Each month, we publish a selection of items that may be of interest to our global readership. Contributions are welcomed; we reserve the right to edit content.
Please also consider promoting your education and training events in the IAHPC Global Directory of Education in Palliative Care. It’s quick and easy — just submit your content online.
‘My Care, My Right’ is the theme of the 2019 World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, taking place on Saturday, 12 October. The day is a rallying point for people around the world to publicly press policy makers to make palliative care policies and services a priority.
Organized by the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), the day has traditionally been marked by dozens of diverse events, such as conferences, open houses, informal gatherings, marches, human chains, performances, etc.; this year includes a choral performance by the Voice for Hospice Choir at Winchester Cathedral. Add your event to the WHPCA website here; keep an eye on the site closer to the day for the full range of activities.
‘A key action for the campaign will be to call on governments to listen to people who need or access palliative care and support the inclusion of the essential package of palliative care in all national Universal Health Coverage (UHC) schemes,’ according to the WHPCA.
How to get involved
Fundación Hondureña para el Niño con Cáncer (Honduran Foundation for Children with Cancer) is an apolitical organization, powered by volunteers, that brought pediatric cancer care to Honduras. While providing care free of charge for patients from birth to 18 years old, the group noticed a problem: most of the children were coming to them with very late-stage cancer.
So it launched a public awareness campaign.
The campaign, approved by the Secretary of Education, involved going to public and private schools distributing an information sheet: 12 Symptoms of Pediatric Cancer. ‘We give materials to the kids, but our priority was the teachers, because they are with the kids seven hours a day,’ notes Nubia Zuniga, president and director of the Foundation. Now, five years later, the situation has reversed; ‘60% of the children we see are in the early stages of disease.’
‘It helps us to spend less money on medicines, there is less pain for the kids, and their treatment is a bit shorter,’ says Nubia. ‘It’s something we’re very proud of.’
This year, the program is spreading from the initial seven departments, or states, to seven more. The last four, which are the most distant and have the fewest residents, are scheduled for next year.
Read more about Fundación Hondureña para el Niño con Cáncer in this issue’s Progress Report.
Dr. David Olivieri, former director of Education and Training at St. Christopher’s Hospice in London, is collaborating once again with Jon Baines Tours to create a 14-day tour of Northern India from 15-29 March 2020.
The palliative care portion of the trip includes visits to:
The tour intersperses these sessions with cultural highlights — such as sightseeing in old Kolkata; roaming a textile bazaar; visiting a bird sanctuary, a spice market, and the Taj Mahal; taking a cruise of the Ganges and more.
The cost is $USD3,995, excluding international flights and transfers. To learn more, visit the Jon Baines Tours website.
The following events were added last month to the IAHPC Calendar of Events:
Find the workshop, seminar, congress, or conference that speaks to you in the IAHPC Calendar of Events, updated monthly, that lists activities of special interest to those who work in palliative care. Or submit an event for consideration; it’s free!
Previous Page News Index Next Page
This newsletter, including (but not limited to) all written material, images, photos are protected under international copyright laws and are property of the IAHPC. You may share the IAHPC newsletter preserving the original design, the IAHPC logo, and the link to the IAHPC website, but you are not allowed to reproduce, modify, or republish any material without prior written permission from the IAHPC.