Message from the Chair
and Executive Director
The Board of Directors, Officers and Staff members of IAHPC are sorry for the terrible earthquake that recently struck Chile and for the loss of life, property and infrastructure that this huge quake has caused. Our thoughts and good wishes are with the families of the victims and all those who have suffered injuries, we hope they have a quick recovery.
Message from the Chair and Executive Director
Dear readers:
As we announced in a previous edition of this newsletter, IAHPC hosted a workshop in Lima, Peru during February to develop a strategy to improve opioid availability in three countries in Latin America. This workshop is a modified version of a strategy developed by Mr. David Joranson while Director of the Pain and Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin.
The workshop was composed of participants from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pain and Policy Studies Group (PPSG), representatives from the regulatory offices of the Ministries of Health, and pain and palliative care specialists. We are working with Mexico, Chile and Peru. At the end of the workshop, each country presented a summary of the barriers to the availability of opioids and suggested solutions to eliminate or minimize them. This workshop was possible, thanks to donations from the Open Society Institute in New York and the De Lima Bohmer Foundation in Colombia. Future steps include implementing the action plans in each country, including local workshops with palliative care and pain experts plus representatives from the regulatory authorities. Below is a picture of all the participants – many thanks to all who accepted our invitation and especially for their commitment to improve opioid availability for medical and scientific needs.
The IAHPC Essential Practices project is operational. We sent an email to more than 1,200 participants; we have had a huge response to our invitation to participate. We also provided instructions on how to complete the first Delphi round. Many thanks to all those who responded. It is wonderful to see how IAHPC reaches many individuals from all the corners of the world.
During this month IAHPC will be participating in two important palliative congresses with a stand in the exhibit area:
- First, the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) in Boston, USA, March 3-6.
- Second, the Fifth Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care (ALCP) in Buenos Aires, Argentina on March 15-18.
We look forward to meeting with participants, answering questions about IAHPC and reaching out to our members in North and Latin America.
We are also glad to announce that thanks to a donation from the US National Cancer Institute, we were able to provide Traveling Scholarships to the following individuals to support their participation in the Fifth Congress of the ALCP in Buenos Aires:
• Linda Bustamante, pediatric palliative care physician from Guatemala.
• Magalys Chacon, palliative care nurse from Habana, Cuba.
• Mercedes Franco, palliative care psychologist from Colombia.
• Maricarmen Gonzalez, palliative care psychologist from Mexico.
• Carolina Palacio, psychologist from Colombia.
• Tania Pastrana, physician and anthropologist from Colombia, health
researcher working in palliative care currently working in Germany.
• Javier Rojas, nurse and palliative care psychologist from Costa Rica.
• Ana Milena Sanchez, pediatric hematology – oncology fellow from Colombia.
Congratulations to all our grantees for receiving these awards. We hope they are successful in achieving their objectives and look forward to reading their reports after they return.
Until next month,
Roberto Wenk, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director
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