10 October 2015 will be celebrated as World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. The theme this year is “Hidden Lives/ Hidden Patients”.
Background Information:
Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients (adults and children) and their families who are facing problems associated with life-threatening illness.
It prevents and relieves suffering through the early identification, correct assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, whether physical, psychosocial or spiritual.
Key Messages:
Each year an estimated 40 million people worldwide require palliative care, with 78% of them living in low and middle-income countries.
For children, 98% of those needing palliative care live in low- and middle-income countries with almost half of them living in Africa.
Various conditions can warrant palliative care including HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and dementia.
According to WHO, less than 14% of those needing palliative care at the end of life currently receive it.
Lack of training and awareness of palliative care among health professionals is a major barrier to improving access.
Overly restrictive regulations for morphine and other essential controlled palliative medicines deny access to adequate pain relief and palliative care- 83% of the world’s population lack access to pain relief
The global need for palliative care will continue to grow as a result of the rising burden of noncommunicable diseases and ageing populations.
Useful Links:
Link to the World Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance web site:
Link to the WHO fact sheet on palliative care:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs402/en/
Link to infographics on palliative care (available in 6 languages):
http://www.who.int/ncds/management/palliative-care/pc-infographics/en/
Link to infographic on palliative care (English):
http://www.who.int/ncds/management/palliative-care/infographic_palliative_care_EN.pdf?ua=1
communitymedicine4all 