Dear readers,
Several important things are happening at the international level:
First, this month is the 59th session of the commission on narcotic drugs (CND) in Vienna. On March 15th, IAHPC will be co-sponsoring along with other NGOs, as well as Mexico, Panama and Lithuania, a side event called Resolving the Global Crisis of Untreated Pain by Improving Access to Controlled Medicines within the Framework of the SDGs. The purpose of this event is to facilitate a high-level discussion on how best to frame international and national responses to the public health crisis of unrelieved pain within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals. Speakers include Mr. Sergio Chaparro from DeJusticia NGO, Colombia, Dr. Gilberto Gerra, Chief of Drug Prevention and Health Branch at UNODC, Dr. Mabvuto Kango, Acting Head of Health, Population and Nutrition, at the African Union, Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization, Mr. Julio Sánchez y Tepoz, Acting Head of the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks in Mexico, and Dr. Werner Sipp, President of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The event will be chaired by Lukas.
Katherine has worked very hard preparing and organizing this event and we are honored and excited to be part of it. If you have contacts among your Secretaries of State or in your Ministries of Health, please pass this information on, inviting the representatives of your missions in Vienna to attend. Lack of access to essential medicines for pain relief is a critical issue and one we all need to unite to solve. For additional information please contact Katherine Pettus.
This past month, in line with their annual report, the INCB released a supplement called the Availability Report on access to controlled medicines for medical and scientific needs, underscoring the lack of access to controlled medicines for patients in need throughout the globe. Congratulations to the INCB for preparing this report and for raising awareness of this issue. We hope that this report will lead to better understanding and better compliance from member states to their obligations – that is, ensuring access to medicines while preventing diversion for misuse.
And finally, we are happy to announce the 21 grantees of IAHPC Traveling Scholarships to the VIII Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care (Asociacion Latinoamericana de Cuidados Paliativos) in Mexico City in April this year. They are:
Argentina
Mariana Pechenik, MD, Palliative Care Program Coordinator, Institucion Obra Medico Asistencial, La Plata.
Chile
Maria Angelica Becerra, Pain Management and Palliative Care, Hospital Sotero del Rio Hospital, Santiago.
Carolina Andrea Jana, MD, Medical Palliative Care Unit, Red Salud Christus UC, Santiago.
Irene Muñoz, MD, Family Health Nurse, Clinica Familia, Santiago.
Maria Jose Puga, MD, Palliative Care Medical Unit Chief, Valdivia Hospital Base, Valdivia.
Alfredo Rodriquez, Universidad Catolica, Santiago.
Colombia
Edier Mauricio Arias, RN, MSc, Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia, Bogota.
Xiomara Carmona, RN, Hospital Pablo Tobon Uribe, Envigado.
Gloria Mabel Carrillo, Professor, Universidad Nacional, Bogota.
Cesar Consuegra, MD, Palliative Care Physician, Cuidarte Home Care, Bogota.
Ricardo Salamanca, Spiritual Counselor and Psychologist, Hospice Presentes, Bogota.
Marina Alejandra Torres, Psychologist, University Konrad Lorenz, Bogota.
Costa Rica
Javier Alexander Rojas, Palliative Care Program, Caja Costaricense de Seguridad Social, San Jose.
Julio Cesar Rojas, Surgeon, Caja Costaricense de Seguridad Social, Tarrazu.
Cuba
Margarita Chacon, Nurse Professor, National Palliative Care Program, National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, La Habana.
Mariusk Forteza, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care, National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, La Habana.
Ecuador
Viviana Davalos, MD, Director, Department of Health Sciences, Technical University of Loja, Loja.
Alexandra Tatiana Fernandez, MD, Attending Physician, Sisters Hospitallers’ Our Lady of Guadalupe Clinic, Quito.
Ximena Pozo, MD, Medical Hospice, Hospital Comprehensive Care of the Elderly – Ministry of Health, Quito.
El Salvador
Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Psychologist, Hospital Divina Providencia, San Salvador
Mexico
Ines Francis Gomez, MD, Navojoa, Mexico.
Congratulations to the grantees – we hope they will enjoy the congress and we look forward to their reports after their return.
Until next month,
Lukas Radbruch, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director
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