2013; Volume 14, No 12, December

Message from the Chair and Executive Director

From the IAHPC Chair

Dear readers:

On December 31, I will complete my second term as Chairman of the Board of Directors of IAHPC. In this message, I reflect on the accomplishments our organization achieved during the past six years.

I am happy to have had the opportunity to serve in the IAHPC, one of the leading global palliative care organizations. I wish to thank the core managerial working group led by Liliana De Lima for the interest, effort and excellence in developing each task and project that was initiated during my tenure. Many thanks also the members of the Board of Directors for their support during my involvement in various working groups, it gave me an opportunity for personal development.

I am convinced that a small group of motivated people can make a big difference. When I started my term this was my belief and after 6 years I believe it to be true. I don’t think there is a ceiling to the potential for development of an organization like ours, although it is true that resources modulate the results, however, commitment, curiosity and get-up-and-go can bring about extraordinary achievements. IAHPC is an example of this concept at work.

In 2007 we developed, with members of the Board of Directors, a five-year strategic plan that we have largely accomplished and in some cases, surpassed.

The following is a summary of the main activities and outcomes we achieved during my tenure as Chair:

Advocacy

1. Availability and access to palliative care medications:

2. Vienna Non-Governmental Organization Committee on Drugs (VNGOC). The VNGOC committee is the link between NGO's and the key intergovernmental and international agencies involved in drug policy, strategy and control including the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), the International Narcotics Control Board and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). IAHPC became a member of VNGOC early in 2013.

3. International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC): IDPC is a global network of 107 NGOs and professional networks that specialize in issues related to the production and use of controlled drugs. The aim of the Consortium is to promote objective and open debate on the effectiveness, direction and content of drug policies at the national and international level, and support evidence-based policies that are effective in reducing drug-related harm. IAHPC is a “network member” of IDPC joining in early 2013.

Resources

1. Pallipedia – the objective was to develop and continuously grow a high quality, objective educational resource dictionary for the global palliative care community. The dictionary is continuously growing and is available in http://pallipedia.org/main-page.php

2. Essential practices in palliative care - definitions of palliative care practice which may be applicable to all areas of the world. This was completed in 2010 and is available in https://iahpc.org/what-we-do/projects/palliative-care-essentials/iahpc-list-of-essential-practices-in-palliative-care/

3. We launched a new website with functional structure and low maintenance – with 182,443 visits during the last year and more than 15,000 visits per month, of which 82.3 % are new visitors.

4. Opioids Price Watch – a project to provide worldwide information on access to pain treatment, as measured by the availability and dispensed price of opioids. The pilot project was completed and a report was submitted for publication.

Programs

1. Membership program. Membership fees are based on a country’s income with the goal of facilitating enrollment of individuals from countries with limited resources.

2. We began to provide access for our members to the CINAHL database and full online access to the following palliative care journals: Indian Journal of Palliative Care, International Journal of Palliative Nursing, Internet Journal of Pain, Symptom Control & Palliative Care, Journal of Palliative Medicine, Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, Palliative Medicine and Progress in Palliative Care.

3. The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (DPWMF) provided support for education and research in Africa that was coordinated by IAHPC. The objective of this program was to build, improve and advance research capacity in palliative care and improve palliative care education in select Sub-Saharan African countries. Thanks to a grant from the DPWMF, IAHPC was able to support palliative care education in Sub-Saharan Africa during the years 2011 to 2013. The funds have been entirely allocated and IAHPC is unable to provide further support to this program. The list the grantees who benefited from scholarships in two categories is available in https://iahpc.org/what-we-do/programs/dpwmf-iahpc-bursaries/

On January 1st, IAHPC will welcome Dr. Lukas Radbruch as the new Chair and I wish him the best of luck in the upcoming years. I’m looking forward to continue to serve IAHPC in my new role as Past Chair. I will collaborate with Dr. Radbruch and the management team to advance palliative care in the world.

Best wishes to all of you.
Roberto Wenk, MD
Chair Board of Directors 2007-2013

From the Executive Director

Dear readers:

As you know, Roberto is completing his term as Chair of IAHPC at the end of 2013. It has been a wonderful experience to work under his leadership and I am very grateful for all his support and encouragement. During Roberto’s tenure we were able to accomplish many things that have proven to be a useful for palliative care workers around the world. I will always be grateful for his trust and mentorship during his years as Chair.

I also look forward to working with Dr. Lukas Radbruch, who will begin as IAHPC Chair in January 2014. If you wish to read more about Lukas, click on his bio in our Board of Director’s page: https://iahpc.org/bio/lukas-radbruch/

In addition to Roberto’s role as Chair ending, the term of several of our Board members will be completed by the end of the year: Fraser Black, Eduardo Bruera, Frank Ferris, Kathy Foley, Peter Hudson and Yvonne Luxford. They participated actively in working committees, provided helpful guidance and advice, and many secured funds to support our office. It has been a privilege to work with them.

For many of you, this time of the year means the end of your membership in IAHPC. Please remember to renew your membership so that you may continue helping us help others. Applications for new memberships or renewals can be found in https://iahpc.org/join-iahpc/

As part of our mission to work on effective interventions and projects to promote appropriate policy and educational changes in hospice and palliative care in the world, we recently organized and facilitated an opioid availability workshop in Managua, Nicaragua. Participants included pain and palliative care physicians, pharmacists, nurses and individuals working in primary care centers in rural areas. Since only injectable morphine is available in Nicaragua patients at home do not have access to pain treatment. This workshop resulted in the identification of six strategies and solutions proposed by the group at the end of two days which were presented to the Ministry of Health for their review. We hope that this workshop will lead to significant improvements in opioid availability in the country.

We recently announced ten Traveling Scholarships to support palliative care workers from developing countries who wish to attend the Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care (ALCP) in Medellin, Colombia, on March next year. A copy of the announcement is included in this edition of the Newsletter. Deadline to apply for a scholarship is December 31, 2013.

The European School of Medical Oncology (ESMO) recently released and published in Annals of Oncology, the results of global survey on access to medications for cancer pain treatment. The project was done in collaboration with 22 partner organizations, including IAHPC. The results underscore once again, the huge gap that exists in access to pain treatment and the need for governments to take action to ensure that restrictive laws and regulations do not impede access to legitimate medical use. This edition of the NL also includes an announcement and links to the survey results.

We could not have been able to achieve the above as well as the many outcomes mentioned by Roberto in his farewell message 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, Grunenthal GmbH, 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 you and everyone mentioned, so please consider donating to IAHPC.

You can donate through our website at https://iahpc.org/donate/

We face many challenges in the future, including the closing of the DPWMF which will have an effect on our ability to continue providing support in African countries. 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 you 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 you, your friends and family for the coming holidays and hope that next year will bring much happiness and success. May your dreams come true.

Until next month,
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director

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