From the President’s Desk
Dear friends,
As the festive season brings its warmth and light, I hope this November finds you and your loved ones in good health and good spirits.
My heartfelt congratulations to every individual, team and institution across India that celebrated World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) this year (10th October 2026). Your creativity and commitment to this year’s theme, “Pain Management: An Essential Part of Palliative Care,” were truly inspiring. I am proud to present a special page on the IAPC website that showcases WHPCD celebrations from across the country. Click here for glimpses of the celebrations. If your centre has not yet shared its celebration, I warmly invite you to submit it on the same page, so that the whole community can learn from your work and be inspired by it. You can submit via this submission form.
I am happy to share that the international conference organised by Indian Association of Palliative Care and Alpha Palliative Care, in commemoration of WHPCD, was successfully held in Edamuttam, Thrissur, Kerala, from 9 – 11 October. IAPC deeply appreciates Alpha Palliative Care, the organising team, the faculty, and everyone who contributed to and participated in the conference, making it a resounding success.
I also had the opportunity to present at HelpAge India’s webinar, organised on 15 October on the occasion of WHPCD, on ‘Pain & Beyond: Community-Centred Palliative Care for an Ageing Society’. I was honoured to have Dr. M R Rajagopal as co-speaker for the keynote address. Such platforms help bring palliative care into wider conversations on elder care, and I extend my sincere gratitude to HelpAge India for giving palliative care a place on its platform.
Several collaborative events are planned in the coming months to spread awareness about palliative care. IAPC will deliver special sessions at ISACON 2026 in Kovalam this November, and at IPSICON organised by Bhaktivedanta Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai in January 2027. My sincere thanks to all the organisations that have invited IAPC and chosen to collaborate with us.
It is also a busy month for nursing education. The final examination for IAPC’s Gold Medal for Nurses will be held on 23 November, and ‘Sharpen Your Skills’, IAPC’s Nurse Faculty Workshop, will take place on 21 – 22 November. Both programmes are scheduled to be held at the Institute of Nursing Sciences & Shri GH Patel School of Nursing, Bhaikaka University Campus, Karamsad, Anand, Gujarat.
Applications are now open for several training programmes offered by IAPC, including the maiden batch of the Foundation Course in Essentials of Paediatric Palliative Care. Applications are also open for the Foundation Course in Palliative Care for Volunteers, the Foundation Course in the Physiotherapy – Palliative Care Interface, and the Foundation Course in the Essentials of Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Care. Please visit the Education and Training section of this newsletter for details.
Do register for the 34th Annual International Conference of IAPC (IAPCON 2027), to be held from 19 to 21 February 2027 at the Convention Complex, SOA University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, with pre-conference workshops on 18 February. Registration and details are available on the conference website.
The deadline for abstract submission is 15 November 2026, and you can submit your abstract here. IAPC has announced several awards, including a prize pool of Rs. 4,00,000 for paper and poster presentations, along with participation grants to support delegates. You may be a winner, so make use of these opportunities!
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to Palliative Care.
With warm regards,
Dr. Geeta Joshi
President
Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC)