IAHPC Photo Contest: We have our winners!

Our members submitted an incredible array of images that expressed moving moments, illustrated challenges, and showed the beauty of palliative care in their daily work. It required four rounds of judging by our five-member panel, plus a Zoom meeting at the end, to narrow the selection of 186 photos sent in and settle on the winners.

The rules dictate that only members were eligible for prizes, but non-members were eligible for honorable mentions.

These are the top three photos and the honorable mentions:

First place ($500 UD): Institutional member Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) in Mysuru, India, with a photo (above) taken by Sukrit Kalia.

Photographer's description: During a routine home visit by SVYM’s palliative care team, Mallava jokes about the newly renovated door in her living room—now high enough for the tall doctor to walk in without bumping his head. In 18 years, Mallava’s body may have shrunk to half its size, but her laughter and lively spirit still fill the room. Palliative care is about making more room for living—something we continue to learn from Mallava.

Judge's comment: The joy that you can see in the woman's face, and the compassion in the posture of her companion, moved me.

Second place ($300 USD): Thanh Thuy Nguyen Thi, a nurse at Ha Noi Oncology Hospital in Vietnam.

Photographer's description: During end-of-life care, to fulfill the patient's final wish, a music therapist was invited to play his favorite songs. As the melodies filled the room, his face lit up with joy and serenity. It was a touching moment. Sometimes, a song can bring peace when words no longer can.

Judge's comment: While I don't like to see the faces of caregivers obscured by masks, despite this you can see the patient's happiness in being a participant in making music.

Third place ($200 USD): Yuliya Streletskaya, a palliative care physician and anesthesiologist at the Children City Hospital of Infectious Diseases in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Photographer's description: I work in palliative care for patients with neuromuscular diseases. The photo shows my patient with nemaline myopathy, who urgently needed respiratory support. Since the child is young and had never used a non-invasive ventilation device before, I used a game to help him adapt, showing him what it would look like on his favourite toy so that he wouldn't be afraid.

Judge's comment: This shows an intimate, touching moment where it looks as though the child is helping the stuffed animal. The photo is composed so that the eye is drawn to the center, where the child's dark eyes are perfectly mirrored by the dark eyes of the toy. You can feel the connection.

Honorable mention: New member Nourhan Basyouny, a geriatric physician with Ain Shams University Hospitals in Cairo, Egypt.

Photographer's description: Wrapped in a warm blanket and holding the Bible, the patient receives not only medical attention but also emotional support from her granddaughter as well as spiritual support—reflecting the heart of palliative care: dignity, compassion, and human connection at life’s most vulnerable time.

Judge's comment: The steady gaze of this patient is both mesmerizing and disturbing: it makes clear that impending death is not a comfortable state of being.

Honorable mention: Lifetime member Mostofa Kamal Chowdhury, a palliative care physician affiliated with the Department of Palliative Medicine at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Photographer's description: In the arms of care, even a child facing life’s hardest truths can still touch the sky.

Judge's comment: While this was the best photo submitted if judged solely on the image (the play of light and dark, the figures partly visible, the clarity and composition), the description failed to explain what we were looking at.

Honorable mention: Member Esther Dina Bell, a palliative care practitioner and oncology specialist affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceuticals Sciences at the University of Douala in Cameroon.

Photographer's description: This captures a moment of unadulterated joy and serenity, as a palliative care patient, pampered by a beauty treatment by the VOPACA (Volunteers for Palliative Care) team, surrenders to the comfort of a massage. The aromatic oils, with their delightful scents, add a touch of sweetness to this privileged moment. It is a moment of profound connection, where boundaries dissolve, and humanity is revealed.

Judge's comment: The mood is beautiful. The loving care being given and received comes through clearly.

Honorable mention: Lifetime institutional member Hungarian Hospice Palliative Association in Budapest with a photo by Krisztina Toth.

Photographer's description: The boy, suffering from a genetic disease and receiving end-of-life care at Tábitha hospice, is visited by his family and a therapy dog. Together, they tried to bring him back to life for a little while longer.

Judge's comment: While the child is at the heart of this photo, all of the components—each of the family members, the dog, the arms with clasped hands—combine to bring to the image a central focus and a second heart.

Honorable Mention  Non-member Judy Joubert of Stepping Stone Hospice in Alberton, South Africa

Photographer's description: Little Lulo is in care of Stepping Stone Hospice's Children's Unit in Alberton. Lulo is a Trisomy 18 patient. She has blossomed under the loving care of the nurses and staff.

Honorable Mention  Non-member Cheyenne Chai of Singapore.

Photographer's description: In Timor Leste, where language differences challenge communication, a simple smile and attentive listening become powerful acts of compassion. These gestures bridge divides, offering comfort and connection when words fall short, embodying the heart of palliative care.

Honorable Mention  Non-member Abhijit Dam, Bokaro Steel City, India.

Photographer's description: Rural palliative care aides being trained to "stay vigil" and offer prayers at the bedside of a terminally ill patient who just passed away.

Honorable Mention Non-member Saheeth Mohamed Nisran, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.

Photographer's description: At Eastern Cancer Care Hospice in Eravur, Sri Lanka, a nurse gently comforts an elderly woman during her palliative care journey. Once burdened by pain and isolation, the patient now finds solace and dignity through compassionate care. The nurse’s warm smile and attentive presence reflect the essence of hospice work—providing not only medical support but also emotional and spiritual comfort. These moments capture the bond between caregiver and patient, where humanity transcends illness. In the quiet corridors and garden spaces of the hospice, healing takes the form of empathy, touch, and connection. This image tells the story of hope, peace, and respect at the end of life—a powerful reminder that palliative care is about living fully, even in one’s final days.