In 2003, they started home visits and a few years back, an inpatient wing for palliative care was added.  The work involves both the hospital and the community and out of about 100 volunteers, about 20 attend to the work on a regular basis.

The institution celebrated its 10th anniversary on 01 May 2010.  The festivities started with a rally by school students, scouts & guides and volunteers followed by a public meeting.  The most noticeable feature was the joy and enthusiasm of the team of volunteers.  Their sense of achievement and fulfillment were obvious.

Best wishes Lisa PPCS!

Institutions like yours have a special place in development of palliative care in the country – that of integrating hospital based practice with community based work.

The United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) met last week in Vienna.

CND Delegates

Thanks to advocacy by several agencies, most noticeably Human Rights Watch, the commission has recognised that its role is not only to control narcotic drugs but also to ensure its availability for medical purposes.

Human Rights Watch conducted a side-event promoting the global need for opioids for pain relief which was attended by several organizations including PPSG and the Access to Control program of WHO and about 70 CND delegates from all over the world. HRW statements: Day 3: statement to the plenary & Day 4: supply reduction plenary

Antonio Maria Costa

At the CND meeting, Mr Costa from UNODC highlighted [PDF] the need for improvement in opioid availability for pain relief.

The week long meeting passed a resolution “Promoting adequate availability of internationally controlled licit drugs for medical and scientific purposes while preventing their diversion and abuse.” [PDF]

We are sure it will be a powerful tool in our advocacy for pain relief.