Palliative care was well represented at the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year! All together there were twelve delegates from the organisations attending in official relations with WHO (6 from WHPCA and 6 from IAHPC). All attendees covered their expenses. This year is the 10th anniversary of the passage of the Palliative Care Resolution (67.19) “Strengthening of Palliative Care as a Component of Comprehensive Care Throughout the Life Course.”
To use this fact as an opportunity WHPCA organised a side event on the margins of this year’s WHA titled: Ten Years Since the WHA Resolution on Palliative Care: Access is Increasing Slowly in LMICs, How Can We Expedite it? The event was co-sponsored by four countries (Australia, Belgium, Chile, and Panama) along with nine NGOs (UICC, ICPCN, IAHPC, NCDA, C/Can, APCA, APHN, UNTF NCDs, and Team Humanity). Speakers included Dr. Bente Mikkelson (Director of WHO’s NCD Dept, Dr. Rudi Eggers (head of WHO’s Integrated Health Services Dept), Dr. Helena Davies (WHPCA’s Advocacy Officer), Dr. Zippy Ali (APCA & KEHPCA), Dr. Vilma Tripodoro (Univ. of Navarro ATLANTES), Prof. Julia Downing (ICPCN), and Dr. Stephen Connor (WHPCA). The meeting was chaired by Ambassador D’hoop of Belgium and Mr. Blair Exell from the Australian Delegation.
Many interventions were made that included palliative care during this year’s WHA including on NCDs, maternal and child health, universal health coverage, and WHO’s programme of work. The WHA is also an opportunity to interact with many key WHO departments. Meetings were held with the WHO Working Group on NCD’s, the WHO Global Network for Long term care, the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, the WHO HIV team, and the department for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing. WHPCA is working to create a coalition of countries to advocate for palliative care at upcoming UN meetings.
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