2012; Volume 13, No 12, December

Message from the Chair and Executive Director

Dear readers:

Welcome to the last issue of our Newsletter in 2012.

By the end of this year, seven of our Board members will be completing their terms. They are: Zipporah Ali (Kenya); Michael Bennett (UK); Kin-San Chan (Hong Kong); David Currow (Australia); Scott Murray (UK); Faith Mwangi-Powell (USA) and Gayatri Palat (India). Please join us in thanking each of them for their contributions to IAHPC and their efforts in helping the organization achieve its mission. It has been an honor for us to have been able to work with these members of the Board.

During the past months, we sent several announcements asking IAHPC members (formerly termed members) to nominate candidates to these positions -- the deadline for nominations was November 30th. The response was enthusiastic and several candidates were nominated. Newly elected or re-elected members will be announced early in January 2013.

As the year ends, we are proud of the things we were able to achieve through our programs and projects and of the support we were able to provide to developing countries in the accomplishment of our mission. Some examples of activities aimed to improve the care of patients and families around the world, include:

We could not have been able to achieve the above without the generous support of our board of directors, our members, donors, foundations and organizations. We are especially grateful with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, the Open Society Foundations, the International Leadership Program at San Diego Hospice and the US Cancer Pain Relief Committee for their support.

All our donors and supporters believe in IAHPC's mission and in our goal to have an impact on the promotion and development of palliative care. Our ability to continue to help others depends heavily on the support we receive from everyone, so please consider donating to IAHPC. You can donate through our website at here.

We face many challenges in the future, especially because of the current global economic situation. We are aware that we face financial constraints and have prepared ourselves to meet these challenges. Our strong commitment to support the development of palliative care around the world will continue to be our driving force. We wish to thank all those who make our work worthwhile - the patients and their families, the health care workers, and the volunteers who dedicate and give so much to palliative care.

Best wishes to all of you, your friends and family members for the coming holidays and hope that next year will bring much happiness and success. May your dreams come true.

Regards,

Roberto Wenk, MD
Chair, Board of Directors

Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director

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