The atlas is available in English and Spanish.
The Asia-Pacific Palliative Care Atlas: A potent new advocacy tool
Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network's 2025 Atlas of Palliative Care can be used to bolster advocacy to introduce palliative care, and also to help extend care where weaknesses persist alongside established strengths.
Launched today at the 16th Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Conference in Malaysia, it is the first such atlas for the region. Coordinated by Spain's ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care, housed at the University of Navarra, this atlas joins ones for Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, and Latin America, all of which are being updated.
A useful 'business card'
"Countless colleagues tell us that the atlas is like a professional business card that can be handed in at health ministries, so that they begin to understand what palliative care is," says Carlos Centeno, ATLANTES director. "The Asia-Pacific region has never been evaluated in a systematic way, with all countries simultaneously."
Shining examples
Dr. Carlos Centeno
About 120 consultants and heads of national palliative care organizations provided data that underpins the atlas. It reveals that Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, and New Zealand provide care "at the highest world level." Also, there has been "vigorous development" of care in China, home to 2,287 regional and provincial palliative care services and initiatives.
The need remains great, however, and there are large gaps in access to services and controlled medicines for pain relief.
Type of Information Collected
- Groups that promote the right of patients to palliative care
- Health policies
- Research & its quality
- Use of essential medicines
- Palliative care education in medical & nursing schools
- Specialized palliative care services
Poor access to morphine
"A sad surprise is the low availability of morphine, which is available in less than 10% of rural areas and is also scarce in the cities," says Centeno. The atlas reports that 75% of the region's territories do not have oral morphine for pain management in their primary care facilities.
Island 'beacons'
25 Million Are in Need
Asia-Pacific's 4.3 billion people have the highest proportion of those in need of palliative care in the world. It is estimated at 25 million people, including many children, who represent 27% of the global need.
A happy surprise was finding island "beacons of palliative care that mark the path of many other neighboring islands lost in the immensity of the Pacific," says Centeno, citing Tonga and the Solomon Islands. Furthermore, palliative care is "an essential component of national health policies" in the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, and Palau.
Advocacy & awareness
Advocacy has led to a growing awareness of patient rights and palliative care in the region. This atlas, like its other regional counterparts, can help further advocacy nationally and have an impact locally too.
Centeno cites an example: "A woman working in the US came across our Atlas of Palliative Care in Latin America, which motivated her to ask IAHPC where and how she could help. Since then, she has dedicated her summers to helping raise awareness in a Central American country."
The atlases are available free to download on the ATLANTES website.
Read more of this week's issue of Pallinews
2 Global Wins
Palliative care included in WHO Pandemic Agreement & rights for older persons being drafted by the UN. A column by Katherine Pettus.
Abraham Fuks' The Language of Medicine
Reviewed by Romayne Gallagher.
In Memoriam
Godspeed, Pope Francis
Katherine Pettus thanks Pope Francis for his supportive stance toward palliative care.