In 2015, the Governments of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Germany initiated a series of annual Global Ministerial Summits on Patient Safety in order to increase the profile of patient safety to the highest political level as a worldwide endeavour. The Summits bring together health ministers, high-level delegates, experts and representatives from international organisations to identify scalable and sustainable solutions to the challenge of ensuring safety of patients in health care. A different country hosts the Summit each year.

Five successful Summits have taken place in London (2016), Bonn (2017), Tokyo (2018), Jeddah (2019) and Montreux (2023). The World Health Organization (WHO) has been closely involved as strategic and collaborative partner in this initiative from the very beginning.

A Steering Committee for the Global Ministerial Summits on Patient Safety was constituted in 2017 in order to provide strategic oversight and direction for the sustainability of further successful annual Summits across all regions of the globe. Members of the Committee include countries that have delivered previous Summits, the current host of the upcoming Summit, and WHO. Summits are usually held in the first four months of the calendar year.

For more information on the background, relevant information and reports of previous Summits please visit https://www.who.int/teams/integrated-health-services/patient-safety/policy/global-ministerial-summits-on-patient-safety .

This document provides guidelines to countries interested in hosting a Summit in the coming years. It sets out the rules and pre-requisites concerning an expression of interest, the procedure that would be followed in the selection of a host country, and the obligations of the host once selected.

The submission of an Expression of Interest (EOI) to host a Summit represents acceptance of these rules and procedures as well as the obligations that arise upon a successful selection.

This document is non-binding. As the Secretariat for the Steering Committee for the Summit series, WHO does not make any commitment other than to collect and collate submissions of an EOI.

1. Eligibility Criteria

The following criteria provide broad guidance for eligibility to submit an EOI.

• Commitment of the country to prioritise action on patient safety, coupled with achievements in relation to patient safety at national, regional and/or global level.

• A strong political commitment to host a Summit via the relevant Ministry of Health.

• A commitment to work with the Steering Committee for the Summit series and collaborate with other global partners in order to make its Summit a truly global and successful event.

• Consideration of the resource implications to host a Summit in accordance with the country’s own plan for the Summit.

• The applicant country should be a WHO Member State.

2. Procedure

2.1. A country interested in hosting a Summit should submit a EOI on the using the given template.

2.2. The following is the timing for submission and handling of an EOI:

- The expression of interest must be presented on the summit's website or sent to the contact email (psschile@appminsal.cl) of the summit at least 7 months before the event, ideally 1 year before the next summit.

• The Steering Committee will review the EOI/s within the maximum of one month following the receipt of the EOIs. If necessary, the applicant(s) at this stage may be asked to provide further information to the Steering Committee.

• Based on the review of EOIs, the Steering Committee will recommend potential next host country(ies) to be approached by the current host.

• The final decision regarding its subsequent host country lies with the current host country.

• A written confirmation of the next host is communicated by the current host to the Steering Committee 3 months before the upcoming summit.

3. Obligations of Host

In the event that the applicant is successful and is selected to host a Summit(“Host”), the following are the obligations and commitments of the Host:

3.1. Financial Commitment

• The financial resources for the organisation of the Summit shall be the responsibility of the Host.

3.2. Organisational Commitment

• The organisation of the Summit rests with the Host.

3.3. Development of programme

• The host should take into account the Steering Committee’s input and recommendations for development of the programme, including the selection of speakers.

3.4. Securing the next host country

• Taking into account the recommendations of the Steering Committee, as outlined in the process above, the current host is responsible for securing the commitment and confirmation of the next host country.