Dear members and friends of APHN, 2014 has been an exciting year for us. Please join us as we update you on the changes in our organization, as well as the developments in our region in 2014.
The 14th APHN council was formed during our annual general meeting in Hong Kong. The current governing council members are:
| NAME | APPOINTMENT | MEMBERSHIP (SECTOR) |
| Associate Professor Cynthia Goh | Chairman | Elected (Singapore) |
| Professor Tetsuo Kashiwagi | Vice-Chairman | Appointed (Japan) |
| Professor M R Rajagopal | Vice-Chairman | Co-opted (India) |
| Dr Ednin Hamzah | Honorary Secretary | Elected (Malaysia) |
| Dr Ghauri Aggarwal | Assistant Honorary Secretary | Co-opted (Australia) |
| Prof Patsy Yates | Honorary Treasurer | Co-opted (Australia) |
| Dr R Akhileswaran | Assistant Honorary Treasurer | Appointed (Singapore) |
| Prof Dae Seog Heo | Member | Appointed (Korea) |
| Dr Richard Lim | Member | Appointed (Malaysia) |
| Mr David O. Abel | Member | Appointed (Myanmar) |
| Ms Mary Schumacher | Member | Appointed (New Zealand) |
| Dr Karin E. Garcia | Member | Appointed (Philippines) |
| Associate Professor Ying-Wei Wang | Member | Appointed (Taiwan) |
| Associate Professor Srivieng Pairojkul | Member | Appointed (Thailand) |
| Dr Nguyen Phi Yen | Member | Appointed (Vietnam) |
| Dr Yvonne Luxford | Member | Elected (Australia) |
| Dr Annie Kwok | Member | Elected (Hong Kong) |
| Professor Satoru Tsuneto | Member | Elected (Japan) |
| Professor Hyun Sook Kim | Member | Elected (Korea) |
| Dr Wen-Hao Su | Member | Elected (Taiwan) |
Ms Joyce Chee was appointed as the new APHN executive from August 2014.
Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care
| Dates | Country | Activity |
| January 2014 | Myanmar | 2nd teaching programme |
| March 2014 | Sri Lanka | 1st teaching programme |
| July 2014 | Myanmar | 3rd teaching programme, including 2 talks to a larger audience |
| August 2014 | Bangladesh | 2nd teaching programme, including 1 talk to a larger audience and a syringe driver workshop |
| December 2014 | Sri Lanka | 2nd teaching programme |
1. The passing of the resolution: Strengthening palliative care as a component of comprehensive care across the life course by the World Health Assembly (WHA) signalled a new level of commitment by the World Health Organization (WHO) to improve palliative care worldwide.
This resolution, coupled with proper advocacy and thoughtful, focussed implementation efforts has the potential to pave the way for huge progress in palliative care in the future.
2. The International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) held their first International Conference in Mumbai in February.
The network also collaborated with UNICEF to release a report on the need for children’s palliative care. The report estimates that in 2013, 6.3 million children under five died from mostly preventable causes, around 200,000 fewer than in 2012, but still equal to nearly 17,000 child deaths each day.
Updates from the region
Australia: National Palliative Care Standards Review
India: Palliative care and critical care join hands to achieve excellence in end-of-life care
Indonesia: Palliative Care Training Announced for Jakarta
Korea: New policy for hospice/palliative care payment system imminent
Malaysia: Paediatric palliative care forges ahead in Malaysia since royal visit in 2012
New Zealand: Increase in Māori patients accessing palliative care, despite barriers
Philippines: 1st public forum on palliative care held
Singapore: Health Minister pledges support for palliative care at Singapore conference
Sri Lanka: Groundbreaking palliative care training collaborative expands to Sri Lanka
Bangladesh: Palliative care included in national plan for noncommunicable diseases
THANK YOU
We would like to thank everyone who have contributed by joining us as a member, giving donations, writing articles, translating news updates and sharing about what we do with friends and colleagues.
As we move into 2015, we hope to encourage everyone to join our Asia Pacific Community, attend our Asia Pacific Hospice Conference and email our secretariat at aphn@aphn.org to contribute news, events, workshops, ideas, or articles.
We wish a happy and fulfilling year ahead to all.
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