(February 20, 2025, Ottawa, ON) – The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) proudly shares that CEO Laurel Gillespie, board member of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), attended the 156th session of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO). Representing the WHPCA, Ms. Gillespie underscored the urgent need for equitable access to high-quality palliative care worldwide and emphasized the importance of maintaining serious illness care as a global health priority.

The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance Trustees at the WHO 156th Executive Board. From left to right: Laurel Gillespie (Canada), Dr. Stephen Connor (Executive Director), Dr. Douglas Crispim (Brazil).

During the session, Ms. Gillespie delivered a compelling statement on behalf of the WHPCA highlighting the crucial connection between mental health, social connection, and palliative care:

"Palliative care is one of the only healthcare services that integrates mental health services for all the patients and families we serve.

Social work, psychology, psychiatry, and chaplaincy are all part of any quality interdisciplinary team that provides palliative care services to the most seriously ill. In addition, all hospice and palliative care programs strive to provide bereavement support to all families served based on need.

Social connection is essential to adjustment to loss. Counseling and mental health services need to be better integrated into medical care in all our health systems."

Additionally, she called on WHO for urgent action on increasing access to quality hospice palliative care to those living with dementia and supported the extension of the Global Action Plan on Public Health Response to Dementia until 2030.

“There is a dire need [for] accessible palliative care for people living with dementia, which is projected and expected to be the fastest growing of all other diseases in the decades ahead.”

Those living with dementia see among the lowest rates of access to hospice palliative care in Canada and around the world. As Canada’s population continues to age, the number of individuals living with dementia and those caring for a loved one with dementia will increase significantly. Our health care systems must prepare for this increased need for dementia care, including hospice palliative care and support for unpaid caregivers. CHPCA supports continued global action on dementia and encourages the Canadian government to strengthen its commitments to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and those who care for them outlined in Canada’s national dementia strategy.

Ms. Gillespie’s advocacy at the WHO Executive Board session aligns with WHPCA’s and CHPCA’s ongoing missions to ensure that all individuals facing serious illness receive the comprehensive, compassionate care they deserve. Her remarks reinforce the necessity of incorporating mental health and bereavement support into palliative care frameworks globally, and of ensuring greater equity in access to palliative care for all individuals with life-limiting illnesses, including dementia.

Stephen Connor, PhD, Executive Director of the WHPCA, acknowledged CHPCA’s critical role in global advocacy for palliative care, stating, “We appreciate CHPCA’s involvement in global advocacy for palliative care, which is so important to improving access to the unmet need for care worldwide, especially in low and middle-income countries where the unmet need is greatest. Laurel Gillespie is one of the most active members of the WHPCA board and we appreciate her assistance this year in the WHO executive board where decisions are made about the upcoming World Health Assembly, the governing body of WHO.”

CHPCA looks forward to continued global collaboration with WHPCA and other key partners to strengthen equitable access to quality hospice palliative care in Canada and around the world.

About Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) — the national voice for hospice palliative care in Canada – is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in care for persons approaching death so that the burdens of suffering, loneliness and grief are lessened. CHPCA operates in close partnership with other national organizations and continues to work to ensure that all Canadians, regardless of where they may live, have equal access to quality hospice palliative care services for themselves and their family.