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Announcing the Results of Word Hospice and Palliative Care Day – 2025 Competitions

Congratulations to all the Participants!

The results are finally out!

Congratulations to all the participants for their thoughtful contributions to the IAPC’s Essay and Photography Competitions held in commemoration of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day- 2025.

The winners are:

Essay Writing

(Topic: How can we achieve universal access to palliative care in India? Challenges, innovations, and your vision)

1^st Prize: Ms Keshav Sharma, Psycho- Oncologist, Artemis Hospitals, Gurugram, Haryana
2^nd Prize: Ms Neetu, Nursing Officer, AIIMS, New Delhi
3^rd Prize: Dr Sandra O, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala

Photography:

(Theme: Faces, Places, and Moments of Compassion: Capturing Universal Access to Palliative Care)

1^st Prize: Dr Ankit Chandra, Assistant Professor, AIIMS-CAPFIMS, New Delhi
2^nd Prize: Ms Harshita D, Psychologist& Research Scholar, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka
3^rd Prize: Mr Mohankumar B. Thambad , Senior Manager, Palliative Care Services, SVYM, Dharward, Karnataka

The winners were selected through a rigorous evaluation process from an outstanding pool of 60 essays and 43 creative photographs.

The winners will receive awards of Rs 10,000, Rs 7,500, and Rs 5,000 for the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Prizes respectively along with certificates jointly issued by the IAPC and WHPCA.

The IAPC extends its warmest congratulations to all the winners!

Winners of the IAPC’s Theme Song Competition Announced

We are excited to announce the results of the prestigious Theme Song competition!

Two out of the 16 highly creative submissions received equal scores in the rigorous evaluation by the panel of judges to select IAPC’s theme Song:

The winners are:

Mr Umesh Pandey, Siliguri and Dr Geeta Joshi, Ahmedabad

Final theme song will be decided during the composing stage from the two finalist entries.

IAPC extends its heartfelt congratulations to the winners and to all who have submitted thoughtfully curated songs.

A Prize of Rs 11,000/- will be awarded to the winner.

The winning entry will be honoured as the official Theme Song of the IAPC, serving as a musical emblem of our shared commitment to dignity, compassion, and care.

Submit details of your ‘WHPCD celebrations’ in the IAPC’s National Portal

The IAPC invites palliative care institutions to share details from their World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) celebrations with the palliative care community, by way of publication in the IAPC’s website.

Congratulations to all those who celebrated WHPCD with various activities. The publication aims to present the palliative care community with a collection of celebrations from across the country / world, which are not only promising and encouraging, but also helps one to learn and grow from each other’s celebrations.

Click here to share details of how you celebrated WHPCD at your institution.

Click here to view the WHPCD Celebrations 2025.

IAPC’s Infographic of the month: Palliative Care in ICUs

The Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) in its constant endeavour to promote palliative care education and awareness across the country launched the ‘IAPC’s Infographic of the month’ initiative in June 2023. We are pleased to share with you the October 2025 infographic developed as a part of Care Continuum series. The focus of October Infographic is “Palliative Care in ICUs”.

Click here to access it and the other infographics published till date on the IAPC website.

IAPCON 2026 Presents “SHARK TANK – HOSPICE EDITION” & The IAPCON ANNUAL DEBATE

The Organising team of the 33^rd International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2026) has announced exciting and unique competitions for delegates to participate in and win!

IAPCON 2026 will present to you “SHARK TANK – HOSPICE EDITION”, for the first time in history!

Do you have a dream to start a Hospice? Submit your idea/proposal now!

Submit your entry now with a Hospice Infrastructure Plan, Staff Recruitment & Services, Funding Strategy, and Innovative Plan that Makes your Hospice a Unique one.

If you secure a position in the top 3, you will get the unique opportunity to present your proposal before our Panel of “Sharks”-Renowned Leaders in Hospice Care.

Attractive Prizes await you along with Mentorship & Expert Guidance from the “Sharks”!

Click here for more details.

Participate in IAPCON DEBATE! Where ideas collide and best arguments WIN!

Are you ready to showcase your WIT, ELOQUENCE, AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS? The stage is set for Annual Debate IAPCON 2026.

