Building compassionate communities in Bangladesh
Sumit Banik :
Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world.
It was established in 2005 and has become one of palliative care’s most significant global days.
Each year a different theme is chosen to emphasize an important aspect of palliative care. On October 14, 2023, the world will celebrate Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD).
The theme for WHPCD 2023 is “Compassionate Communities: Together for Palliative Care.”
This theme highlights the importance of communities working together to ensure that everyone has access to the palliative care they need, when and where they need it.
Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illnesses.
It provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms and offers support on physical, psychological, and spiritual levels.
Palliative care can be provided at any stage of illness and can be continued into the end of life.
It provides relief from pain and other symptoms, as well as emotional and spiritual support. Palliative care can be provided at any stage of illness and can be delivered at home, in the hospital, or in other settings.
In Bangladesh, there is a significant gap in the availability of palliative care. A 2022 study found that only 10% of people with life-limiting illnesses in Bangladesh receive palliative care.
This is due to a number of factors, including lack of awareness, lack of trained healthcare professionals, and financial barriers.
Bangladesh has a large population of people living with serious illnesses
. According to the World Health Organization, there are over 1 million people living with cancer in Bangladesh, and this number is expected to increase in the coming years.
In addition, there are millions of people living with other serious illnesses, such as heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and dementia.
Most people in Bangladesh die at home. According to the World Health Organization, over 70% of deaths in Bangladesh occur at home.
This means that there is a need to provide palliative care services in the community setting so that people can receive care in the comfort of their own homes.
In a world that often seems to move at a breakneck pace, where the demands of everyday life can sometimes overshadow the most profound moments, the concept of “Compassionate Communities” stands as a powerful reminder of our shared humanity.
This theme, “Together for Palliative Care,” encapsulates the essence of what it means to care for one another in the face of life’s most profound challenges.
Compassionate Communities are those in which individuals, families, friends, and neighbors come together to provide support, care, and comfort to those facing serious illness, particularly those at the end of life.
These communities recognize that palliative care is not just the responsibility of healthcare professionals but is a collective effort that involves everyone.
It’s about fostering an environment of empathy and understanding, where no one faces the journey of a life-limiting illness alone.
Despite the many benefits of palliative care, it remains underutilized in many parts of the world, including Bangladesh.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 14% of people who need palliative care worldwide receive it.
In Bangladesh, this number is even lower, with only an estimated 5% of people with advanced illnesses receiving palliative care.
There are a number of factors that contribute to the limited access to palliative care in Bangladesh.
One factor is the lack of awareness of palliative care among both the public and healthcare professionals.
Another factor is the stigma associated with palliative care, which is often seen as a sign that a person is dying.
Additionally, there is a shortage of trained palliative care specialists in Bangladesh.
Despite these challenges, there are a number of things that can be done to promote access to palliative care services at the community level in Bangladesh.
One important step is to raise awareness of palliative care among the public and healthcare professionals.
This can be done through public education campaigns, training programs for healthcare workers, and advocacy efforts. Community-based palliative care programs can also help to reduce the stigma associated with palliative care by increasing understanding of its benefits.
It’s highly notable that, a development initiative is being implemented with the support of the Non-Communicable Disease Control (NCDC) program of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) at Narayanganj District namely “Compassionate Narayangonj” and the project title is `Building an Integrated age-attuned model of supportive palliative care in Bangladesh’ is a collaborative effort of AYAT Education, Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), and St Christopher’s Hospice.
This project aims to integrate palliative care into the public health system by upskilling the youth volunteers, health workers, nurses, and physicians working at the subdistrict level and in rural communities.
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2023 is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of palliative care and to advocate for greater access to palliative care services for everyone who needs it.
By promoting access to palliative care services at the community level in Bangladesh, we can help to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to live a life with dignity and comfort, even in the face of serious illness and death.
(The writer is public health
activist & trainer.)
