Writing for the IAHPC newsletter, Dr Krakauer pays tribute to the years of advocacy by both Dr Kumar and Dr Rajagopal that contributed to advances in palliative care policy in India, and describes the ‘Kerala model’ of palliative care which, according to Dr Krakauer, “unites government policy with community initiative.”
Dr Krakauer reports that: “The state palliative care policy… envisaged each panchayat partnering with one or more local non-government organizations (NGOs) to provide more intensive palliative home care free of charge for anyone in need, including the rural poor. To date, local public/private palliative care partnerships have been created only in a minority of communities across the state. But in those that exist, the healthcare system has been strengthened because the community assumes part of the responsibility to care for its own.”
Read more and view photographs from Dr Krakauer’s visit on the IAHPC website.
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