July 16, 2026

“Qualifying” for universal access

Dear Liliana De Lima,

Thank you for your thoughtful reflection on the FIFA World Cup [Pallinews, July 2] and the global palliative care community. As I read your words from Peru, they touched my heart in a very personal way.

This year, like many other countries, Peru is watching the World Cup from the sidelines. We did not qualify. Of course, there is disappointment—but there is also hope. We know that no nation reaches the World Cup overnight. It takes years of commitment, investment, teamwork, resilience, and the courage to keep believing after every setback.

As I finished reading your article, I realized that palliative care is living a similar story.

Many countries—including my own—are still striving to "qualify" for something far more important than a football tournament: universal access to quality palliative care. Every day, dedicated professionals do extraordinary work with limited resources, while countless patients and families continue to face unnecessary suffering simply because the care they deserve has not yet reached them.

The painful difference is that football allows us to wait four more years for another opportunity. Our patients cannot.

Every day without equitable access to palliative care is another day when someone dies in pain, another family feels abandoned, another caregiver carries a burden that could have been eased.

Yet your reflection reminded me why we continue.

Like the World Cup, our work brings together people from different languages, cultures, healthcare systems, and beliefs. We may wear different uniforms, but we play for the same team. Our victories are not measured in goals scored or trophies lifted, but in a pain relieved, a family comforted, a difficult conversation held with compassion, or a patient who feels seen, heard, and loved until the very end.

Here in Latin America, we often say that hope is something we cultivate together. Perhaps that is our greatest strength. Even when resources are scarce, we never stop showing up. We continue walking beside our patients, believing that dignity is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a human right for everyone.

Thank you for reminding us that we are part of a global community that refuses to accept unnecessary suffering as inevitable. Thank you for helping us believe that, one day, every country can "qualify"—not for the World Cup, but for a world where every person has access to compassionate, high-quality palliative care.

That would be the greatest championship humanity could ever win.

With deep gratitude, admiration, and warm Latin American affection,

Dr. Rosa Martínez
Geriatrician & palliative care physician
Lima, Peru

Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send yours to Pallinews editor Alison Ramsey.