Volume 23, Number 4: April 2022

Recognition Award Winners Answer A Few Personal Questions

The IAHPC Individual Recognition Awards are a celebration of individuals dedicated to developing and providing palliative care to improve the quality of life for patients with serious health-related suffering. The winners were announced in March.

“Honoring these amazing individuals is an excellent way to celebrate the relaunching of the IAHPC Recognition Awards Program,” says IAHPC Executive Director Liliana De Lima. “We are very grateful to all those who submitted nominations, and for their nominees’ contributions and commitment to palliative care in their countries and regions.”

Three individuals—one each in a low-income, low-middle-income, and high-income country—were awarded a $1,000 US cash prize and a one-year paid IAHPC membership.

Getting to know…
Photo supplied by Eddie Mwebesa. Used with permission.

Dr. Eddie Mwebesa, 44

Dr. Mwebesa, “a passionate clinician and a very committed teacher-trainer” who has dedicated his life to growing the specialty in East Africa, won in the low-income country category. He has worked for the past 18 years at Hospice Africa Uganda, in Kampala, where he now holds two positions: Clinical Director and the Director of International Programs.

Was there a particular event (or person) that drew you to palliative care?

In 1999, when I was a third-year medical student, I witnessed a team of nurses from Hospice Africa Uganda visiting very sick patients in Mulago Hospital. Their approach was very different from how I knew nursing to be. They did not wear uniforms, and they sat on patients’ beds, held their hands, and had conversations with them about ordinary things and about life. They also brought oral liquid morphine in disposable water bottles with them, and although their patients were quite unwell, they were, overall, pain-free and happier. When I enquired about them, I learned that the nurses were offering patient palliative care.

I decided that after I graduated, I would work at the hospice and be part of a more holistic and humanist approach to caring for those who were very sick and reaching the end of life. I joined Hospice Africa Uganda and learned a lot from its founder, Dr. Anne Merriman, and especially from two nurses who took me under their wing. I have never looked back: in June I will celebrate 20 years of service as a doctor.

“I know that palliative care makes a difference, and the unmet need keeps me awake at night.”

How do you stay motivated?

I stay motivated because Hospice Africa Uganda has a gigantic vision that palliative care must reach all in need in Africa, and there are millions of people who need love and care. I know that palliative care makes a difference, and the unmet need keeps me awake at night. To live and die in agony and indignity is something that nobody should ever have to endure. I stay in service because I can bring that difference.

What form of relaxation or self-care do you enjoy?

I know that the Lord cares about people, especially those who are suffering. God is love, and it is comforting to know that He will take care of what is important. I am therefore at peace knowing that. I also find it very relaxing to cook and I do so regularly. I enjoy a good barbecue, and a hearty laugh with my family.

What single piece of advice do you have for those who follow in your footsteps as a palliative care practitioner?

Do the best you can with all you heart, soul, and might using the resources you have and you will be amazed at what the Lord can do.

Photo supplied by Olaitan Soyannwo. Used with permission.

Dr. Olaitan Soyannwo, 76

Dr. Olaitan Soyannwo, president and cofounder of the Centre for Palliative Care in Ibadan, Nigeria, won in the low-middle-income country category. Nominated by not one, but six people (!), she is described as having been “at the forefront of advocacy for palliative care in Nigeria for more than three decades,” advancing palliative care in Africa by promoting education, clinical service delivery, access to opioids, policy making, research, and advocacy.

Was there a particular event (or person) that drew you to palliative care?

The concern for the pain and suffering that I witnessed in patients with cancer who were undergoing surgery without adequate pain relief in Nigeria drew me to the need for opioid availability for acute pain management and later to holistic palliative care.

“Remain dedicated to your goal of caring for patients’ needs.”

How do you stay motivated?

Seeing palliative care as a mission to help those (patients and families) who are suffering from the burden of serious illnesses and end of life issues.

What form of relaxation or self-care do you enjoy?

Time with family and close friends, music, reading, gardening, and sightseeing.

What single piece of advice do you have for those who follow in your footsteps as a palliative care leader?

Remain dedicated to your goal of caring for patients’ needs despite the odds.

Photo supplied by William Rosa. Used with permission.

Dr. William (Billy) Rosa, 39
Dr. Rosa, Chief Research Fellow in Psycho-Oncology, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, USA, won in the high-income country category. An astonishingly prolific researcher (150 papers and counting!), he is described as “driven by a strong commitment to co-creating palliative care access that is equitable and inclusive for all people…his dedicated leadership, mentorship, and organizational service has had both national impact in the US and global impact for colleagues in low-middle-income countries.

