Dear Readers:
This month we have many reasons to celebrate!
We are very proud of our Newsletter, but most of all we appreciate the work of those who have contributed for so many years to the content and made possible our monthly publication.
The Newsletter has proven to be a wonderful tool to disseminate a broad range of information and increase awareness about hospice and palliative care around the world, and has served as a tool for many of you to learn about new developments, events, and also to bring attention to your own programs, the challenges that many of you face, and the progress that thousands have been able to achieve.
We also thank the many contributors and board members who have supplied us with outstanding content each month. We especially thank our previous Senior Editor, Dr. William Farr for his dedication during 18 years as editor, Dr. Roger Woodruff for his monthly book reviews, Dr. Katherine Pettus for her policy pieces, and to Ms. Alison Ramsey, our current Senior Editor.
Many thanks as well to our members and readers who submit news and articles about their efforts and developments in their countries. Please remember that we accept articles for our publication that describe your progress and the programs that you are implementing in your countries, as well as news from your region. Your articles enrich our newsletter and are a crucial part of our mission to facilitate communication. Please contact Alison if you are interested in submitting a piece for our NL.
Thanks also to our webmaster, Mr. Danilo Fritzler for his excellent work in formatting and distributing the Newsletter. Each month Danilo receives the NL from Alison, transforms it into an electronic file, creates a text version and a web version, then sends it to nearly 8,000 subscribers!
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (NCD) in Vienna celebrated its 61st session of the last month with a focus on the rational access to controlled medicines. The IAHPC delegation was Heloisa Broggiato, Viktoriia Tymoshevska, Kseniya Shapoval, and IAHPC Advocacy Officer Dr. Katherine Pettus. Katherine’s column this month gives excellent information on exciting things happening at CND.
Liliana went to Rome last month to participate in the international congress of the Pontifical Academy for Life (Academia Pro Vita), which last year created a consultative group to study the expansion and development of palliative care around the world. The goal of this initiative is to make the various affected persons, both within and outside of the Church, aware of the scientific effectiveness and deep moral value of palliative care and serve as a driver to unify members of all religions and faiths in this initiative. The working group developed a series of recommendations for different stakeholder groups to promote and disseminate palliative care and the essence of caring, respect, and values of palliative care. The group of experts also presented a White Paper at the conference. We are looking forward to continuing our future work with the Academia Pro Vita. Congratulations to Monsignor Vicenzo Paglia, Dr. Nunziatta Comoretto, and Dr. Gaetano Corlone for their vision and efforts.
Until next month,
Lukas Radbruch, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director
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