Unit Head of the WHO Patient Safety Flagship: A Decade of Patient Safety 2020-2030, World Health Organization (WHO); Switzerland

Dr. Neelam Dhingra, MD, heads the WHO Transformative Flagship Initiative “A Decade of Patient Safety 2021-2030” at WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland. In this role, Dr. Dhingra leads WHO’s global efforts in providing strategic leadership on patient safety within the context of UHC. This includes implementation of 2019 WHA resolution ‘Global Action on Patient Safety’, World Patient Safety Day, 2021 WHA approved Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030, Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm; Global Patient Safety Network; Leadership and safety culture; Education and Training; Reporting and Learning Systems; Safety and quality tools and checklists (Safe Childbirth & Surgical Safety); Patient and family engagement including Patients for Patient Safety; Safer primary care; Diagnostic safety; Standardizing care processes; and Patient safety solutions. Dr. Dhingra led the WHO Blood Safety unit after joining WHO headquarters in Geneva in 2000 till 2014. Since 2015, Dr. Dhingra is coordinating WHO global efforts in the areas of patient safety, quality improvement and risk management. Prior to joining WHO, Dr. Dhingra served as a medical faculty in a large, tertiary care university teaching hospital in New Delhi, India for 14 years, also coordinating transfusion and laboratory services, after medical and specialist qualifications from New Delhi and UK fellowships.