World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is recognized on October 13, 2012, and its theme “Living to the end: palliative care for an aging population” is the essence of what hospice and palliative care can offer to individuals living with a serious or life-limiting illness.

Organizers of this annual event note that the focus of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is:

• To share our vision to increase the availability of hospice and palliative care throughout the world by creating opportunities to speak out about the issues
• To raise awareness and understanding of the needs – medical, social, practical, spiritual – of people living with a life limiting illness and their families
• To raise funds to support and develop hospice and palliative care services around the world

In San Diego, many of the world’s hospice and palliative care experts gather at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, to participate in its International Leadership Development Initiative (LDI). The initiative aims to “grow global leaders… advance palliative care” through skill-building and mentorship of emerging palliative care physician leaders from around the world, including Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Funding for LDI is made possible by a grant from the International Palliative Care Initiative (IPCI), Open Society Foundations (OSF), New York, NY with additional support provided by the Office of International Affairs, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (OIA NCI) and The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (DPWMF).

To learn more about World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, visit online at http://www.worldday.org/about/.