From the President’s Desk

Dear Friends,

Dr. Geeta Joshi

On 25th September 2025, we lost a remarkable soul and a true pioneer, Dr. Balfour Mount, who passed away in the palliative care unit that bears his name at the Royal Victoria Hospital of McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, Canada. The Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) joins the global community in mourning his passing and extends our deepest condolences to his family, and all who grieve this profound loss. To honour his enduring contributions and extraordinary legacy, the IAPC has dedicated a special memoir note to Dr. Balfour Mount.

As we hold Dr. Mount’s memory close, we also look ahead to the future. The global palliative care community is gearing up to celebrate the most important day of the year—World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD)—on Saturday, 11th October, 2025. This is a truly special occasion, a unique opportunity for us, to raise our collective voice and reaffirm the importance of universal access to hospice and palliative care.

In commemoration of WHPCD, the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) is presenting a series of meaningful programs. Since July 2025, we have been featuring special articles in the IAPC Newsletter/website based on this year’s World Day theme: “Achieving the Promise: Universal Access to Palliative Care”.

We are delighted to share that the national essay and photography competitions, jointly organised by IAPC and the Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), received an overwhelming response—with 60 essay entries and 43 photography submissions. Congratulations to all participants! Your contributions reflect your passion and commitment to advancing palliative care. The results will be announced on 11th October, 2025.

Our ongoing webinar series, led by eminent faculty and focusing on diverse aspects of the theme, has been receiving enthusiastic participation from India and abroad. The final session in this series will be held on 11th October from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., and I warmly invite you to join us for this inspiring session.

I also encourage you to explore the Announcements/ Messages from IAPC section in this issue of the Newsletter for details of IAPC’s WHPCD programs.

In addition, the WHPCD celebration submission page is now live on the IAPC website. We invite organisations and individuals to share photographs and reports of their celebrations. Let us showcase our collective efforts to the world through our national platform.

Together, let us celebrate WHPCD 2025 with renewed commitment and shared purpose.

I extend IAPC’s warmest congratulations to all nurses who participated in the Step 1 examination for the IAPC Gold Medal for Nurses, 2025. The results have been announced, and the top five rank holders will now appear for the final round.

On behalf of the IAPC, I am delighted to extend heartfelt appreciation to Dr. H. K. Das (EC Member, IAPC, North East Region), who has been honoured by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) for reviewing 20 abstracts for the 19th World Congress of the EAPC.

IAPC continues to prioritise education and training in palliative care. Highlights from this month include the first Palliative Medicine PG Assembly 2025 held at Karunashraya, Bengaluru; the launch of training under the National Program for Palliative Care in Ahmedabad involving staff from 85 Urban Health Centres;  the successful online delivery of the Foundation Course in Palliative Care Pharmacy, attended by over 70 participants,  and the successful delivery of the Foundation Course in Palliative Care for Volunteers jointly organised  by the  IAPC and Rotary Club of Tirupati. Details of upcoming programs are available in the Education and Training section.

The West Bengal Chapter is set to host its first state conference—WBIAPCON 2026—on 23rd November 2025, with pre-conference workshops on 22nd November. Congratulations to the organisers, and I warmly invite members from West Bengal and neighbouring states to join.

I was honoured to deliver the Keynote Address on the “Basic Concepts of Palliative Care” at GIMACON, where I was privileged to be invited as Guest of Honour for the inaugural session of the conference. GIMACON is the annual medical conference of the Indian Medical Association, Goa State Branch, and was held on 27th and 28th September in Goa. Congratulations to the organisers for staging such a brilliant academic event, and for introducing the concept of palliative care to a wider audience.

Looking ahead, I invite you to register for our annual conference, IAPCON 2026, to be held in Hyderabad from 13th to 15th February 2026.

This edition of the newsletter also features insightful articles:

Do enjoy this issue of the Newsletter, and join us for the IAPC’s WHPCD Webinar on 11th October 2025.

Warm regards.

Dr. Geeta Joshi
President, Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC)