As the end of the year marks many celebrations and holidays, we extend our best wishes to the global palliative care community, their friends and family members for the coming holidays and hope that next year will bring much happiness and success. To our Christian friends and colleagues around the world, Merry Christmas! To our Jewish friends, happy Hannukah!
Last month, we launched our annual fundraising campaign to support the work of IAHPC and our mission-driven programs. We hope you can contribute and will invite your colleagues and friends to join you! Any amount helps our efforts to continue the work. Our ability to continue to do this work depends heavily on the support we receive from donors such as yourselves. Donating online is easy and secure.
We have the winners of the IAHPC Photo Contest 2023! After a long and difficult selection process, our panel of judges selected the winners of the IAHPC Photo Contest. Congratulations to the four winners! (We have a tie for third place - see on the IAHPC News section to see the photos and learn more). Many thanks to our board members Mary Callaway, Kim Adzich and Gulnara Kunirova and our officers Alison Ramsey and Danilo Fritzler for serving in the panel.
Members, please note two important December deadlines!
IAHPC Scholarships. December 15 is the deadline to apply for scholarships to attend the Latin American Palliative Care Congress to be held in Cartagena, Colombia in March 2024. See the full announcement sent out in November.
IAHPC Recognition Awards. December 31 is the deadline to apply for the Recognition Awards Program. This program’s objectives are: 1) to recognize individuals and institutions dedicated to relieving the serious health-related suffering of patients and their families; and 2) to bring these individuals and institutions to the attention of policy makers, the media, and other relevant institutions and organizations. Candidates for the individual award must be nominated by an IAHPC member. Institutions for the institutional award must be nominated by a representative. See the instructions and application forms.
Our research projects continue to make headway. Many thanks to IAHPC members who answered our invitation to participate in the Best Practices Manual. We have completed the first round of the Delphi process and finalized the preliminary analysis. An invitation for the second round will be sent soon. Watch for some amazing information coming your way!
On a separate note, as revealed in the first News item by Alison and Liliana, 2024 will see some significant changes to this newsletter. The new format is intended to stimulate reader engagement and extend our reach. We are sure this will be a positive change and a nice surprise.
We are saddened to see that several regions of the world continue to experience conflict and war. We hope for lasting peace that will allow people with palliative care needs to access treatment and care where and when they need it.
Finally, a big thank you to all of you—our members, donors, and readers—for your support and interest in palliative care, and for helping people live long and meaningful lives.
Help us to help others: IAHPC's annual fundraiser!
How your gift supports the IAHPC mission
Achieved: $24,941
Goal: $30,000
83%
Education
Your gift funds the operational costs of our online courses taught by globally recognized experts who volunteer their time and provide educational resources relevant to palliative care topics. It also supports scholarships that enable palliative care workers to attend educational events and congresses, and allows us to maintain Pallipedia, the free, live, online dictionary.
The goal of this pillar is to implement strategies, resources and tools that will improve the competencies of the global workforce for appropriate palliative care delivery. We have two programs under this pillar plus many other resources for our members.
Your gift enables us to build and strengthen the partnerships that accelerate global, regional, and national advocacy for palliative care. We advocate for its integration into primary health care under universal health coverage and effective access to essential palliative care medicines and packages for people of all ages. Your gift supports our work to prepare delegates and participate in technical consultation meetings of the relevant UN organizations.
The goal this pillar is the integration of palliative care into primary health care within the spectrum of universal coverage to improve access to adequate care for patients in need. We offer the following to our members:
Documents on Human Rights and Access to Medicines and Care
Research
Your gift enables us to continue doing research that provides guidance and recommendations for action, based on responses from the global palliative care community. Such research includes our recent evaluation of the impact of euthanasia and assisted dying practices on palliative care workers and the use of essential medicines for palliative care. It also supports the costs of publications focused on research relevant to palliative care.
The goal of this pillar is to design and implement projects that lead to the integration of palliative care into health policies, resolutions, and key documents. Our studies help us provide guidance and recommendations, and take action based on the responses from the global palliative care community.
Your membership enables you to participate in IAHPC projects such as the:
Your gift enables us to continue our in-depth reporting and book reviews in Pallinews, as well as media campaigns that raise awareness about the need to increase access to care and support for patients and families.
We are a small organization that allocates over 80% of our budget to mission driven programs and to the maintenance of our free website. We need operational funding to continue the work.
Give a gift, get a gift
IAHPC members: When you gift a 2-year membership to a colleague in a low- or middle-income country, we extend your membership by 6 months.