ANNOUNCEMENTS

Scholarships from the IAHPC Traveling Scholarship Program

We are pleased to announce 10 (ten) scholarships grants to help support the travel of palliative care workers in developing countries to the 19th International Congress on Palliative Care presented by McGill University that will take place in Montreal, Canada, during October 9-12, 2012.

Applicants must be living in a developing country, be active members of IAHPC, and actively working in palliative care. Preference will be given to individuals who have not received an IAHPC grant in the past three years with accepted poster or oral presentations in the Congress.

Applications from physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and other disciplines are welcome.

If you wish to apply and are not an IAHPC member, you may join by clicking at www.hospicecare.com/join.htm

Applications are available through the IAHPC website in http://www.iahpcnews.com/submit/forms/ts_app.htm

Please send proof of acceptance of the poster or oral presentation, along with a copy of your current CV.

Selected individuals are also eligible to receive a discounted registration fee from the Congress.

Deadline to apply is July 15, 2012. Results will be announced by end July.

Additional information about the Congress can be found in http://www.palliativecare.ca/index.html

If you need information on how to apply or how to become a member, please contact Ana Restrepo at [email protected]

Ten fellows selected for 2012 International Pain Policy Fellowship

The Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG) / World Health Organization Collaborating Center is very pleased to announce the selection of ten fellows for its Cohort III International Pain Policy Fellowship (IPPF) program. Built on the success of the previous two cohorts of this program in 2006 and 2008, LIVESTRONG (Lance Armstrong Foundation) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) International Palliative Care Initiative are providing major funding to support these fellows for a two-year project.

The purpose of the fellowship is to assist low and middle income countries to improve patient access to pain medicines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for pain of cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Fellows will train with the PPSG and other international experts in Madison, Wisconsin, USA during the week of 6-10 August 2012. They will develop action plans to improve opioid availability that they will implement during the next two years. Many Fellows will be accompanied to Madison by a government representative, demonstrating valuable high-level commitment to support efforts to improve opioid availability for pain management in their respective country.

This 2012 class involves ten fellows from six countries, with a regional focus on South Asia and Eastern Europe / Central Asia:

South Asia (7 Fellows) : India: Nandini Vallath, MD, Shalini Vallabhan, PhD, and Priyadarshini Kulkarni, MD.
Bangladesh: Rumana Dowla, MBBS, MPH, DipPallMed, and Farzana Khan, MBBS, MPH.
Sri Lanka: Nadarajah Jeyakumaran, MD, and Suraj Perera, MD

Eastern Europe / Central Asia (3 Fellows):
Albania: Kristo Huta, MD, PhD
Kyrgyzstan: Taalaigul Sabyrbekova, MD, PhD
Ukraine: Nataliia Datsiuk, MPH

Sudan increases estimated quota for morphine

The International Narcotics Control Body has updated its opioid quota for individual countries and Sudan has increased its morphine importation quota from just 1.385kg to 29.000kg. This is a huge increase which we hope demonstrates recognition by the Poisons and Medicines Board and the Ministry of Health that morphine is needed by its population for medical purposes. It paves the way for importing greater quantities of morphine and ultimately ensuring patients have far greater access.

Despite numerous attempts to convince them, the central medical supplies have not ordered morphine powder for the production of liquid oral morphine in country but have instead ordered already constituted liquid oral morphine.

Although we would still like them to import the powder for reconstitution it is another step towards greater access to morphine for our patients.

Sudan is about to have a PACT (http://www.pactworld.org) visit and the palliative care unit has been asked to provide a report on activities.

Dr. Esther Walker
UK

News from Jordania

Jordan Palliative Care & Pain Society announces the first Jordanian Palliative Care Conference that will take place next November in Amman.

This event provides an exceptional chance to meet experts from different specialties, and share experience.

Dr. Mohammad Bushnaq
Chairman of Jordan Palliative Care & Pain Society

Click here for more information.

News from Israel

The Israel Scientific Committee of Physicians approved Palliative Medicine as a subspecialty. The Israel Medical Society of Palliative Medicine is responsible for this goal: it was a long and hard way but successful.

Next step is to push the Ministry of Health to introduce the subspecialty in medical legislation.

Michaela Bercovitch,MD
Tel HaShomer’s Oncological Hospice, Beit Friedman
Sheba Medical Cente
Tel Aviv, Israel.

3rd International Public Health & Palliative Care Conference

Milford Care Centre is hosting the 3rd International Public Health and Palliative Care Conference in conjunction with The University of Limerick UL on 25th – 27th April 2013 at The Strand Hotel, Limerick, Ireland.

The conference builds on those held previously in Kerala, India and Dakar, Bangladesh. It aims to draw together diverse health-promoting palliative care experiences and practices from around the world. It will be attended by health and social care professionals from a broad spectrum of countries as well as members of local communities within Ireland to discuss and evaluate the ongoing value and contribution of a public health approach to palliative care practice.

Main conference themes are:

• Engaging communities
• Education & research in action
• Models of care & practice
• Influencing policy

Click here for more information.

2012 Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress

UICC and its hosts Foundation Québécoise du cancer, McGill University and University of Montréal are pleased to announce that the next UICC World Cancer Congress will take place from the 27-30 August 2012 at the Palais des Congrès Montréal, Canada.

Held every two years, the Congress represents a unique and ideal platform for the international cancer control community to meet, discuss, share, learn and connect in order to find solutions to reduce the impact of cancer on communities around the world.

The theme for the for the 2012 congress is "Connecting for Global Impact" and highlights the need for continued support and momentum in translating the benefits of knowledge gained through research and practice to those living with and affected by cancer.

The event offers an opportunity for international cancer control colleagues to connect and exchange ideas.

Click here for more information.

Global summit on international breast health

Guidelines for International Breast Health and Cancer Control
October 3-5, 2012.
Vienna International Centre, Vienna, Austria

The summit offers an opportunity for the international health community to enhance knowledge and understanding of complex multidisciplinary issues of “Supportive Care and Quality of Life’’ for breast cancer patients in medically underserved regions worldwide; if offers also a chance to network with other experts in this highly diverse, emergent field of healthcare.

The daily agenda of international presentations, discussions, and professional networking will connect national and international organizations and experts from around the world.

Click here for more information.

Australia Awards

The Australian Government currently invests over $200 million each year in international scholarships which, at any time, support around 5,000 international students, researchers and professionals to study in Australia and for Australians to study, research and undertake professional development overseas.

A variety of educational, research and professional development opportunities are available through the two Australia Awards streams:

• An achievement stream that targets the best and brightest students, researchers and professionals to come to Australia and for Australians to do the same offshore, and
• A development stream that builds capacity in developing countries.

The Australia Awards initiative will, over time, build a new generation of global leaders with strong links to Australia.

Both opportunities may be relevant for the palliative care community.

Click here for information about how to apply.

Click here for information about participating countries.