August 2025
Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross (8 July 1926 – 24 August 2004)
Lessons for the Living
More than half a century ago, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross changed the way the world spoke about death. Her seminal work On Death and Dying introduced the five stages of grief — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — not as rigid steps, but as a framework for understanding the complex emotions we experience when facing loss.
In palliative care, these lessons remain as relevant today as they were in 1969. They remind us that dying is not just a medical event but a deeply human journey, one that deserves dignity, empathy, and presence. They teach us to meet patients and families where they are — in their fears, their hopes, and their truths.
As Kübler-Ross said, “Those who have the strength and love to sit with the dying… enter into the sacred circle of life.” This is the heart of what we at Pallium India strive for — to hold space for grief, to walk alongside those in suffering, and to help them embrace life, even in its final chapters.
Perhaps, by speaking openly about death, we can learn to live more fully.
Welcome to a new edition of Pallium India’s newsletter. Thank you for joining us. Here you can find updates from the palliative care world, upcoming events including training for professionals and volunteers, interesting articles, career opportunities and so on.
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Death Literacy: What does it mean and why is it Important?
About the Author:
Dr. Roop Gursahani, Consulting Neurologist,
Neuro-palliative care physician and Co-founder of the Advance Care Planning Collective.
Good.To.Go
VIDHI Centre for Legal Policy and Pallium India invite you to ‘Good to Go’. Supported by Microland Foundation, Together for a Better Tomorrow and Ajit Isaac Foundation. Join us as we come together to normalise conversations about death, dying, advance care planning, bereavement and grief. Dates: 23rd & 24th August. Venue: Bangalore International Centre, Domlur.
For updates, please follow our Instagram Page
Freedom to Dream
This Independence Day!
Give a child the ‘Freedom to Dream‘. True freedom is more than independence- it’s the ability to dream without fear of hunger, loss, or despair. Support a child of a palliative care patient and help them stay in school and chase their dreams. Eudcation is hope. Let us keep it alive.
Onam Special Food Kit 2025
Pallium India’s Onam Special Food Kit campaign is back. With just INR 1500, you can sponsor a Food Kit for a family and spread joy this festive season. Let us celebrate Onam with joy, love and compassion, spreading peace and prosperity together.
Beyond the Sessions: Reflections from the Field
Volunteer Voices in Action: Snapshots from Our Volunteer Training Programme
Our volunteers are the heart of palliative care. Here’s a glimpse into the sessions where compassion meets skill-building.
Volunteer training programmes conducted by the social officers on introduction to palliative care, role of volunteers, institutional services and home care services and communication in palliative care services at Palode on 13 July 2025.
A discussion was held with a Kudumbashree unit in Paravaram on the need for palliative care and their active involvement in it.
An awareness session on palliative care was conducted for the Pothencode community as part of launching a new palliative care clinic.
In the Hills of Chamba, Compassion Finds a Home
Nestled in the serene folds of Himachal Pradesh, the district of Chamba is quietly pioneering a movement that’s reshaping healthcare at its roots – bringing dignity, empathy, and healing into the homes of those grappling with life-limiting conditions.
Supported by Pallium India, a non-profit dedicated to compassionate care, a community-based model is blooming under the leadership of committed healthcare professionals.
- Dr. Aditi Chaturvedi (National Trainer, Prof. & Head, Pharmacology, GMC Chamba)
- Dr. Navdeep Rathore (BMO, Phukri)
- Dr. Bipin Thakur (CMO)
- Dr. Karan Hiteshi (DPO)
Their mission? To break the silence surrounding suffering and empower communities to care for their own.
Mehak Chopra
Regional Facilitator, Pallium India
PhD Scholar (Public Health), Parul University, Vadodara
Palliative Care Journey Begins at SP Medifort Hospital, Trivandrum
On May 31, 2025, SP Medifort Hospital hosted a Palliative Care Awareness Session led by Dr. M. R. Rajagopal. Attended by over 70 participants, including medical and support staff, the session marked the launch of Phase 1 of Pallium India’s collaboration with the hospital.
The session emphasized the urgent need for accessible, compassionate palliative care across the country. The event set the stage for integrating palliative services at SP Medifort — a step toward ensuring every patient receives care with dignity and empathy.
