Keeping the Faith: Spiritual care transcends any one religion
The IAHPC Interfaith Advocacy Network held its first open access webinar, cohosted by the Pontifical Academy for Life, on February 11, the 34th World Day of the Sick.
Photo courtesy of Gospel of Life Disciples + Dwellings. Used with permission.
It began with Catholic reflections on the theology and practice of palliative care, in the context of Pope Leo XIV's theme for the day: “Compassion of the Samaritan: Bearing the Pain of the Other.” This was followed by reflections on the topic by palliative care practitioners and scholars of other faiths. Six panelists gave presentations on their work, including: Father Tullio Proserpio (Pal-Life Project and Pontifical Academy for Life in Vatican City, and the National Cancer Institute in Milan), Sister Maria of the Trinity (Gospel of Life Disciples + Dwellings in the USA and Guatemala), Benedictine Prior Jean Pierre Bakurerehe (Gihindamuyaga Monastery in Rwanda), Dr. Harjot Singh Birgi (Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences, Sri Guru Ram Das Hospice) Venerable Huei Kai (Fo Guang Shan Monastery, Graduate Institute of Religious Studies at Nanhua University in Taiwan), and Dr. Diah Martina (IAHPC board, Division of Psychosomatic and Palliative Medicine at Universitas in Indonesia).
Of the 642 who registered, 217 attended. The open access recording is posted on IAHPC's YouTube channel and can be reached via IAHPC's social media. I introduced the webinar by reading a message from Monsignor Lorenzo Pegoraro endorsing the event on the part of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which affirmed that:
"This year's World Day of the Sick invites us to reflect on compassion as a profoundly human and eminently practical response to suffering: a compassion that draws near, remains present, and is willing to share in the burden of another's pain. Such an understanding of compassion finds one of its most authentic expressions in palliative care, where the relief of suffering, attentive accompaniment, and respect for human dignity converge in daily clinical practice."
You can read my full report.
More on supporting faith leaders
Also in pursuit of the Advocacy Program’s strategic objective to “Support chaplains and faith leaders to improve palliative care knowledge and practice, aligned with the Essential and Expanded Palliative Care Packages,” I presented virtually at the biennial conference of the African Christian Health Associations on “Implementing the Maruzza Foundation Religions of the World Charters on palliative care for children and older persons.” You can watch my short recorded presentation, and view a video of IAHPC Member Dr. Obangjungla Obangjungla, who launched home-based palliative care in her retirement.
Including Palliative Care in a Binding UN Treaty
Regular readers of my column will recall that the IAHPC attended the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing in New York from 2014 to 2024, advocating for the inclusion of a right to palliative care for older persons in any binding treaty developed by UN member states. The advocacy of all global civil society organizations representing the rights of older persons finally bore fruit in a 2025 Human Rights Council resolution authorizing an intergovernmental working group to begin drafting the treaty. I participated in the group's first meeting to ensure that palliative care standards are included in the text, and was delighted to hear many member states acknowledging the gaps in service provision. I will continue attending these groups' meetings to ensure that this historic treaty includes palliative care standards.
CND69, Here We Come!
As usual, an IAHPC delegation will attend the regular session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna. The delegation will consist of myself, Dr. Brandon Maser, and Dr. Chiara Rambaldi. We have organized a side event for the CND's March session. The side event—cosponsored by Belgium, Canada, Ghana, and South Africa—is titled “Ten Years Since UNGASS: New Tools to Help Member States Implement Their 2016 Outcome Document Commitments on Controlled Medicines.”
Ambassador Matilda Aku Alomatu Osei-Agyeman of Ghana will open the session; Prof. Lukas Radbruch, former IAHPC board president, will discuss the Essential and Expanded Palliative Care Packages for Adults and Children and the Manual on the Use of Essential Palliative Care Medicines for Adults; Dr. Emmanuel Luyirika will represent the International Narcotic Control Board’s Learning Program, Dr. Dilkushi Poovendran will present the 2025 WHO guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure medical access and safety, and Dr. Maser, representing the Young Doctors Network, will discuss access to controlled medicines for children. The event is hybrid, and you can join at 10 a.m. CET, 9 a.m. UTC at this link
Stay tuned for my March report on the event and other advocacy doings.
Read more of this week's issue of Pallinews
IAHPC News
New IAHPC Course: Advancing Palliative Care in Healthcare Settings This online course, beginning April 9 and running for four consecutive Thursdays, aims to equip participants with the knowledge, tools, and mentorship needed to advocate for the integration of the Essential and Expanded Palliative Care Packages for Adults and Children in their institutions. IAHPC members who work in institutions are eligible to apply. The course is limited to 12 people; the deadline for applications is March 13. Join IAHPC today!
IAHPC's World Day of the Sick webinar is freely available for viewing, and an upcoming webinar on “Ten Years Since the UNGASS Outcome Document: New tools to help member states fulfil their commitments on controlled medicines” will be held in March. Read about both in this month's Advocacy roundup.
Two new buttons have been added to the IAHPC homepage, in the lower right-hand corner: a "search" button to quickly locate things on the IAHPC website, and instant access to the latest items in "What's New."
Plus
Children in Need Lack Necessary Medicines A team of international experts has called for greater efforts to address the widespread global failure to ensure children—particularly those in low-income and middle-income countries—have access to essential medicines for pain, seizures, anaesthesia, and other serious conditions. Research underpinning this conclusion was published in this and this article in last week's The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health co-authored by IAHPC member and PhD candidate Brandon Maser, lead author of one of the articles. Other authors included former board members. IAHPC membership is free for undergraduate & post-graduate students in healthcare: join today. Download the Essential & Expanded Palliative Care Packages for Children issued in 2025.
End-of-Life Essentials has updated its 40-minute, free online course "Emergency Department End-of-Life Care." Registration for Australia-based EOL Essentials, giving access to several education modules and training resources, is free.
IAHPC Resources
Free for everyone
Getting Started: an online guide and suggestions to creating a hospice or palliative care service. It covers 14 topics related to beginning a service from scratch, from the overarching basics ("What is Palliative Care?") to nuts-and-bolts, detailed advice about management & governance, the palliative care team, volunteers, and much more.
Free for members
Wondering how your regional or national association can advocate to strengthen PC services in your country? Watch the online course, "Advocacy for Global, Regional, and National Palliative Care," given by IAHPC Senior Director of Advocacy and Partnerships Katherine Pettus.
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.