ICPCN would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the Holiday Season and 2026!
As I write this today, I have been reflecting on 2025, ICPCN’s 20th Anniversary, and all that has happened around the world, and for ICPCN. There have been many challenges, including armed conflict, natural disasters, decreased resources and yet, despite this, as I think about our recent 4th International conference in Manila I think of the passion, commitment, friendships and momentum for moving forward together to ensure that all children in need have access to palliative care.
This year has been an amazing year for ICPCN and for children’s palliative care. With three new team members joining us – Callie, Gaby and Helena – we have gone from strength to strength and I am so proud of all that our team has achieved, whilst recognising that there is still so much to do.
At our conference in Manila, we had 420 delegates from over 50 countries, with a shared commitment to strengthening palliative care services for children and their families. A major highlight of the conference was the spirit of partnership. Delegates consistently emphasised the value of working across borders, sectors and disciplines to reach more children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. Conversations in sessions, hallways and networking spaces sparked new ideas, new research links, and new commitments to shared action. As the conference closed, one message resonated above all: every child deserves access to high-quality palliative care, no matter where they live. The connections made, knowledge shared, and ideas generated at this year’s conference will continue to shape ICPCN’s work in the months and years ahead. We extend our deepest thanks to everyone who contributed, participated and supported this important gathering. Read more here and watch this great opening day video!
As 2025 draws to a close we are delighted to be able to share ICPCN’s 20-year Impact Report, marking 20 years since ICPCN was founded. This report offers a reflective look back at the beginnings of ICPCN — how a shared vision grew into a global movement working to ensure that every child’s right to palliative care is recognised and realised. It charts key moments in our history and highlights some of the remarkable achievements made possible through collaboration, advocacy, and commitment across the world.
The report reflects:
- Two decades of global partnership and advocacy
- Significant progress in expanding children’s palliative care services worldwide
- Powerful stories from children, families, and professionals
- A clear and hopeful vision for the future
Read more here.
Central to all that we do as ICPCN are the children and their families that we care for around the world. For the past 20 years, ICPCN has been striving to highlight the need for children’s palliative care around the world through our work. Amidst all the ongoing activity, it is important that we stop and listen to the voices of children and families, and what it is like for them day to day – the joys and the sadness – on this often lonely journey. These stories such of those of Shaghig and her son Garen, remind us that palliative care is not about giving up, but about choosing humanity, presence and love.
You can read Garen’s story here and we are pleased to share with you our latest publication Heart Strings – a moving collection of stories from families and organisations around the world. Through these global voices, Heart Strings reveals both the similarities and differences in experience across countries, highlighting the universal value and importance of children’s palliative care. You can read Heart Strings here.
Reflecting on the past 20 years, and our conference, and looking ahead to 2026 we are preparing to introduce several exciting developments and will tell you more about these over the coming months. Meanwhile we hope that you all have a good holiday season and wish you all the best for 2026 and we look forward to together moving forward — united in our mission to ensure that every child has access to palliative care worldwide.
Best wishes
Julia Downing, Chief Executive, and the ICPCN Team.
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