International
WHO’s “Balanced National Controlled Medicine Policies to Ensure Medical Access and Safety”
The World Health Organization has brought out renewed guidelines on “Balanced National Controlled Medicine Policies to Ensure Medical Access and Safety”. As is said in the introduction to the guidelines, “The purpose of this guideline is to assist WHO Member States and their partners in developing and implementing balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure their accessibility, availability and affordability for medical and scientific uses and to minimize the risk of harm arising from non-medical use”. Guidelines like this can never be the best fit for every country. The guidelines had to be evidence-based, but unfortunately, there is so precious little evidence generated in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Nevertheless, having had a member of the Guideline Development Committee (GDG) from Pallium India, we have been able to put forth the LMIC-views. The ’strong recommendations’ had to be evidence-based; but even when evidence is limited, the “Good Practice Statements” would offer valuable guidance.
Click Here to view the document
Community Engagement in Palliative Care: A Lesson From the Lakshadweep Islands
A palliative care organization on the remote Lakshadweep Islands on the coast of India disrupts the Global North paradigm for palliative care by a thoughtful response to the needs of the community. In this community effort to bring those who need dialysis back to their home islands, the palliative care organization, Thanal, illustrates how palliative care can reduce health-related suffering in innovative ways and enhance the lives and health of the community that they serve. The Global South provides lessons for global palliative care, including the Global North, in its focus on community needs and social networks.
This article has been a labor of love by Dr Ali Azher, Moulana from the Thanal palliative care group on the Lakshadweep Islands and Dr Ann Broderick. They describe how a remote palliative care team in the Global South met the needs of their community in an intervention that is alien to Palliative care in the Global North yet meets the World Health Organization definition of Palliative Care.
EVERMORE: ‘A Journey Beyond Ending’
Evermore is a heartfelt short film that brings to light the silent strength and emotional depth of palliative care—the care that continues even when curing is no longer possible. Through real-life stories, short films, and awareness content, we aim to remind the world: Palliative care isn’t about giving up—it’s about living fully, until the end. Join us as we spread hope, healing, and humanity. This short film on palliative care is curated and presented by the talented Nursing students, (Govt. Nursing College, Kavaratti, Lakshadweep)
Two Pallium India Voices Among EAPC’s Top 10 Blogs of 2024
Celebrating Recognition of Compassionate Narratives in Global Palliative Care
In 2024, the EAPC blog (European Association for Palliative Care) was read in 181 countries across the world and it had over 67000 views from 37000 people. On July 29th, EAPC announced the Top 10 blogs for the year 2024, submitted by people across the palliative care community worldwide.
We are proud to share that two powerful blogs from Pallium India—authored by Smriti Rana and Pratibha Pal—have been featured among the Top 10 most-read blogs of 2024 on the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) website.
Their contributions reflect the depth, honesty, and lived realities of palliative care in India, echoing the voices of patients, families, and caregivers often underrepresented on global platforms.
Smriti Rana (Head, Strategic Programs and Partnerships, Pallium India). Her blog titled: The influence of colonialism on the pain relief access abyss explores how colonial legacies continue to shape global inequities in access to pain relief, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Smriti’s blog tops the list among the 10 and rated as the most read content globally.
Pratibha Pal (Freelance writer, Blogger, an Ex-Pallium India employee). Her blog titled: ‘Volunteers are our solace’ – palliative care in Kerala shares insights rooted in experience and empathy, offering a glimpse into the day-to-day resilience and humanity in palliative nursing. Pratibha’s blog ranks 6th in the list of top 10.
Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine
Join the Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine (GFPM). 1 Year Hybrid Course offered by the Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India. Join the Movement! Become a Global Fellow.
For details and registrations:
Click Here>>
National
Strategic Convergence: Advancing India’s GCC Framework and Healthcare Access
The “GCC Opportunity in India” summit, held on July 14, 2025, at the Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi, convened senior government officials, industry leaders, and policy experts to chart a strategic roadmap for strengthening India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem. Hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the event spotlighted India’s robust economic growth drivers and laid the foundation for a proposed National GCC Policy aimed at attracting investments, developing talent, and enhancing digital infrastructure.
