Irena Laska delivers a statement on behalf of the IAHPC at the WHO regional meeting for Europe. Photo used with permission.
IAHPC Advocacy Takes On The World
WHO regional committee reports
Dr. Malama Tafuna’I, interim CEO, Samoa Cancer Society; Kimberly Kapigeno, CEO, PNG Cancer Foundation; Belinda Chan, CEO, Fiji Cancer Society, Dr. Saia Piukalar, director general WHO WPRO. Photo used with permission.
Regional World Health Organization meetings are usually held in late September or October. The WHO is divided in six regions, and as a non-state actor in official relations, the IAHPC is invited to send delegates as observers to participate, but not vote, in the open plenaries and side events. This year, we were invited to the 75th Regional Committee (RC) meeting for Europe, held in Copenhagen; the 76th RC for the Western Pacific Region in Suva, Fiji; and the Seventy-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Americas (61st Directing Council) n Washington, DC.
IAHPC delegates were: Irena Laska from Albania at RC75; Belinda Chan, CEO of the Fiji Cancer Association, for RC76; and Dr. Afsan Bhadelia for PAHO. You can read their statements on our Advocacy Initiatives page.
Ministers of Health and high-level delegates from 53 Member States of the WHO European Region, together with representatives of partner organizations and civil society, gathered in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 28–30 October 2025 for the 75th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (RC75).
During this session, the Second European Program of Work (EPW2) 2026–2030 was presented and adopted. The new strategy aims to build stronger and more resilient health systems, focusing on key challenges such as chronic diseases, mental health, population ageing, and climate change. It emphasizes strengthening primary health care, addressing violence against women and girls, and leveraging digital innovation to improve health outcomes.
Throughout the session, I had the opportunity to meet and discuss palliative care (PC) with colleagues from various European countries. For all of us, end-of-life care and palliative care were recognized as integral components of the health care continuum. Population ageing was highlighted as one of the greatest global challenges for health systems, and geriatric care occupied a special place in the discussions. Elderly individuals need continuous health care in their homes, and primary health care services play a crucial role in delivering this support. Therefore, integrating palliative care into primary health care is essential to improving quality of life and ensuring a dignified end of life for everyone, everywhere.
The guiding motto of each session was:
“Healthy start, healthy life, good end of life – and no one left behind.”
During the session, I had the privilege of meeting the Deputy Minister of Health of Albania. Over a dinner with all delegates, I shared important information about palliative care in Albania — the services we provide, the challenges faced by both patients and professionals, and the steps needed to integrate palliative care into the public health system. Together, we expressed our commitment to future meetings and collaboration for the advancement of palliative care in our country, recognizing the complementary roles of our institution as an expert center and the Ministry as a policymaker.
The presentation of the IAHPC Statement at this meeting further reinforced the importance of inclusive approaches and supportive policies in palliative care. The statement captured the attention of many participants, who continued to ask questions and engage in discussions about palliative care services, their implementation across different countries, and the collective effort needed to ensure a world free from unnecessary suffering — where no one in need is left behind or forgotten.
The 76th Session of the WHO Western Pacific Regional Committee (RCM#76), held in Fiji this October, was a powerful week of engagement, learning, and solidarity—especially among those advancing palliative care across the region. It was deeply affirming to connect with like-minded colleagues from Samoa and Papua New Guinea’s cancer organizations. Together, we acknowledged a shared truth: while palliative care exists in our communities, access to pain relief and clinical support remains limited.
We are acutely aware of the growing health impacts of climate change. Yet, palliative care remains absent from our countries’ disaster preparedness and climate adaptation plans. This gap leaves people with serious health conditions increasingly vulnerable in the face of climate-related shocks. As climate change accelerates, so too must our commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in crisis.
The resolution adopted at RCM#76 on Climate Change and Health System Safety and Resilience urges Member States to invest in climate-resilient health systems—including water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities, workforce capacity, surveillance and early warning systems, and urban and community resilience.
As our governments act on this call, it is critical that palliative care be integrated as a core component of health system strengthening. Palliative care provides essential support for those with serious illness, enhances workforce capacity in holistic, person-centered care, and fosters community resilience. It is not a luxury—it is a necessity. To build truly inclusive, climate-resilient health systems, palliative care must be explicitly recognized and resourced within national adaptation strategies and climate-health budgets.
5 updated Palliative Care Atlases:
WHO counts 17,940 PC services
Canadian physician Dr. Balfour Mount (April 14, 1939 – 25 September 25, 2025) coined the term “palliative care” 50 years ago, in 1975, after a spell in London with Dr. Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement. The global palliative care movement has grown exponentially in the decades since. The regional palliative care atlases developed by the ATLANTES project at the University of Navarra, a WHO Collaborating Center, report that 61 countries now recognize palliative as a specialism or sub-specialism; 126 have policies that range from drafted and under development to fully fledged and evaluated, and a total of 17,940 specialized services are operating in all WHO regions.
This flourishing of palliative care–from one “mothership” hospice service in London to almost 18,000 globally in almost two generations—is the result of patience, passion, and commitment to learning on the part of advocates, educators, practitioners, and researchers in countries of all income levels. It is a testimony to the universality of the need palliative care aspires to meet with the interdisciplinary teamwork and collaborative leadership of the generation of pioneers that followed in Cicely Saunders' wake. Together we are now imagining what the next 50 years can bring!
| Region | Specialist services | Recognized as a specialty or sub-specialty | Countries/areas with policies (drafted, approved, implemented, or evaluated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | 10,528 | 13 | 18 |
| Africa | 6 | 5 | 35 |
| Asia Pacific | 29 | 15 | 29 |
| Eastern Mediterranean | 258 | 7 | 9 |
| Europe | 7,119 | 21 | 35 |
| Total | 17,940 | 61 | 126 |
Click on an Atlas:
Watch IAHPC's dementia webinar
October 29 was the International Day of Care and Support, which we marked on October 30 with a free access webinar, "Palliative Care for Persons with Dementia: WHO Tools for caregivers.“ The event showcased the WHO’s iSupport project, an evidence-based, globally adaptable toolkit to support caregivers of persons with dementia.
IAHPC Board Member Dr. Victoria Hewitt moderated an excellent panel of speakers that included:
- Dr. Laura Garcia Diaz from the WHO Brain Health Division, who presented iSupport, which includes modules on self-care.
- Dr. Julian Abel, cofounder of Compassionate Communities UK, who discussed the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and “the ancient human activity of care and community.”
- Dr. Joy Gumikiriza-Onoria, a psychologist at Makerere University in Uganda, who talked about how to include carers in course design to suit local contexts and needs.
- Peach Wattanavitikul, a dementia caregiver, researcher, and Alzheimer’s Disease International representative in Bankgkok, Thailand, who described caring for her mother who lives with dementia, and the developing situation in the Asian region.
More than 720 people from all over the world registered for the webinar with hundreds joining the live session; and many participated actively in the half-hour Q&A that followed the panel. We are grateful to WHO for inviting us to collaborate on the webinar, which can be viewed here.
Palliative care comes to the Red Cross
The European Red Cross and Red Crescent Network on HIV/AIDS, TB, Hepatitis and Substance Abuse (ERNA) invited me to give a brief online presentation on palliative care at the community level at the XXII General Meeting in Athens on November 4. Since few, if any, Red Cross chapters in Europe have any palliative care involvement, it would be great to get them on board as collaborators.
We regularly cosponsor each other’s side events in Vienna at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, attended by advocates for more humane drug policies such as the Rome Consensus. Unduly restrictive national drug policies have catastrophic public health outcomes, including high rates of HIV/AIDS, imprisonment, premature death, and of course inadequate access to, and availability of internationally controlled essential medicines. View a PDF of my slides.
Next week: open-access webinar
Learn more about the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) estimates system for controlled medicines, the Essential and Expanded Packages for Children and Adults, the new WHO guideline on balanced policies, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Young Doctor’s Network at an open access IAHPC/INCB/WHO webinar on essential medicines next week.
The webinar, "Balanced National Policies to Improve Safe and Adequate Access to Essential Palliative Care Medicines" is scheduled for November 13, 3 p.m. GMT, 4 p.m. CET, 10 a.m. EST, 7 a.m. PST, 5 p.m. CAT, 8:30 p.m. IST. Register here.
This free webinar is intended for palliative care advocates, national medicines regulators, procurement managers, and country and regional staff from the WHO and UNODC who want to learn about evidence-based tools developed by UN agencies and experts in palliative care and health economics. These tools aim to help improve national estimates for internationally controlled essential medicines, enhancing patient care and reducing serious health-related suffering.
Interfaith advocacy coalition
free webinar in February
A steering committee of the fledgling IAHPC interfaith advocacy coalition (IAC) is convening online to develop a program of work, including a series of free webinars starting on February 11, 2026, World Day of the Sick.
The idea for this committee emerged from the IAHPC side event at the World Health Assembly in May, which explored global faith leader competencies to address the public health deficits in palliative care availability at the local level.
The interfaith coalition plans to address the issue of inadequate public and faith leader knowledge about palliative care, including:
- incorrect beliefs about palliative care being relevant only for the very last stage of life
- uninformed public and faith leader opinion that equates palliative care with euthanasia or assisted suicide
Although a substantial body of evidence and literature addresses the benefits of spiritual care for patients of all faiths as well as the non-affiliated,1,2 and palliative care chaplaincy programs are taking root in many countries, efforts to integrate knowledge about palliative care into basic faith leader education and formation are rare to nonexistent. The IAC aspires to fill that gap.
Stay tuned for more on this developing IAHPC initiative.
References:
1. Puchalski CM, Ferrell B, Otis-Green S, Handzo G. Overview of spirituality in palliative care. Uptodate.com, May 2024.
2. Thomas-Newborn RA, Foote B, Irani D, Silva M. Addressing Spiritual Needs in Outpatient Palliaitve Care: Lessons Learned. J Pain Symptom Manage 2025; 69(5): E497-498.
Read more of this week's issue of Pallinews
Plus
New! Palliative Care Atlas of the Americas 2025 The University of Navarra ATLANTES Project of the WHO Collaborating Center has just released its Atlas of Palliative Care for the Americas 2025, with up-do-date information on palliative care development in Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America. This is the fifth 2025 regional update in the series. See more about the series, with links to the others, in Katherine Pettus's advocacy column in this issue.
Looking for break room art? The Indian Association of Palliative Care has crafted more than 30 infographics for public use since 2023, with a new one added monthly. Preparing Palliative Teams for a Humanitarian Crisis is the most recent, following on the heels of Palliative Care in ICUs.
The Foundation for Palliative Care Education (PACED) is starting a series of free webinars on developing and strengthening palliative care associations. On Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. CET, Hospice UK's Chief Executive, Toby Porter, will describe how the UK’s national hospice network was established and expanded, the challenges his colleagues faced, and the practical steps that helped create a cohesive ‘umbrella’ organization linking various institutions. Register for the session, given in English and Russian.
IAHPC Resources
Free for everyone
Palliative Care for Persons with Dementia: WHO Tools for caregivers This webinar, held on October 30, 2025, was designed for clinical practitioners–particularly those working in the fields of palliative care and mental health; formal and informal caregivers, nursing home administrators, WHO country and regional offices, media representatives, and the public who wish to learn about evidence-based tools to support care for dementia patients with palliative care needs. It is a joint WHO-IAHPC "online conversation."
Free for members
Delirium is module 3 of IAHPC's Comprehensive Pain Assessment and Management Course. As with the other modules, this covers basic principles associated with symptom assessment, effective pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment options, and appropriate therapeutic regimens. Not a member yet? Join us!
Upcoming Events in the Calendar
Explore the IAHPC calendar of events to find educational events, conferences, and congresses to expand and improve your palliative care skills and knowledge.