Attending the Singapore Palliative Care Conference was an extraordinary and deeply enriching experience for someone from a South Pacific Island Nation. Witnessing Singapore’s remarkable progress in palliative care—with strong integration, policy backing, and investment in compassionate services—was inspiring. The shared vision and commitment among attendees from across Asia, Australia and New Zealand underscored regional momentum, motivating action to improve care.
Samoa, a small South Pacific island nation with about 210,000 people across eight islands with a combined landmass of 2,900 square kilometres, offers a stark contrast. Classified as an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank, Samoa faces distinct vulnerabilities. Geographic isolation and climate change risks mean economic stability can be disrupted overnight. Health resources remain limited, while the burden of non-communicable diseases continues to rise rapidly. This creates an urgent need for formal palliative care services.
Currently, Samoa has no structured palliative care services within its formal health system. Families and communities carry the burden of palliative and end-of-life care.
Palliative care, as a clinical discipline, has core principles that align with Samoa’s cultural beliefs and values of collective care and respect for elders, but realities are shifting. Socio-economic changes from urban migration and overseas employment have reshaped family structures. Extended families, once strong support systems, are fragmented. Fewer able-bodied individuals are available to care for the elderly and ill, and there is no one to turn to for help within our health services and system.
The conference was a vital platform to connect with the more Northern part of the Pacific where the Asian Pacific countries are situated, learning about palliative care services in this part of the Pacific while offering insights into the “hows and whys” as well as the “dos and don’ts” of developing palliative care services. It reinforced to me that palliative care is uniquely aligned with South Pacific Island cultural values—emphasising dignity, family, community, and holistic wellbeing.
I left Singapore with a strong sense of purpose and optimism for advancing palliative care in Samoa and the South Pacific. The relationships and lessons from Singapore provide a pathway forward, offering opportunities for collaboration to develop culturally grounded, clinically supported services for people facing life-limiting illness and end-of-life care. An added bonus of my trip was experiencing Singaporean cuisine and enjoying the warm, friendly Singaporean hospitality. Fa’afetai tele lava to the Cynthia Goh Palliative Care Fellowship for providing this amazing opportunity!
Written by Malama Tafuna’I
Malama Tafuna’I is a Fellow from Batch 2 of the Cynthia Goh Palliative Care Fellowship (CGF). The CGF is administered by the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN) with support and direction from Lien Foundation.
