World Health Organization Executive Board adopts resolution on palliative care

The Executive Board of the World Health Organization has adopted a resolution on palliative care that will be useful for palliative care advocates in their home countries to advocate for palliative care.

For the first time, a stand-alone resolution on palliative care was on the agenda of the World Health Organization’s Executive Board. The Board considered a report by the WHO secretariat on palliative care, before adopting the resolution: ‘Strengthening of palliative care as a component of integrated treatment within the continuum of care’ to be referred to the World Health Assembly in May.

The resolution urges countries to integrate palliative care into healthcare systems, to improve training for healthcare workers, and to ensure that relevant medicines, including strong pain medicines, are available to patients. It also urges WHO to increase its technical assistance to member countries on the development of palliative care services.

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