Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network 2014 year in review

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

Updates from ehospice

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

Hong Kong: International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society to be held for the first time in Asia

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

Thailand: Ministry of Health issues health policy to incorporate palliative care into mainstream healthcare system

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.

If you are our current member, please take some time to give us feedback by filling out this short 3-minute survey.

Published on: 2 January, 2015 | Last modified: 2 January, 2015