Global Palliative Care Community Statement on the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine

As a global palliative care community, we are deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and its devastating impacts on families, children and vulnerable populations with serious pre-existing medical conditions.

We call upon all humanitarian actors and donors to prioritise critical palliative care and life-saving treatments as complementary interventions in all humanitarian responses, in accordance with WHO guidelines and Sphere Minimum Standards for Palliative Care. 

We are gravely concerned about the lack of critical medical equipment, medical supplies and essential medications to address the needs of vulnerable persons affected by the conflict, in particular children living with pre-existing medical conditions, vulnerable aging populations and persons living with HIV, TB, Covid-19, and other communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

We would therefore wish to reinforce the importance, and indeed human right, of palliative care for the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who depend on palliative care services.

As palliative care clinicians we know well the adage that in palliative care there is never “nothing we can do”, rather, there is always something we can do to comfort and support a patient and their family.

We therefore wish to express our solidarity to the bravery of physicians and palliative care providers in Ukraine working tirelessly under great threat to safeguard human life and wish to collectively express solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their struggle for survival amidst Russian aggression.

This statement is endorsed by: