This event, organized by the WHO World Alliance for Patient Safety, focuses attention on the global problem of health care-associated infection (also referred to as hospital or nosocomial infection).

Newborns in special circumstances, such as low-birth-weight babies, babies born to HIV-positive mothers, or sick babies, require additional care and should be referred to a hospital.

Maternal mortality rates decreased more among women referred for emergency obstetric care than among those who presented to the district health centre without referral.