Lesotho marked World Patient Safety Day with a renewed commitment to protect its youngest citizens, launching the Child-Friendly Communities Initiative under the rallying call “#E Seng Ka Ngoana”.
The event, held in Mafeteng on Wednesday this week, brought together government officials, health partners, and community members to emphasise the importance of safe and quality healthcare for children.
This year’s World Patient Safety Day theme, “Safe Care for Every Newborn and Every Child,” highlighted the specific risks faced by children due to their rapid growth and evolving health needs.
World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Representative, Dr Innocent Nuwagira, noted that across Africa, poor-quality care contributes significantly to maternal and neonatal deaths. He stressed that Lesotho faces similarly high mortality rates, underscoring the need for urgent improvements in patient safety.
Nuwagira called for greater awareness of safety risks in paediatric care, stronger infection prevention programmes, and better surveillance systems. He also encouraged investment in research and adoption of innovative digital health solutions to address these challenges.
UNICEF’s Country Representative, Deepak Bhaskaran, echoed these concerns, pointing out that many deaths of newborns and young children in Lesotho are preventable. He linked the problem to delays in accessing care, substandard service delivery, and missed immunisation opportunities.
“Patient safety is not just a technical issue but a fundamental human right,” he said, adding that for children, safety is “non-negotiable.”
He further stressed that creating child-friendly communities requires a “whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.”
Health Minister Selibe Mochoboroane formally launched the Child-Friendly Communities Initiative, describing it as a “social contract with the children of Lesotho.”
He explained that in such communities, children’s basic rights—healthcare, birth registration, nutrition, clean water, education, and protection—must be guaranteed rather than treated as privileges.
Mochoboroane emphasised that the well-being of children is “not negotiable”, pledging that the initiative would prioritise children in all aspects of national planning, budgeting, and service delivery.
He stressed the need for collaboration across all sectors for the initiative to succeed. “No single ministry, no single actor can do this alone,” the Minister said.
With Lesotho’s maternal and child health indicators remaining among the most concerning in the region, the launch of this initiative signals a strong national commitment to safeguarding children’s rights and improving their survival and well-being.
Summary
- The event, held in Mafeteng on Wednesday this week, brought together government officials, health partners, and community members to emphasise the importance of safe and quality healthcare for children.
- Mochoboroane emphasised that the well-being of children is “not negotiable”, pledging that the initiative would prioritise children in all aspects of national planning, budgeting, and service delivery.
- With Lesotho’s maternal and child health indicators remaining among the most concerning in the region, the launch of this initiative signals a strong national commitment to safeguarding children’s rights and improving their survival and well-being.
Ntsoaki Motaung is an award-winning health journalist from Lesotho, specializing in community health stories with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as HIV. She has contributed to platforms like “Be in the KNOW,” highlighting issues such as the exclusion of people with disabilities from HIV prevention efforts in Lesotho.
In addition to her journalism, Ntsoaki serves as the Country Coordinator for the Regional Media Action Plan Support Network (REMAPSEN). She is also a 2023 CPHIA Journalism Fellow.
