A Rich October Harvest

Katherine Pettus. Photo used with permission.

By Katherine Pettus, PhD
IAHPC Senior Director of Advocacy and Partnerships

World Day of Care and Support webinar

More than 350 people registered for IAHPC's free webinar commemorating the 2024 World Day of Care and Support (WDCS) in October, with 111 participants from 43 countries signing in for the live session. We were honored to host panelists Luc Deliens and Louise D’Eer (Belgium), Laurel Gillespie (Canada), Aneka Paul (India), and Eve Namisango (Uganda). 

This second annual WDCS webinar by IAHPC responds to the United Nations' resolution to observe an annual International Day of Care and Support on October 29, calling on member states and civil society organizations “to raise awareness of the importance of care and support” and “the need to invest in a resilient and inclusive care economy, including the development of strong and resilient care and support systems.”

Executive Director Liliana de Lima opened the webinar by welcoming participants and giving an update about IAHPC's new policy of including caregivers in our webinars, courses, and advocacy whenever possible. This webinar focused exclusively on the research and practice of caregiving in several domains. Deliens, recently elected president of Public Health Palliative Care International, and co-researcher D’Eer focused on the theory and practice of compassionate communities in Belgium and globally. 

An original artwork by Eve Namisango and Eyul Moses. Used with permission.

Eve Namisango, research manager at the African Palliative Care Association (APCA), spoke of family/community-centered responses to palliative care needs, considered largely women’s work, although APCA is now developing resources for men. Paul presented her research from several Indian states on how supportive palliative care teams benefit caregivers. Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association Executive Director Laurel Gillespie spoke as both a caregiver and patient, emphasizing the value of advance care planning and policy support for both informal and formal care workforces. You can access a recording of the event, all panelist bios and their presentations on our Advocacy Program webpage. 

Participants who took the survey at the end of the webinar, which went well over time, rated all panelists very highly. A selection of comments below reveals the deep engagement of this global audience, engagement we will build on with a series of webinars including caregivers from different countries in 2025. 

UN attends to caregiving on October 29

Two separate UN bodies held two different WDCS celebrations focusing on policy, labor laws, human rights, gender, and the relevance of care economies. The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the International Labor Organization broadcast live from the halls of New York and Geneva, respectively. 

At the New York event moderated by UN Women, Ambassadors and high-level representatives of Brazil, Canada, Chile, Kenya, Mexico, and the Philippines presented their existing laws and policy frameworks, some still under development. Only Dr. Claudia Mahler, the UN Human Rights Council's Independent Expert on the Rights of Older Persons, explicitly mentioned palliative care in her ECOSOC intervention during a panel discussion focused on human rights. 

SECPAL national congress highlights

I was privileged to be invited by the Spanish Palliative Care Association's (SECPAL's) scientific community to present in a roundtable on palliative care in communities at its national conference, held this year in Málaga, themed “Palliative Care Is Essential for Public Health.”  

The opening panel and plenary featured a stirring address by Eduardo Bruera, followed later that morning by Paola Ruiz, president of the Latin American Palliative Care Association (ALCP), who presented on policy advances in the region. Marisa Martín Roselló, director of Cudeca, the only stand-alone hospice in Spain, moderated our Saturday roundtable, titled Participación de la comunidad en cuidados paliativos (Community participation in palliative care). Silvia Labrada, director of the Todos Contigo program at New Health Foundation in Seville, and Inmaculada Ruiz of Cudeca spoke on compassionate communities and volunteerism respectively. My presentation, Los cuidados paliativos en la comunidad cosmopolita. Esencial para la salud pública mundial (Cosmopolitan palliative care, essential for global public health," took a broader view to reflect the IAHPC's scope of work. 

Inaugural Emirates palliative care conference  

Modern telecommunications allowed me to participate from Málaga in the first United Arab Emirates International Congress held in Abu Dhabi. Hosted by Burjeel Holdings, and organized by IAHPC member Dr. Neil Nijhawan, the hybrid event was broadcast live around the world. I presented on “Palliative Care Advocacy: A world free from health-related suffering.”

Launch of Young Doctor’s Network at UNODC

Dr. Elizabeth Sáenz, program officer for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, has started a young doctor’s network to increase capacity of early-career physicians to close the global equity gaps in access to controlled medicines by raising awareness among peers and patients. Young doctors from around the world are joining the network to learn how to engage in informed advocacy for rational availability of controlled medicines.

I presented on “Physician as Witness and Advocate” after Dr. Eric Krakauer gave a talk on “Global landscape of opioids and palliative care—Inequities, barriers, and solutions.” 

Et cetera... 

Hospice Ethiopia UK hosted a World Day webinar celebration on October 24 featuring their partners from Hospice Ethiopia UK, Hospice Ethiopia Ireland, and HelpAge Germany, among others. I was delighted to see how the organization has grown since I visited in 2015 with Dr. Anne Merriman and her team from Hospice Africa Uganda. 

