World Hospice and Palliative Care Day: embracing compassion and dignity

This article was exclusively written for European Sting by Ms. Mai AbouShloua, born in 2005 in Egypt. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Despite our diversity, we all aim towards fulfilling the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) for a prosperous, united societies. But have “you” as a young leader meticulously analyzed these goals and attempted to enact them? One of these goals is SDG3: Good Health and well-being, which is most probably the reason behind why a sizeable number of people pursue any of the medical domains. The aim is always to ameliorate the symptoms so that the patients can have at least a better quality of life if cure could not be achieved, which is surprisingly the case in numerous illnesses such as cancers, autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases This is to name but a few. Not only are these the determining factors, but also scarce resources are a key player in most of the countries, regardless of their economic thrive. Every healthcare system proved to have its upsides and downsides, where a certain category would be affected.

In order to shed the light on palliative care, the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA) designated on the second Saturday of each October a day for global awareness and advocacy on the accessibility of hospice and palliative care for everyone facing life-limiting illness. The very first day was celebrated on the eighth of October, 2005.Currently, in 2025, almost every country honors this day with a shared universal motto thanks to the supporting non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This year, it was celebrated on Saturday, October 11 with the global theme: “Achieving the Promise: Universal Access to Palliative Care”. In my home country, Egypt, this day is hosted in Cairo Opera House to highlight its significance by Hospice Egypt that is an initiative by Josaab foundation of which main concern is terminally-ill patients. Though there are over 45000 NGOs focusing on community issues, Josaab was the very first to focus on this marginalized category that do struggle to lead a life with the bare minimum needs- a life without pain. The problem is that these patients do suffer from social death before physical death. Thus, our role as humans is to help these initiatives to gain more publicity as they depend immensely on fundraising.

As youth that contribute 16% of the entire population, we have to promote palliative care initiatives by advocating ourselves and donating. Moreover, it is high time that we engaged with policymakers to integrate the palliative care into healthcare systems, ensuring that these services are available to all who need them, regardless of where their background, ethnicity, religion or beliefs.

On the basis of the aforementioned, I feel urged to reiterate that providing palliative care for terminally-ill patients is not a mercy, but a priority. It is part of humanity, which distinguishes us as human beings from the other creatures. I call all youth worldwide to unify their voices to weave a larger tapestry for palliative care progression by dedicating themselves to every organization, of which mission is embracing compassion, empathy, dignity among critical patients.

About the author

Mai AbouShloua was born in 2005 in Egypt. She is currently a fourth-year medical student in Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport (AASTMT). She is fond of advocacy, global health and diplomacy. This year, it was her very first time to attend the World Youth Day and meet the Director-General of the WHO-Dr Tedros and the passion-driven youth for a better sustainable future. She aspires to work in WHO one day. For now, she is keen on being part of the coming World Health Assembly.