Planning and implementing palliative care services

In 2014, the first ever global resolution on palliative care, WHA 67.19, called upon WHO and Member States to improve access to palliative care as a core component of health systems, with an emphasis on primary health care and community/home-based care. In the WHO Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013-2020, palliative care is explicitly recognized as part of the comprehensive services required for the noncommunicable diseases. Member States have requested WHO to develop evidence-based tools on integrating palliative care into national health systems, across disease groups and levels of care. High-quality palliative care is an explicit element of the WHO Framework on integrated people-centred services, approved at the 69th World Health Assembly in 2016.

This is a practical manual on how to plan and implement palliative care services, integrated into existing health-care services, at national or subnational level. It has been designed primarily for health programme managers at national, provincial, or district level, whether they are responsible for noncommunicable diseases, infectious disease programmes, health services, or other technical areas where palliative care is important.

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