Was there a particular event (or person) that drew you to palliative care?

I started my nursing career in critical care, working with seriously ill patients and building close relationships with their families. Many of the patients died and I worked very closely with the palliative care team. I will never forget Phyllis Sutton—a nurse practitioner on the team—who in many ways taught me how to provide care that was human-centered even in the bustling world of the ICU. She never missed an opportunity to provide compassionate care for every patient, even during post-mortem care—she treated their body with the utmost respect and tenderness—all of this alongside incredible pain and symptom management. During this time, I really developed a passion for palliative care and how much it needed to be integrated for all patients and families who were confronting this type of suffering.

How do you stay motivated?

Honestly, the work motivates me, my colleagues inspire me, the possibility that we are alleviating suffering for one person or millions of people matters: the size of the impact matters far less than the idea that change is happening.

I believe the cause for palliative care is improving and making headway in research and in public awareness but also in policy. Every incremental change keeps me hopeful that people will not have to suffer needlessly if and when they experience a life-limiting illness or injury.

“The size of the impact matters far less than the idea that change is happening.”

What form of relaxation or self-care do you enjoy?

I'm a daily mindfulness meditator and yoga practitioner. I go to the gym regularly, go for long walks with my dog, and spend time with my family. This work always makes me most grateful for the simple blessings in life.

What single piece of advice do you have for those who follow in your footsteps as a palliative care researcher?

Don't hesitate to put yourself out there and to connect with the people you look up to. I have found people to be incredibly generous of their time and expertise—nothing good happens without collaboration and teamwork. I have found if I remain authentic and in my integrity about my desire to help and move the work forward, people have more often than not, rushed in to help. Introduce yourself, offer your time and energy, give yourself the opportunity to learn and grow as not just a researcher but as a teammate, collaborator, and partner.

The success of the outcome is not nearly as meaningful to me as the joy of the process.

To learn more about Hospice Africa Uganda, the Centre for Palliative Care and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, visit the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations.

Call for Scholarship Applicants

Scholarships for Conferences in Europe, Africa, North & South America

IAHPC Scholarships will be awarded for several upcoming conferences. Detailed information about the application process as well as the online form are available on the IAHPC website. If the conference you wish to apply for is not available on the website, check back later or sign up to receive notifications.

Call for Grant Applicants Coming Soon

Institutions and Organizations, This Program Is for You!

The IAHPC Advocacy and Partnerships Development Program (APDP) offers grants to support palliative care organizations and institutions that aspire to build capacity and constructive partnerships to improve service provision in their own countries or regions. The time to begin thinking about whether to apply to fund a specific project is now! Keep your eyes peeled for an official announcement, coming in June, of the program’s 2022 launch (if you haven't already, you can sign up to receive notifications).

Institutions or organizations that apply must include a short proposal describing how their proposed project will build institutional capacity in order to improve access to services or medications to persons with palliative care needs. Proposals may relate to advocacy at specified levels of governance for:

Winning proposals will be awarded US $1,000 for the first year, with another amount to be determined (not exceeding US $1,500) for the second year. Grantees must develop, implement, and report on their project progress at quarterly intervals throughout the two-year term.

Reminder

How to Close the Global Pain Divide: A free webinar

The IAHPC is a co-convenor of a free webinar on “How to Close the Global Pain Divide: Global Essential Medicine Distribution and Access” on Thursday, April 14, 2022. The webinar is part of a series organized by the Global Palliative Care and Pain Relief Research Hub, which aims to advance the Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Relief.

The series is for those interested in advancing and improving access to palliative care, specifically: multidisciplinary health care providers, palliative care specialists, students and trainees, researchers, patients and their families, and advocates.

All sessions are held on Zoom, begin at 9 a.m. EST, and conclude at 10:30 a.m. Session recordings will be available until December 31, 2022 to all registered participants. CMEs will be offered for each session and a certificate will be available upon completion of a post-session evaluation. Go here for more information, or to register.

Reader recommended

“The International Collaborative for Best Care for the Dying Person is an international group of thinkers, practitioners, and researchers from 24 countries on six continents, united by the common goal of improving care for dying people and their families. The website includes quality improvement tools and resources as well as freely available webinar recordings.”

—Marisa Martín Roselló, CEO and Medical Director, CUDECA

Member & other news

ATLANTES Designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre

The ATLANTES team, taking a moment to spread their enthusiasm. Photo provided by ATLANTES. Used with permission.

ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care, based at the University of Navarra, Spain, has been designated a WHO Collaborating Centre for Global Monitoring of Palliative Care Development.

This new designation, effective until February 2026, involves the entire ATLANTES palliative medicine research group of the university’s Institute of Culture and Society. The group’s research is three-fold: global palliative care development, intangible values present in palliative care, and the palliative care message to society and health professionals.

World Health Organization collaborating centers are institutions committed to activities that support the WHO's programs. Specifically, ATLANTES will support the WHO in the following ways:

To learn more about ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care visit the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations.

PallCHASE Curated List of Ukraine Health Care Orgs

This list of organizations was compiled by PallCHASE as reputable recipients to aid in the delivery of palliative care as well as health care generally during the crisis in Ukraine.

WHO Asks Member States for Input on NCDs

The World Health Organization is calling for submissions from its member states “to share their experiences on implementing multisectoral actions to strengthen collaboration across government sections” to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Submissions from low- and middle-income countries are particularly encouraged. Future knowledge collaboration and exchange activities to showcase these successful experiences will occur in preparation for a High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on NCDs in 2025.

The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2022. Download the call for submissions, participate in an online checklist questionnaire, or contact Dr. Katia De Pinho Campos with any questions.

Informal consultation: Caribbean & North America

PAHO/WHO have organized an informal consultation with people living with NCDs and mental health conditions in the Caribbean and North America, being held on April 20-21, 2002. For information or to participate, access a form (below).

Questions? Contact Dr. Silvana Luciani or Mr. Jack Fisher.

Regional consultation: Africa

The WHO has rescheduled a regional consultation for Africa, now taking place April 27-28, 2022. The meeting will be held in French, English, and Portuguese. For information or to participate, access a form (below).

Questions? Contact Dr. Yuka Makino or Mr. Jack Fisher.

New IAHPC online listings

What’s New in the Calendar

Uganda

7th International African Palliative Care Conference. In person and virtual. August 24-26, 2022, Kampala.

UK

Introduction to Holistic Palliative Care Assessment Skills Workshop. In person. April 19, 2022, London.

Teach with CARE. In-person and virtual course. April 26-May 17, 2022, London.

Introduction to Compassionate Care with Namaste. Virtual course. April 28, 2022.

Palliative and End-of-Life Care Foundations. In-person course. May 9-13, 2022, London.

Access all items in the IAHPC Calendar of Events.

New Listings in the IAHPC Global Directories

IAHPC Global Directory of Educational Programs

India

Fellowship in Palliative Medicine, Christian Medical College, Vellore

South Africa

Patch Academy, Palliative Treatment for Children South Africa (PatchSA),

Cape Town

USA

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, University of Kansas School of Medicine Program,
Kansas City, Kansas

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda,
Maryland

Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School
of Medicine, Kalamazoo, Michigan

IAHPC Advocacy Course (online), International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC)

Promote your education and training events in the IAHPC Global Directory of Educational Programs in palliative care. It’s quick and easy—just fill out the Add a new listing page online.

IAHPC Global Directory of Institutions and Organizations

India

Sri Guru Ram Das Hospice, Amritsar

South Africa

Eden Family Medical Practice - Palliative Care Service, Johannesburg

USA

Mettle Health, Mill Valley, California

Gain visibility by adding your institution, department, or organization that provides palliative or hospice care to the IAHPC Global Directory of Institutions and Organizations. Simply fill out the Add a new listing page online.

Do you have any questions regarding the IAHPC Calendar of Events and IAHPC Directories?

Contact Ms. Julia Libreros

Top 10 Pallipedia Terms

During March, Pallipedia racked up 72,580 users. These were the month’s top 10 listings on IAHPC’s free, online palliative care dictionary.

Pallipedia is maintained and nurtured by Dr. Roberto Wenk, past Chair of IAHPC.

Contact Dr. Roberto Wenk

Each month, we publish items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed.

  • Content should describe opportunities to advance palliative care and improve knowledge, skills, and networking, e.g., education and training, travel grants, access to online resources, etc.
  • 150 words maximum.
  • Copy deadline: 20th of each month.
  • Please submit your copy to the editor together with any JPEG images. We reserve the right to edit content.

Please also consider promoting your education and training events in the IAHPC Global Directory of Education in Palliative Care. It’s quick and easy — just submit your content online.

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