title: Palliative care initiative for the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a proposal.
abstract: The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), with 22 countries and about half a billion people, has scarce palliative care services that are far from meeting the needs of the region. The authors of this paper believe that the resources and international influence of the World Health Organization could be combined with the excellent palliative care expertise of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to establish a collaborative initiative for promotion of palliative care services in the region. This proposal is based on the major components of professional training, development of regional guidelines, integration of palliative care into health plans and polices, and ensuring availability of essential medications. Investment in developing palliative care in the EMR would be expected to relieve the suffering of hundreds of thousands of patients and families in this part of the world.
authors.affiliation: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, malshahri@kfshrc.edu.sa
authors.forename: Mohammad Zafir
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Al-Shahri
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Adnan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ezzat
authors.forename: Oussama
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Khatib
mesh_terms: D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D010166:Palliative Care; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D012529:Saudi Arabia