clinical practice.

Dr Kimmo Makinen, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Medicines for Africa and Chair of the Scientific Committee, emphasised the forum’s purpose:

“This is a meeting about patients, and that’s why, also in the room, you have representatives from patient organizations to bring those patient and community voices to this discussion.”

The planned follow-up includes a 90-day outcome-development process followed by public consultation. Intended outputs include an Africa Patient Safety Compact, a priority action framework, a map of institutional roles and an action roadmap, feeding into APSS 2027.

Nozipho Tshabalala, the Leadership Forum Programme Director framed the task ahead:

“How do we take the evidence? How do we take the experiences? How do we take the leadership and turn these into practical action?”

The forum concluded on 17 September 2026, World Patient Safety Day, with a focus on sustained work between summits and demonstrable improvements in how safety concerns are identified, investigated and addressed.