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Bishkek, Oct. 13, 2018. /Kabar/. The first “Palliative care - I do care!” national meeting of palliative care volunteers, organized with the support of the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan, will be held in Bishkek. The meeting is timed to the World Hospice anFirst ever meeting of palliative care volunteers to be held in Bishkek
Bishkek, Oct. 13, 2018. /Kabar/. The first “Palliative care - I do care!” national meeting of palliative care volunteers, organized with the support of the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan, will be held in Bishkek. The meeting is timed to the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, which is celebrated annually on the second Saturday of October. Volunteers and activists who provide voluntary help to patients that need palliative care and their families will gather at the meeting from different regions of Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, relatives of patients that need palliative care, representatives of state, non-governmental and international organizations whose activities are related to the introduction of palliative care in the health system of the Kyrgyz Republic were also invited to participate in the event. The main purpose of the event is to raise public awareness of palliative and hospice care in Kyrgyzstan and to develop a large-scale volunteer movement to help patients and their families. “It is impossible to imagine quality palliative care without volunteers. The desire to help their compatriots and the selfless desire to be useful to those who need help are very common in our society. We see our task in directing this potential to improving the quality of life of the incurably ill and helping patients live the rest of their lives as fully as possible, without fear and a sense of alienation from society, ” Lola Asanalieva, the Chairman of the board of Open Medical Community public union, told. Asanalieva said that the meeting is intended to become a discussion platform for discussing the medical, social and spiritual needs of patients and their family members, and how volunteers can support and develop the hospice and palliative care movement in Kyrgyzstan. In addition, at the event it is planned to present the plans of the Association for Palliative and Hospice Care, which was created thanks to the support of the Soros Foundation-Kyrgyzstan and was legally registered last year. The WHO reported that palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life for patients and their families who are confronted with a life-threatening illness, by relieving pain and managing other symptoms that cause suffering. In Kyrgyzstan, 20,000 patients need palliative care per year, or about 3,300 patients daily, 570 of whom are diagnosed with cancer. The huge gap between the number of patients who need palliative care and those who receive it is evidenced by the fact that there are only two hospitals for cancer patients in the country - for 25 beds in Bishkek and for 5 beds in Osh, and 60 fixed beds for tuberculosis patients in Kemin. Read more