The organisers of IAPCON 2026 warmly invite you to participate in the exciting Debate competition where ideas collide and the best arguments WIN!

The topics are:

Topic 1 – DNR should be default in advance cancer patients admitted in ICU – Agree or Disagree?

Topic 2 – Should palliative care begin only when oncologists decide, or from the start of treatment?

Topic 3 – Community participation is more important than technology in the growth of palliative care – Yes or No?

In case of any query, please contact Ms. Shubha Pai. Email: paishubha02@gmail.com

The 33^rd International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care will be held between 13^th to 15^th February, 2026, at the National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Ni-MSME) Hyderabad. Pre- conference workshops will be held on Thursday, 12th February, 2026.

The deadline for abstract submissions for the conference is 30th December 2025.

Click here for registration and details.

IAPCON 2026: IAPC Announces Attractive Prizes worth Rs 4 Lakhs

For the Winners of Presentations

The Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) is pleased to announce a total of Rs 4,00,000 in awards for the winners of paper and poster presentations at the 33rd Annual International Conference of the IAPC (IAPCON 2026).

These prestigious awards will be under four distinct categories:

1. Doctors
2. Doctors (Students) – MD/DNB students from any speciality and students pursuing full-time, offline fellowships in any speciality
3. Nurses
4. Others – including Pharmacists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists, Counsellors, Social Workers, Volunteers, and allied professionals

Each category will have three awards each for both paper and poster presentations:

• First Prize: Rs 25,000 and a certificate
• Second Prize: Rs 15,000 and a certificate
• Third Prize: Rs 10,000 and a certificate

A total of 24 prizes (12 for paper presentations and 12 for poster presentations), across the four categories, will be awarded at IAPCON 2026.

Click here for details.

Don’t Miss It!

IAPC Newsletter – October 2025 Edition Now Available!

We’re pleased to share the October 2025 edition of the IAPC Newsletter, featuring important updates, educational opportunities, and inspiring stories from across India’s palliative care community.

The IAPC’s Exclusive Articles featured in this edition:

• ‘Achieving the promise‘ by Dr. M. R. Rajagopal, Thiruvananthapuram
• ‘Extending Compassion to the Mountains: A Journey into Palliative Care in Ladakh‘ by Dr. Rinchen Dolma, UT of Ladakh
• ‘A Global Circle of Care: How WhatsApp is Changing Palliative Nursing!‘ by Mr. Sachin Dwivedi

We thank each of our contributors for their support towards this edition of the newsletter.

Follow this link to read and share the newsletter.

Click here to subscribe for our Newsletter, if you have not done it already.

IAPCON 2026: Register now to avail the early bird registration rates!

The 33^rd Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2026) will be held at the National Institute for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (NI-MSME), Hyderabad, Telangana, between Friday, 13^th February, 2026, and Sunday, 15^th February 2026. Pre-conference workshops are scheduled to be held on Thursday, 12^th February, 2026.

IAPCON 2026 is themed ‘Continuum of Care: Hospital, Hospice, and Home’ to resonate with the importance of ensuring seamless and comprehensive care for patients across all stages of their healthcare journey, emphasizing collaboration and holistic support in diverse care settings. The conference aims to therefore strengthen the palliative care network and elevate its integration into the healthcare system of the nation.

The conference is being organised jointly by Sparsh Hospice – Centre for Palliative Care, Hyderabad, and the Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Hyderabad.

Register now to avail the early bird registration rates!

Click here to visit the conference website for further information.

IAPCON 2025 concludes with success and grandeur on 2^nd February, 2025

The 32^nd Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2025) concluded successfully at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Jammu, on Sunday, 2^nd February, 2025. The energy filled conference themed ‘Evidence based Palliative Care’ was held between Friday, 31^st January, 2025, and Sunday, 2^nd February, 2025.

Over 820 delegates from India and beyond participated at IAPCON 2025 to share ideas, exchange best practices, network and encourage peer learning.

344 delegates participated in 14 very innovative and interesting pre-conference workshops held on Thursday, 30^th January, 2025.

A total of 114 posters were presented, 87 oral presentations were held, and 45 free posters were listed at the conference.

Click here to read the complete report shared by the conference organisers.

Click here to access the photo gallery from IAPCON 2025.