The 73rd Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe

Categories: Opinion.

It was an extraordinary opportunity and real honor for me to represent the International Association for Palliative Care (IAHPC) at such an important meeting of the European Region of the World Health Organization. As an advocate, I can extend and develop the care I provide for older people with incurable diseases to make palliative care accessible for everyone who needs it.

It was a long way to go from Albania in terms of both distance and time away from my practice, but I was curious to find out how I could contribute as an official delegate at the meeting.

Being there in person gave me the opportunity to see and listen closely to WHO staff, policymakers, colleagues, and public health care experts from all around the world, who presented the challenges in public health care in their countries and appropriate interventions with a common goal: a better public health system for everyone and everywhere! I recommend it to other practitioners who would like to represent their practice and their patients.

“Leave no one behind,” was the expression, I often heard from WHO leaders, because we often see policymakers who are skeptical and uninformed about the services that the community needs at different stages of life, and especially care for the geriatric age group.

Alzheimer’s is creating a tsunami of public health needs all over the world so should be the focus of the work and policies of every government, also supported by other important resources in every context, such as donors, academic and clinical experts, and local communities.

It was also a real pleasure to meet delegates from other countries of the region and to listen to representatives of the governments of these countries speak about the challenges of their healthcare services as well as the work that they are doing to ensure a healthy life for everyone.

Thanks to this meeting, I had the opportunity to meet with the Albanian delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health. Together we discussed palliative care and the challenges of patients who experience suffering because of health problems.

The Deputy Minister congratulated us for the work and achievements reached in the extension and development of PC service in Albania. She congratulated us for the good relations we have with Public Health care institutions, especially the oncology hospital.

She appreciated the support of these institutions in helping patients to ensure their well-being and that of their family members.

During one of these days, we had the opportunity to meet with the Director General of the WHO and speak to him for a while about palliative care and the ongoing work of the IAHPC to develop this service and extend it throughout the world. The coffee breaks and dinners were a good opportunity to meet colleagues, policymakers, and other officials from different countries in the region and to share with them our daily work in palliative care, the challenges, and our vision of integrating palliative care into primary health care. During the Astana meetings with my co-IAHPC delegate, Dr Simone Cernesi, a geriatrician from Italy, we learned that some governments of the region had included palliative care in their 2024 budgets. This was a good start, showing that PC is already being integrated into the public health care of some countries in the region.

Being a delegate to RC73 fits into my national advocacy efforts and plans that continue alongside my team’s patient care service.

It was a long way from Albania to Astana but for a very important mission called Palliative Care!

Thank you very much to Little Company Of Mary(LCM) for the financial support, without which I could not be part of this important event!

It was a good opportunity and an immense pleasure for me to attend this very important meeting and be part of such an event, listening but also sharing my experience regarding palliative care, especially during this difficult time the world is going through.

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