SUNFLOWER – 2024 Q1
We are delighted to share our first update from this year highlighting news from the Sunflower Children's Network as our Network of volunteers and global partners continues to grow.
Join us on Two World Cancer Collaboration's social media to see the impact of the Sunflower Children's Network. And to keep an eye out for the next episodes of The Sunflower Palliative Care Podcast.
Our Vision
The Sunflower Children's Network supports healthcare professionals in South and Southeast Asia. It aims to enhance medical care for children with cancer and other serious illnesses. The network has expanded to several key healthcare centers in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and the Philippines.
The Network's goal is to provide the best possible care for every child, and family, helping them achieve the best possible quality of life.
Children's Palliative Care Leadership Institute
The Children's Palliative Care Leadership Institute is a new and innovative training program designed to bring together healthcare leaders from various fields, including nursing, medicine, administration, and other allied healthcare fields. Its primary goal is to equip these leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead and encourage healthcare innovations in children's palliative care within South and Southeast Asia.
This program is a collaborative effort of many organizations: Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society (India), St. Jude Global Palliative Care (USA), Canuck Place Children's Hospice (Canada), Cipla Foundation (India), Stanford University (USA), and the International Children's Palliative Care Network (UK).
In February, a specialized three-day leadership workshop was hosted as part of this initiative by the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care, India. The course consists of 11 interactive group sessions that will run during the next six months. Participants are exploring new teaching techniques and methods of assessing students to see what they have learned. The goal is to improve the effectiveness of palliative care training for residents as well as medical, nursing, and social work students.
Please see the eHospice feature to learn more about the workshop and the Children's Palliative Care Leadership Institute.
Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship Program
In January, the Sunflower Children's Network hosted a virtual graduation and welcome ceremony for our Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship Program. The event celebrated the achievements of our graduating fellows Dr. Biplav Ghimire (Nepal), Dr. Shaidur Rahman (Bangladesh), and Dr. Leicel Goyena (Philippines).
We also welcomed the five new pediatric palliative care fellows for 2024. The event included more than 60 participants, including directors from Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, healthcare leaders from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, fellowship faculty, and family members of the fellows.
This one-year fellowship program trains and equips pediatricians to become palliative care specialists.
2024 Fellow Profiles
Throughout the year, we will share profiles of each of this year's pediatric palliative care fellows. In this newsletter, we are pleased to feature Dr. Anuradha Ganigara (India) and Dr. Huma Zafar (Pakistan):
Dr. Anuradha Ganigara completed her fellowship in pediatric chronic pain at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and noticed many pain referrals from the pediatric oncology ward at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Bengaluru, India. Feeling that her work was incomplete, she decided to pursue a fellowship in pediatric palliative medicine. Dr. Anuradha is passionate about pediatric pain and palliative care, and she spends time teaching residents and fellowship students at her hospital about these important topics. She also leads the education subgroup of the special interest group of pediatric pain of the Asian Society of Pediatric Anesthesiologists and is a member of the International Society for the Study of Pain.
In her leisure time, Dr Anuradha enjoys reading books, traveling, and watching sci-fi and fantasy movies with her family.
Dr. Huma Zafar, an assistant professor at Pakistan's largest pediatric healthcare centre, completed her fellowship training in pediatric hematology and oncology and passed the boards conducted by the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan. Witnessing the limitations in curative treatments for conditions like relapsed leukemia and metastatic solid tumors in a resource-constrained setting prompted her to initiate palliative care training. Her vision is to alleviate suffering and establish a Pediatric Palliative Care Program in Pakistan, emphasizing family-centred care.
Dr. Huma, a dedicated mother of three, finds fulfillment in nurturing compassion in her children. In her spare time, she delights in crafting delicious continental dishes for her family. The bond of her extended family brings her great joy. She eagerly awaits their annual summer retreats to Pakistan's stunning northern regions, where they cherish moments amidst nature's beauty.
Online Mentorship and Training – Eastern Mediterranean Region ECHO Sessions
In partnership with the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care, we recently launched an online learning program for pediatric healthcare providers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. This program is aimed at general and specialist pediatricians, nurses, and other types of healthcare professionals. The program includes six weekly online sessions.
The first course started in January, and included more than 100 nurses and physicians from across the region. Participants eagerly participated in the interactive online teaching and discussion sessions, engaging with international and regional expert faculty members.
The participants noted that they found the program particularly helpful in raising awareness about the types of supports that palliative care can provide and the importance of open and honest communication. Given the strong demand from healthcare providers to participate in this training, a second course will start in May.
Please see the eHospice article featuring the Eastern Mediterranean Region Project ECHO program.
eHospice is an international news site for palliative care that has featured articles on the Sunflower Children's Network's palliative care initiatives.
Improving Medical Education in the Philippines
The Sunflower Children's Network partnered with experts from the University of Ottawa (Canada) and the National Children's Hospital in the Philippines to develop an online course that focuses on the best practices in medical education. The Collaborative Online Medical Education Training (COMET) is designed to provide palliative care specialists in the Philippines with training in best practices in education to improve their teaching skills. COMET consists of 11 online learning sessions with didactic teaching and interactive activities.
Please see the eHospice article featuring this new collaboration.
Pain and Palliative Care Program Launched at Indira Ghandi Institute of Child Health with Dr Anuradha Ganigara
Thanks to the dedicated advocacy and efforts of Dr. Anuradha Ganigara, the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health launched their Pain and Palliative Care Program on March 22.
The children's playroom at Kanti Children's Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
Photo: Rachel Neufeld/Two Worlds Cancer
The Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health is a tertiary referral hospital in Bengaluru with 480 beds. Along with hospital administration, Dr. Anuradha Ganigara was joined by Dr. Stuart Brown, a Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration director, and Dr. Gayatri Palat, a director of the Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship for the Sunflower Children‘s Network.
Dr. Palat emphasized the urgent need to establish pain and palliative care units across India with 1.6 million children in need of palliative care. And Dr. Brown recognized the hospital's achievements over the last 30 years and reiterated Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration's commitment to improve access to palliative care for children.
This launch of this program has also been featured in eHospice
The Sunflower – Palliative Care Podcast
Last year, the Sunflower Children's Network launched a podcast to engage with clinicians, policy makers, and others interested in palliative care, bringing curiosity, humour, and reflection to the field.
Please have a listen to of the latest episodes available on Spotify or wherever you listen:
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Thank you for your continuing support of the Sunflower Children's Network. And we look forward to sharing more news with you throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Dr. Megan Doherty
Pediatric Palliative Director
Sunflower Children's Network
Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration
Dr. Stuart Brown
Paliiative Care Specialist
Director
Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration
Rizwana Hussain
Programs & Project Manager
Sunflower Children's Network
Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration