Country Updates
Thailand Inspiring Progress in Palliative Care
From 21–25 July 2025, the APHN team visited Thailand to explore palliative care developments and strengthen regional collaborations in education, training, research, and fellowship.
The latest developments in palliative care and our work across the region
From 21–25 July 2025, the APHN team visited Thailand to explore palliative care developments and strengthen regional collaborations in education, training, research, and fellowship.
From 25–28 August 2025, the 7th Foundation Course of the Cancer Treatment Centre (CTC) Training Programme (India) and the first-ever National CTC Alumni Meet took place at Taj Vivanta Dwarka, New Delhi. The four-day event brought together healthcare professionals, educators, and alumni dedicated to advancing palliative care across India.
The initiative marks a major step toward making palliative and hospice care a right for all Filipinos, not a privilege for a few.
January 2019, during the 2nd Module of Palliative Care Training, standing behind Prof. Cynthia, I found hope for my father who had just been diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer.
Bhutan had no palliative care until 2016, when two nurse-lecturers trained in Kerala, India, and returned to advocate for its development. Awareness grew through a 2017 workshop in Thimphu, and in 2018, JDWNRH launched the country’s first home-based palliative care service for patients with advanced cancer.
Family members and palliative care providers visiting a patient at home in Timor-Leste, where care is deeply rooted in community and kinship.
There was also a significant breakthrough in engagement with the World Health Organization. While support is still developing, early conversations with regional WHO Representative, Dr Vinay and Dr Arvinc, opened the door for future collaboration and policy advocacy.
The Guiyuan-APHN launched a Psychosocial Care Training Program from September 2023 to June 2024, engaging 16 social workers and physicians. The program aimed to strengthen their skills in providing compassionate care for patients with advanced illnesses.
The APHN-Lien Collaborative Palliative Care Training in Manila (September 25–28, 2024) marked a significant step in strengthening palliative care in the Philippines. Bringing together 200 healthcare professionals and advocates, the program fostered collaboration between international faculty and local experts, advancing both specialist and foundational training.
As a faculty member of the Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care Program, Dr Hideyuki Kashiwagi(Faculty Member, Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care Bhutan) participated in Module 4 of the Bhutan training, gaining valuable insights as a palliative care specialist and highlighting three key takeaways from the experience.
“Every village healer, every nurse who joins us—they’re the true heroes,” says project lead Anika Mehta. “We’re just lighting the torch they carry forward.”
The Bhutan Module 4 Palliative Care Training was a transformative five-day program in Thimphu, bringing together 31 healthcare professionals and faculty from Singapore, India, and Japan. Serving as a faculty member from Japan, I was deeply inspired by the participants’ and colleagues’ sincerity, compassionate dedication, and supportive collaboration.
The Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN), invited by the Nepalese Association of Palliative Care (NAPCARE), has established a new collaboration with Nepal’s Ministry of Health to launch the Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care program. This initiative will train master trainers and expand palliative care services nationwide, marking a significant step toward improving quality of life for patients with serious illnesses.
The Lien Collaborative team conducted the third palliative care training module in Dili, Timor-Leste, from 29 July to 2 August. The program included the announcement of Hospital Lahane as one of the country’s first three palliative care centers, reflecting the Ministry of Health’s commitment to service development.
The project initially focused on major hospitals and the national cancer center in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. The second-year plan aims to extend palliative care knowledge and services nationwide.
The workshop for palliative care training in Bhutan was facilitated by a team of three doctors and one nurse from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, a senior nurse palliative care practitioner from India and observed by the Executive Director of the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN).
A team from the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN) in collaboration with the Home Palliative Care unit at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) successfully completed a 5-day Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on palliative care in Thimphu from 6-10 May 2024.
At the 6th Cancer Treatment Centre (CTC) Foundation Course, participants embarked on a transformative journey guided by the luminaries of palliative care. Through engaging sessions and collaborative learning, attendees delved into the intricacies of pain management, communication skills, leadership and ethical dilemmas.
I was first involved in the APHN-Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care in Sarawak, as part of the APHN Team on a scoping visit to Kuching, in August 2022.
In 2014, we began collaborating with Sri Lanka’s National Cancer Institute and its National Cancer Control Programme to launch an in-country training programme. Since then, we have successfully completed our Train-the-Trainers programme, training over 50 institutions and more than 100 participants.
Reflections by Dr Sii Kia Miang, KK Asajaya, Malaysia & Dr Adam, Klinik Kesihatan Song Malaysia.
In 2023, APHN formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Health, marking a pivotal step in delivering comprehensive Palliative Care training in Timor Leste.
The first Palliative Care Center in Sri Lanka was opened at Karapitiya Teaching Hospital on 13 June 2020 by Consultant Oncology Surgeon Dr. Krishantha Perera.
After conducting a scoping trip in November 2022, the Lien Collaborative team returned to Timor Leste in April 2023 to initiate its inaugural training session for local healthcare professionals interested in palliative care.
“Mabuhay!”(Welcome in Filipino) – The National Palliative and Hospice Training Program, under PSHPM and Family Medicine, addresses the Philippines’ critical care gap, with fewer than 60 specialists serving over 115 million people. Since 2015, national policies and laws, including NICCA and UHC, have recognized every Filipino’s right to palliative and hospice care. – “Pasulong!” (Onward in Filipino)
The Lien Collaborative Palliative Care Workshop for Sarawak was held from 10th to 14th April 2023 in Kuching, Sarawak.
Lao PDR is a lower middle income group country with 7.1 million population in 2019. It is located in Indochinese Peninsula and is bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.
A scoping team consisting of Dr Sylvia McCarthy, Dr Naveen Salins, Ms Joan Ryan, Mr Giam Cheong Leong and Ms Trudy Giam visited Timor Leste in November 2022 in order to assess the viability of a palliative care capacity building program as part of the Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care (Lien Collab) Program.
With the success of the CTC programmes, our partner AIIMS has been designated by WHO as a Collaborating Centre for Training and Education in Palliative Care (WHO CC IND-163), led by Dr Sushma Bhatnagar
With the success of running the CTC programmes, our partner AIIMS (Department of Onco-Anaesthesia and Palliative Medicine at the Dr BRA Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Science) has been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Training and Education in Palliative Care (WHO CC IND-163).
President Maithripala Sirisena has approved the release of LKR 10 million (USD$ 54,253) from the President’s Fund for Palliative Care Team of the Teaching Hospital, Karapitiya, to set up a palliative care centre.
“Madam, they (hospital administration) are not providing us with adequate personal protection equipment (PPE), no N95 respirator nor surgical masks,” lamented a young colleague from a ‘red zone’ town in India, a place that is recording rising number of COVID-19 cases.
The 4th run of the Cancer Treatment Centre (CTC) project in India kicked off with the CTC4 Foundation Course at the Pride Plaza Hotel at Delhi’s Aerocity.
Letting go is difficult for most people, be it in personal life or professional. As doctors we are trained to work towards saving lives.
SMS Medical College is part of Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care CTC3 Program. They have since setup a Palliative Care service successfully and provided care to their patients.
Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care (Lien Collab) draws on philanthropy, health institutions, palliative care service providers, individuals and more to strengthen leadership and capacity in bringing pain relief to all.