His speech is titled: ‘The global and regional legal and regulatory frameworks for the provision of palliative care: The human rights and public health approach’.
Professor Puras was appointed in 2014 by the United Nations Human Rights Council to serve as a UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.
Special Rapporteurs are independent experts who examine and report to the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly on a country situation or a specific human rights theme.
Prof Puras is Professor and Head of the Centre of Child Psychiatry and Social Paediatrics at Vilnius University, Lithuania. He has held positions as: President of the Lithuanian Psychiatric Association, Dean of the Medical Faculty of Vilnius University, President of the Baltic Association for Rehabilitation, and Chair of the Board of the Human Rights Monitoring Institute.
Between 2007 and 2011 he was a member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Prof Puras has been actively involved in national and international activities in the field of developing and implementing evidence-based and human rights based health policies and services, with special focus on children, groups in vulnerable situations and issues related to promotion of mental health and prevention of all forms of violence.
His main interest is the management of change in the field of health related services regionally and globally, with a focus on operationalisation of human rights based approach through effective policies and services.
Prof Puras said: “It is with great pleasure that I accept the invitation to attend and speak at the 5th International African Palliative Care Conference in Kampala in August.
“My mandate – Right to Health – is a very broad one, as it includes many important issues, such as the social determinants of health and the right to available, accessible, acceptable and high quality healthcare services.
“This leads to the need to prioritise my activities while discharging the mandate, and to highlight issues of utmost importance.
“The right to palliative care, as a human right in this context, is among the highest priorities of my mandate. Although there is convincing evidence as to the effectiveness of palliative care services, three quarters of the world’s population still have limited or no access to pain relief and other obligatory components of palliative care services.
“In my reports and other contributions, I continue to remind States and other stakeholders of their obligations to ensure that all individuals – representing all age groups, living in all continents and all countries, and facing different health conditions – can access palliative care.
“This obligation is at the core of my mandate, as palliative care is about the right to health and about dignity.
“I will be happy to attend the 5th International African Palliative Care Conference and to discuss with participants important issues of how to move towards implementing the right of everyone to palliative in Africa.”
We look forward to welcoming Prof Puras to Kampala!
You can register via the conference website to join Prof Puras at the 5th International African Palliative Care Conference.
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