The Post-Symposium Statement and Recommendations from the May 2024 “Towards a Narrative of Hope” symposium of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Vatican Academy for Life, including a link to the letter from Pope Francis supporting palliative care, was released in English and French at the end of October. Read more about the details of the Interfaith Symposium report on my blog. The IAHPC is planning an interfaith webinar on February 11, 2025, World Day of the Sick. Stay tuned for more information! 

WHO Palliative Care Working Group meeting

IAHPC Board Member Dr. Hibah Osman represented the IAHPC at the WHO Palliative Care Working Group meeting in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, in October. She presented an overview of IAHPC's workplan and accomplishments along with many representatives of other palliative care NGOs, WHO collaborating centers, and senior staff from regional offices. WHO lead Dr. Megan Doherty moderated the working group sessions, which included breakout sessions focused on developing a palliative care reference package for use by member states. Stay tuned for more information as we receive it. 

IAHPC Delegates run up the PC flag at WHO regional meetings
(L-R) Faissal Wardak, Victoria Hewitt, Patrick Carr, and Tjasa Skerl Rifelj, who represented IPSF. Photo used with permission.

IAHPC Board member Victoria Hewitt represented the IAHPC at the 74th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (RC74). As a non-state actor (NSA) in official relations with the WHO, the IAHPC is invited to regional meetings and teams up with partner NSAs to deliver statements that convey the message of palliative care integration and rational availability of controlled medicines. Victoria reported that “the IAHPC continues to call for action to ensure access to essential medicines in health emergencies in collaboration with other non-state actors.” The IAHPC submitted a written statement on the topic that was echoed separately by the International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (IPSF), an advocacy organization for pharmacy and pharmaceutical science students and recent graduates. Victoria said that “the IAHPC continues to remind member states that availability of palliative care and controlled medicines are a vital part of the humanitarian response.”

Dr. Mari Joson, Dr. Siai Ma'u Piukala, and the Honorable Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown. Photo used with permission.

On the other side of the world, the 75th Session of the WHO Western Pacific Committee held its annual meeting in Manila from October 20-25. Dr. Mari Joanne Joson, president of the Philippine Society of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, represented the IAHPC. Dr. Joson networked with other NSA delegates, such as the World Organization of Family Doctors as well as with non-communicable diseases staff and newly elected Regional Director Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala, and the Honorable Vainetutai Rose Toki-Brown, Cook Islands' Minister of Health, who was elected as the first female chairperson of this year’s session. Her co-delegate, palliative care nurse Edmar Elcarte, was unable to attend because of a tornado affecting the Philippines. I hope that next year brings better luck. 

Dr. Joson said she “highlighted the vital role of palliative care in achieving universal health coverage, emphasizing that holistic support can significantly enhance quality of life for patients and families.” She said that a key learning experience was the importance of integrating palliative care into primary health services to ensure equitable access for vulnerable populations. “This reinforces the idea that "weaving health for all" is not just about treatment, but also about compassion and dignity.”

Get involved!

IAHPC members interested in getting more involved in national and international advocacy can take our online Advocacy Course and contact me for more information about how to apply to become an IAHPC delegate at their WHO regional meetings or at the UN meetings in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. 

Read more of this week's issue of Pallinews

Showing LEADership

IAHPC grant helped train 33 in basic palliative care in Burkina Faso. Also: more $2,500 USD LEAD grants coming in 2025.

In Practice

Member Stories & Insights

These are two sayings that we found helpful at our community palliative care intake office:

"She is at the crossroads and will declare herself in next day or so." It is used when the family is unsure if the end of life is happening, and is unsure how to proceed. They are usually in a realm of struggling to accept the decline in condition, and often wanting to push fluids, etc., when acute symptom management has been given and it is unclear if the person has responded.

“How about you let your mum guide our practice here." This was useful when a son was struggling with his mother's refusal of food and fluid. It worked magic in a gentle way.

—Bronwyn Lee, Eastern Palliative Care, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia

In Practice features anecdotes and advice from IAHPC members. Do you have something to share? Send it to the Pallinews editor at: [email protected]

Plus

Community & Home-Based Palliative Care This topic is the focus of the most recent issue of Barry Ashpole's Literature Search, divided geographically with sections on Africa, Asia, Australia, central Europe, India, Korea, North America, Scandinavia, and the UK.

Care Seminar Online Did you miss IAHPC's October seminar on the UN's International Day of Care and Support? Now you can view it online.

IAHPC resources

Always available to all

Pallipedia The free, online palliative care dictionary consulted by tens of thousands of users each month. The top five terms searched this year have been: percentile, evaluation, community health, overflow diarrhea (spurious diarrhea), and medical condition.

Always available to members

IAHPC's Comprehensive Basic Pain Assessment and Management Course, 9 modules including essential analgesics for pain management, opioid therapy, neuropathic and musculoskeletal pain, and the role of the pharmacist.