Lancet Commission on the Value of Death
The very thought of death scares us. Fear robs us of our reason. The result: we incarcerate our dying loved ones in intensive care units which to them, for all practical purposes, act as torture chambers.
This has to stop. The dying should have a farewell with dignity, compassion and love, as part of the family and community to the very end. Can we make this sea change happen?
27 experts from various fields around the world got together – in physical meetings in the UK and Italy and virtually for three and a half years – to work on evaluation of how people die in the modern world and how the transformation from ‘tamed death’ to the ‘forbidden death’ of modern times has caused suffering. The Commission’s report which will be published on 01 February 2022 calls on healthcare systems, governments, civil society organisations to confront the current status of end-of-life care and turn it around to something that brings back the involvement of the community.
Please watch a 6-minute video on the report: A new vision for death and dying | The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death
The Commission’s report can be seen at https://www.thelancet.com/commissions/value-of-death
The hashtag for social media is #ValueOfDeath
Official virtual launch is on Feb 1 at 6:30 pm IST. Dr Raj Mani from India will be one of the speakers.
Register here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3570304/7E94989E07296ED470E76EA01F886376
There will be a virtual conference on the Commission’s report at Royal Society of Medicine on Mar 1 at 2:30 pm IST. Dr M R Rajagopal, one of the commissioners, will be speaking at this event. Register here: https://www.rsm.ac.uk/events/palliative-care/2021-22/plq04/