From the President’s Desk

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar

Hello Friends,

The 2024 theme of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD), ‘Ten Years Since the Resolution: How Are We Doing?’ urges the global Palliative Care Community to examine the stark reality of access to palliative care. The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA) estimates that while over half of the need for palliative care is met in high-income countries, only 4% of the need is met in Low and Middle Income Countries, which unfortunately highlights the continuing and shocking disparity in access to palliative care. I urge each of you to raise your voices and unite with the global Palliative Care Community to draw attention from the relevant stakeholders across the health sector to this critical issue. Let’s begin planning for our World Day Programs to spotlight and garner attention towards this significant issue. Please click here for further information on this.

The IAPC’s infographic of the month focuses on the concept of ‘Titrating Dose of Oral Morphine in Palliative Care’. Please click here to access all the infographics published till date. Feel free to share them within your networks to advocate for palliative care.

The IAPC is currently inviting registrations for the 4th online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care for Volunteers’. I encourage you to please share this course announcement with anyone who can commit time and are willing to offer their services in palliative care facilities. Do note that applications to join the course must be submitted before Friday, 3rd May, 2024. I am also happy to share that the 5th online batch of the IAPC’s ‘Certificate Course in Palliative Care Pharmacy’ was delivered successfully on Saturday, 16th March, 2024 with twenty-three individuals participating in the same.  

I request you to please visit the ‘Education and Training’ section of this newsletter to learn more about the above mentioned programs and also about the myriad academic initiatives and excellent training programs in palliative care, which have been undertaken by organizations from across the country.  My warmest appreciation to all my colleagues and fellow organizations for their efforts and hard work towards organising these activities which aim to improve the quality of palliative care across India.

Once again, we have much to celebrate for in March! I take immense pride and am also filled with happiness as I present to you the ‘Awards and Recognition’ section of the this edition of the IAPC’s newsletter. Please join me in congratulating our friends and institutions for their awards and milestones! These achievements are testimonials to one’s persistent efforts towards alleviating unnecessary health suffering by improving access and availability of palliative care services.

I invite you to read the three very interesting articles published as this month’s ‘IAPC’s Exclusive articles’. I extend my sincere gratitude to each of our contributors for their support towards this edition of the newsletter. The articles featured in this edition are:

On behalf of the organising team of the 32nd Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2025), I invite you to register for the conference and make use of the early bird registration offer. The conference themed, ‘Evidence based Palliative Care’, is scheduled to be held at the Auditorium of AIIMS Jammu, between Friday, 31st January, 2025, and Sunday, 2nd February, 2025. Pre-conference workshops will be held on Thursday, 30th January, 2025. Do visit the conference website for further information. 

I leave you with an invitation to join us for the upcoming musical evening of harmonies, ‘Singing for the Stars’ scheduled for 2:50 p.m. on Thursday, 18th April, 2024. Thank you, Team SMA Nirvana, for your unwavering support and commitment towards this initiative. Please head over to the ‘Announcements / Messages from IAPC’ section of this newsletter for further information on this.

Take care.

With best wishes,

Dr. Sushma Bhatnagar
President, IAPC