Ministerial Engagement:
The summit culminated in a Special Ministerial Plenary. The Hon’ble Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, delivered the keynote address, affirming the government’s unwavering commitment to India’s economic transformation and global positioning through the strategic development of GCCs. This engagement provided direct insights into the government’s economic vision and priorities.
Dr. Preeti Chauhan, Head of National Policy, attended the event, representing Pallium India. The National Policy division works to enhance access to pain relief and palliative care, promoting policy changes and capacity building to support patients with life-limiting illnesses.
Monograph release by ASTHA: Advancing Disability-Inclusive Disaster Response in India
On July 15, 2025, the India International Centre, Delhi, hosted a landmark event focused on disability-inclusive disaster response. The gathering marked the launch of two monographs detailing community-based strategies developed during the COVID-19 humanitarian crisis.
Pratik Aggarwal, Executive Director of ASTHA, highlighted the organization’s efforts to promote accessibility and inclusion during the pandemic.
Radhika Alkazi presented findings showing that despite diverse contexts, organizations employing community-based approaches shared core principles of local engagement, trust-building, and sustained support.
Highlights from the Event
- Community-based strategies are essential for inclusive disaster response.
- Mental health services must be integrated into disaster healthcare systems.
- Accessible communication and real-time data are vital for inclusive planning.
- Dedicated funding and cross-sector partnerships are critical to implementation.
This convening marked a significant step toward institutionalizing and strengthening disability-inclusive disaster response in India.
Dr. Preeti Chauhan, Head of National Policy, attended the event, representing Pallium India. Her image is from the same event.
Press Release
India–UK FTA & Access to Medicines
The recently signed India–UK Free Trade Agreement has provisions that may undermine India’s ability to supply affordable medicines.
Key concerns:
⚠️ Preference for voluntary licenses over compulsory ones – limits price cuts
⚠️ Less transparency on patent working – harder to issue compulsory licenses
⚠️ Push for “harmonisation” – risk of evergreening & unnecessary patents
These changes tilt the balance in favour of big pharma and could hurt millions who rely on India’s generics.
Read the detailed press release below
Let’s spread the word and stand up for our right to affordable medicines!
Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS), Pallium India
| Beneficiaries reached till May 2025: | 28,601 | |
| Palliative Care centres / services catalysed: | 257 | |
| Stakeholders trained (virtual and onsite): | 12,020 |
Upcoming Events, Trainings & Conferences
International Neuro Palliative Care Certificate Course 2025-2026
Openings
For more openings, visit our CAREERS page:
https://palliumindia.org/category/career
In case of queries, please write to us: career@palliumindia.org
Stay tuned for palliative care news, views and updates
Reports / News / Articles
Project Sugamya
Pallium India is proud to partner with Swarga Foundation, Care and Share, and Southern Railways – Trivandrum Division for the launch of Project Sugamya at Trivandrum Railway Station.
This initiative, launched on 14th July 2025, brings:
– 16 lightweight mobile ramps
– 16 customized wheelchairs
To major stations under the Trivandrum Division, ensuring safe, accessible, and dignified travel for persons with disabilities and the elderly.
A step forward toward an inclusive Kerala — because accessibility is a right, not a privilege.
A Screen Full of Smiles.
Nine-year-old Shammas should be playing cricket in his backyard, laughing with friends, and dashing off to school with a heavy backpack and bigger dreams. Instead he is battling metastatic neuroblastoma, spending most of his days indoors. Too unwell to attend school or play outside, one of his few sources of comfort was watching TV – until it stopped working.
His mother, Shajeera Beevi, is a homemaker and the primary caregiver. His father, Shalaban, works as a plumber and is the sole breadwinner of the family. Shammas has two siblings: Arfath, who is studying in the 9th standard, and Misriya, who is in the 1st standard.
During a recent home care visit, he quietly shared his wish for a new television. His family, already stretched thin with rent and medical costs, couldn’t afford one. Our pediatric team reached out to Pallium India’s volunteer group – and within 30 minutes, they raised ₹10,000. Shammas’s wish was fulfilled.
