SUNFLOWER – 2023 Q3
We are delighted to share our third update this year highlighting the impact and growing reach of the Sunflower Children's Network.
Photo: Chuck Russell/Two Worlds Cancer
Our Vision
The Sunflower Children‘s Network supports healthcare professionals at hospitals and other healthcare facilities in South and Southeast Asia to develop high-quality medical care for children with cancer, and other serious illnesses. Our vision: All children with serious illnesses and their families should have access to the best possible care which supports their quality of life and relieves their suffering.
In 2015, Sunflower began as a regional program focused on supporting children‘s palliative care in Hyderabad, India. In 2021, the program expanded to form the Sunflower Children‘s Network which currently includes key regional healthcare centres in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. The Network provides mentorship and supports training and healthcare service delivery across South and Southeast Asia, focussed on palliative care for children.
Healthcare teams from Bhutan and Sri Lanka have joined the Sunflower Children's Network!
In collaboration with the Sri Lankan College of Pediatrics, the Sunflower Children's Network has started an eight-week, online “Certificate Course on Pediatric Palliative Care” for pediatric clinicians focussed on training and mentoring nurses and doctors in Sri Lanka.
In July, we launched a short course on pediatric palliative care for healthcare providers in Bhutan. The course was a collaboration with Project ECHO and Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences in Thimphu, Bhutan. The course included more than 50 nurses and physicians from across Bhutan who joined online for six-weekly teaching and discussion sessions with international faculty.
In the closing ceremony, participants were joined by Dr. K.P. Tshering, President of Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Dr. Mimi Lhamu Mynak, President of National Medical Services of Bhutan, and representatives from Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration. The program‘s launch was recently featured online at eHospice
New online mentorship and training program in Nepal
With colleagues at Kanti Children‘s Hospital in Kathmandu, a nine-week online training course on Pediatric Palliative Care for healthcare professionals in Nepal was completed recently. The course included weekly online interactive teaching sessions with virtual small group “breakout rooms” for discussion and case presentations and discussion. The course included a dynamic and dedicated team of faculty from Nepal, India, Canada, and Kuwait. More than 60 individuals participated in the program which included a certificate for those who attended at least 90% of course sessions and completed the final assignment.
The closing ceremony included Dr. Prakash Joshi, General Secretary of the Nepal Pediatric Society (NEPAS), Dr. Pawan Sah, Section Chief of Health Coordination Division, Ministry of Health and Population, as well as Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, President of Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration.
The strength and quality of these programs has been recognized by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health in the United Kingdom, which has endorsed all of our Network's online courses.
Pediatric palliative care fellows meet in Hyderabad
Drs. Shahaidur Rahman (Bangladesh), Leicel Goyena (Philippines) and Biplav Ghimire (Nepal) all travelled to the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care for clinical training with the pediatric palliative care team.
All three fellows were able to rotate with the pediatric home care team as well as see patients in the hospitals (cancer and children‘s hospitals) and at the Mandara Children's Hospice. The fellows were able to learn about how best to deliver home care to children. The fellows reflected on how the respite care at the hospice can help support children and their families, providing a much needed break for the caregivers to rest, knowing their child is well cared for.
Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care is a centre of excellence in pediatric palliative care, which provides important specialist level training for the Sunflower Children's Network palliative care fellows every year. The team in Hyderabad includes Drs. Gayatri Palat (Co-Lead of the fellowship program) as well as Dr. Archana Iyengar (former fellow, now a consultant in pediatric palliative care) and Dr. Reddy (palliative care consultant).
The Sunflower – Palliative Care Podcast
The Sunflower Children's Network launched a podcast to engage with clinicians, policy makers, and others interested in palliative care, bringing curiosity, humor, and reflection to the field.
The first episode features Dr. Natasha Datoo, a physician at Canuck Place Children's Hospice, discussing her work. A second episode features Dr. Erin Kwolek, a respirologist (lung specialist) who also specializes in pediatric palliative care in Ottawa, sharing her experiences. More episodes are being released weekly, so be sure to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
The podcast was also featured in a recent article on eHospice, a key website sharing palliative care news and inspiration from around the world.
You can listen to all the episodes on Spotify
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We thank you for your continued support of the Sunflower Children's Network – a Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration initiative and we look forward to sharing another update at year's end.
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