Palliative care and COVID-19. Challenges for the humanitarian sector

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Sphere is hosting a series of webinars to share good practice and technical guidance on humanitarian standards in the COVID-19 response. This webinar explores the importance of providing palliative care services in the framework of a COVID-19 response.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have died in isolation, a situation that runs counter to the ethical belief that people have the right to a dignified death. Palliative care – the prevention and relief of suffering and distress associated with end-of-life illness – is no less important than other humanitarian actions. The COVID-19 pandemic clearly poses new challenges for the humanitarian sector, but we must not try to start from scratch: a new crisis doesn’t necessarily require new humanitarian standards, but rather the understanding and application of existing ones.

• Read more about palliative care in the framework of COVID-19 responses.
• Read more about the development of the new palliative care standard in the Sphere Handbook.

The event will be delivered in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic, French and Spanish. We strive to make this webinar accessible to people with visual or hearing impairments (please let us know about your requirements through the registration form).

Speakers

• Aninia Nadig, Policy and Practice Manager – Sphere (facilitator)
• Rachel Jane Coghlan, Public health researcher and palliative care physiotherapist – Centre for Humanitarian Leadership, Deakin University
• Monalisa Matonda, clinical social worker – Island Hospice, Zimbabwe
• Dr Eba Pasha, Focal Point for the Global Health Cluster Covid-19 Task Team and Sphere Handbook Health chapter author
• Francis Tsikai, nurse – Island Hospice, Zimbabwe

Webinar objectives

1. Highlight the importance of palliative care in humanitarian response;
2. Situate the palliative care standard in the Sphere Handbook and highlight its role in living up to Sphere’s values and principles;
3. Explain the challenges in integrating palliative care as part of humanitarian response and means to overcome them;
4. Present examples of the provision of palliative care in precarious situations and highlight the support provided by the Sphere standard;
5. Invite a discussion to solicit further positive examples and challenges and to promote further learning.

This project is funded by the H2H Network’s “H2H Fund”, which is supported by UK Aid from the UK government.