Sometimes, palliative care isn’t just about medicine. It’s about moments of joy, dignity, and the simple things that bring light to a difficult journey.Thank you to all who helped put a smile back on Shammas’s face
A Journey of Heart: Leading Change in Pediatric Palliative Care in India
It was a quiet afternoon when I walked into the small home of a 14-year-old boy named Dhanush*, who was living with advanced cancer. His eyes lit up when he saw us, not because we were doctors or nurses, but because we were the only visitors who spoke to him, not just about him. He showed me his artwork; his last painting was of a glowing sunrise. When I asked why, he simply said, “It’s not the end, it’s just a new morning somewhere.” That moment captures what pediatric palliative care truly means: dignity, presence, and the sacred act of witnessing a child’s spirit beyond their diagnosis.
Dr. Sangeetha Suresh (Pediatric palliative care Incharge, Pallium India) writes:
From Bedside to Leadership: A Personal Journey
My journey into pediatric palliative care began with a single home visit and a hundred questions. Why weren’t more children receiving this support? Why were families bearing such pain alone? These questions have guided every step of my path since.
In 2023, I was honoured to be selected as a Global Fellow with the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation. The fellowship was life-changing. It gave me not only knowledge but connection to a global family of compassionate leaders. Through this program, I had the privilege of learning from and interacting with incredible mentors like Kenn Ross, Joan Marston, Leise Groot, Dr. Chong Poh Heng and Dr. Ann Toh all of whom have dedicated their lives to transforming the landscape of palliative care for children around the world. Their wisdom, humility, and fierce advocacy deeply inspired me.
Alongside this, I began the Children’s Palliative Care Leadership Program, where I continue to grow under the mentorship of Indian leaders such as Dr. Gayatri Palat, Dr. Sunil Kumar, Dr. Megan Doherty, Dr. Marry Ann and Dr. Spandana Rayala—whom are tireless champions for equitable, accessible pediatric care. These interactions have not only sharpened my clinical and leadership skills but have also helped me envision a model of care rooted in dignity, inclusion, and shared responsibility.
Advancing Healthcare Access: The Promise of Biosimilars in India
Dr. Preeti Chauhan (Head, National Policy Pallium India) writes:
Biosimilars are reshaping India’s healthcare landscape by offering affordable, life-saving alternatives to costly biologic medicines for cancer, diabetes, arthritis, kidney diseases, and more. Despite their potential, less than 1% of eligible patients in India currently have access to these therapies.
The recently released 2025 Draft Guidelines on Similar Biologics are a step forward, aiming to streamline approvals, reduce costs, and uphold ethical standards by limiting unnecessary animal testing and clinical trials. However, civil society groups are calling for clearer definitions, faster pathways, and stronger patient-focused policies to make these drugs truly accessible.
By embracing these reforms, India has the opportunity to lead globally in affordable biosimilar access, ensuring millions receive the care they deserve.
Read the blog to learn how biosimilars can transform treatment accessibility in India
The Joy of Connecting through Arts: Arts Practices for Inclusion at Pallium India
Arts Practices for Inclusion (API)
Arts Practices for Inclusion (API) is a unique course offered by Snehadhara Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in Bangalore. Under API, students are trained in the therapeutic benefits of multiple art forms including visual arts, music/rhythm, play, drama and dance/movement to foster social inclusion. As opposed to the typical art-based therapy courses that primarily focus on health-related outcomes, API aims at societal and systemic changes. API practitioners are trained to work with vulnerable groups and help them feel included in the larger society.
When I was offered the opportunity to learn API on behalf of Pallium India, it felt like a perfect fit. Having an innate interest in visual arts and personal experiences of its therapeutic value, I was already using visual arts in my interactions with patients and caregivers at Pallium India. So, being formally trained in this field was a jackpot. Simultaneously, for Pallium India’s multidisciplinary team that was working towards the common goal of improving the quality of life for patients and their families, API was like adding another string to our bow. This was a win-win situation for everyone involved.
At Pallium India, we serve individuals and families who are challenged by serious illnesses, very often coupled with financial crises. In most cases they feel rejected by society. Rather than turning away from them, we turn towards them, ease their pain, wipe their tears and help them feel that they matter. In the past two years, as a psychologist at Pallium India, I have closely interacted with those enduring an unimaginable amount of suffering. On many occasions, I’ve realized that words often fall short of capturing the depth of their experience. And I’ve wondered—if words can’t fully convey their suffering, how can we expect words alone to offer comfort? This is where I found refuge in Arts.
