WASHINGTON, CMC – The Pan American Well being Group (PAHO) on Wednesday mentioned that in 2020, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) recorded greater than 800,000 infants being born with untimely or small for his or her gestational age, dealing with elevated dangers of preventable situations similar to sepsis, congenital anomalies, and intrapartum problems.
It mentioned neonatal mortality accounts for greater than 50 per cent of kid deaths within the area, with prematurity and sepsis among the many main causes.
In a message marking “World Affected person Security Day”, PAHO is asking on governments, well being professionals, and communities throughout the Americas to prioritise protected and equitable care from the very starting of life.
World Affected person Security Day is being noticed beneath the theme “Affected person security from the beginning!” with PAHO saying that the marketing campaign seeks to boost consciousness and cut back dangers related to pediatric and neonatal medical care.
It acknowledged that this 12 months’s focus highlights the distinctive vulnerabilities of newborns and kids, who face a better threat of hurt in healthcare settings as a result of their speedy improvement, particular wants, and reliance on caregivers and healthcare methods.
It additionally emphasizes {that a} single error in medical care can have lifelong penalties for a kid’s well being and improvement.
“Each new child and each baby deserves protected, high-quality care from the very first second of life,” mentioned Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO Director.
“In our area, preventable errors similar to errors with medicines, misdiagnoses, or healthcare-associated infections threaten the way forward for essentially the most susceptible. This World Day is a name to shut these gaps and strengthen the well being methods that defend our kids,” he added.
PAHO acknowledged that the state of affairs concerning neonatal mortality requires around-the-clock hospital care, ongoing employees coaching, and energetic household involvement.
It mentioned easy PAHO-promoted measures, similar to handwashing, administration of antenatal steroids, and skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo methodology), might forestall a major proportion of deaths in untimely infants.
PAHO recalled that at its 61st Directing Council in October 2024, it adopted a decision establishing the “Technique and Plan of Motion to cut back the burden of sepsis (2025–2029).
PAHO acknowledged that this regional roadmap encompasses key actions in awareness-raising, an infection prevention, together with vaccination, hospital hygiene, and equitable entry to prognosis and care, notably for susceptible populations.
Globally, the World Well being Group (WHO) estimates that one in 10 sufferers suffers hurt in healthcare settings as a result of errors in medicine prescribing, prognosis, or healthcare-associated infections. These dangers additionally have an effect on kids and newborns, who’re notably susceptible. Greater than half of this hurt is preventable.
To mark World Affected person Security Day, PAHO will host a regional webinar on September 23 that includes consultants from Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, the USA, and Caribbean international locations. The webinar will handle finest practices in baby affected person security, digital well being, neonatal sepsis prevention, and the position of oldsters as energetic companions in care.
