World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) is an international day to raise awareness for the need of those living with a life-limiting illness to have access to quality palliative care. It takes place every year on the second Saturday in October. This year’s theme was My Care, My Comfort. To celebrate, many of our...
On Friday, October 9th the team at Global Partners in Care (GPIC) donned hats and masks to support the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) event #HatsOn4CPC – Hats (and Masks) on for Children’s Palliative Care. Every year, on the second Friday in October, ICPCN holds a virtual awareness event highlighting the global need of...
John Couri, University of Notre Dame, Junior, GPIC Intern Danny Thomas, the founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said, “No child should die in the dawn of life.” Danny had a dream when he opened the doors of St. Jude in 1962, and it has lived on ever since. When I first reflected on...
While visiting a hospital with a group of ladies from church, Denise Mortlock noticed a group of children in need of extra attention that did not have access to palliative care services. Seeing these children’s situation struck a nerve with Denise, and so began the journey of The Rocking Horse Project (RHP) in Eswatini. Denise,...
In spite of its growing recognition and expansion, the field of palliative care has struggled to reach its full potential in the global context. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the leading deterrents of palliative care growth include a lack of national health policies and systems that include palliative care, limited palliative care training...
When our organization began in 1999, it was in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping through Sub-Saharan Africa. GPIC partner, Matthew 25 House, began in Ghana in 1998 with a similar mission. HIV is one of the deadliest global public health threats in recent history, having claimed nearly 33 million lives to date. This viral infection...
Palliative care is unique in its ability to offer a holistic approach to patient care. The capacity to address the patient’s physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs and adapt to various circumstances makes palliative care special. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, palliative care providers continue to deliver the best possible care within their...
The people of Nsungwale Village in Binga District, Zimbabwe woke up on the morning of February 11th, 2020 to massive destruction and flooded homes due to the incessant rainfall that had been taking place the previous days. This comes on the heels of a series of droughts in 2019 that the World Food Programme said...
The pandemic in Africa is somewhat enigmatic. High numbers of deaths were expected there due to fragile health systems, lack of access to preventive measures, barriers to testing, and potentially vulnerable populations. On May 22, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that Africa reached 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. It took the continent 14 weeks to reach this milestone...