Nancy Mariam Mondly
(Counselling Psychologist at Pallium India)
Volunteer Training Programme
Learn to care the right way. Join Pallium India’s Volunteer Training Programme in Malayalam on August 30th and 31st from 10am to 4pm (Saturday and Sunday). Venu: Pallium India, Aisha Memorial hospital Building, Paruthikkuzhy.
Video of the Month
India’s Medicine Crisis: Unpacking the Price Tag
Click here to watch the video:
Subscribe to Pallium India’s youtube channel for videos related to palliative care and our activities. You can watch previous webinars and training sessions, as well as listen to caregivers, survivors and others sharing their experiences.
Join us in making India pain-free! Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
Book of the Month
Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss
In Dear Life, palliative care specialist Dr. Rachel Clarke recounts her professional and personal journey to understand not the end of life, but life at its end.Death was conspicuously absent during Rachel’s medical training. Instead, her education focused entirely on learning to save lives, and was left wanting when it came to helping patients and their families face death. She came to specialize in palliative medicine because it is the one specialty in which the quality, not quantity of life truly matters. In the same year she started to work in a hospice,
Rachel was forced to face tragedy in her own life when her father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He’d inspired her to become a doctor, and the stories he had told her as a child proved formative when it came to deciding what sort of medicine she would practice. But for all her professional exposure to dying, she remained a grieving daughter. Dear Life follows how Rachel came to understand―as a child, as a doctor, as a human being―how best to help patients in the final stages of life, and what that might mean in practice.
Walk with the Weary – by Dr M R Rajagopal
A masterclass in how to care for others deeply and compassionately no matter who they are, Walk with the Weary is simultaneously the story of Dr Rajagopal’s life and his calling and the world of Indian palliative care.
Palliative Care Telehealth
Call us: +91 964 588 4889 /
+91 860 688 4889
PARTING SHOT
The Architecture of an Invisible Economy: Love, Labour and the Gendered Cost of Care
Caregiving rarely announces itself as a life event. It seeps in, quietly and relentlessly, until one day you realize your life has reorganized itself around someone else’s needs. Every caregiving journey is different – shaped by the illness, the family it affects, the resources available, and other factors. I have no interest in comparing burdens. But after almost a decade as a caregiver, I’ve come to believe this: caregiving is fundamentally different for women.
Not because we feel more. Not because we’re better at it. But because we’re expected to. The difference is structural. Social. Historical. It’s not just in what we do, it’s in what is assumed of us. When a parent falls ill, when a child struggles, when a family begins to fray, the question is rarely who will care, but which woman will. A daughter. A wife. A sister. A daughter-in-law.
We all manage appointments, decipher medical jargon, sit through long waits in hospitals, and make life-altering decisions for loved ones. But beyond this, women also help with showers, track dietary restrictions, cook meals, soothe moods, mediate family tension, and carry the emotional weight of the patient and everyone around them. We are not just caregivers. We are emotional anchors, crisis responders, nurses, cooks, companions, project managers, and decision-makers.
We do not clock in, and we do not get to clock out.
There is also the quiet emotional calculus – how often we hesitate before expressing frustration, how deeply we internalise guilt, how careful we are not to appear resentful. The world is far more forgiving of women who suffer silently than of women who ask to be seen. When we do speak, we are often rebuked. We are told we are being too emotional. Or that this is simply what daughters do. There is no fanfare for doing what society has quietly always expected of you. On the other hand, men who provide care are often applauded – seen as emotionally intelligent and courageous for showing vulnerability.
Care is often framed as a personal sacrifice. But caregiving isn’t just individual. It’s political. It is infrastructural. It underpins everything else. The ability to participate in society, whether in work, education, or politics, is directly shaped by the availability and distribution of care. For those of us who have been caregivers, this is not an abstraction. It is a set of constraints that follow us into every decision: how far from home we live, what relationships we invest in, what dreams feel plausible.
About the Author:
(Najwa Maqbool currently based out in UAE, is a social impact professional focused on building equitable systems through education, leadership development, and social change. When not navigating the complexities of the development sector, she’s likely training for a marathon, watching Formula 1, or plotting a political future she may or may not pursue.)
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