Pictured: Making Friends from Around the World
Delegates from various countries connect and share experiences in children’s palliative care at ICPCN 2025.
Attending the ICPCN Conference 2025 in Manila was an experience that felt both energising and grounding. With the theme Milestones & Horizons: Celebrating Progress, Envisioning the Future of Children’s Palliative Care, the conference brought together practitioners, advocates, educators, and pioneers from across the world. For me—someone currently developing a paediatric palliative home-visit service and helping my hospital build a palliative care centre in collaboration with local communities—this gathering was far more than an academic meeting. It was a timely reminder that we are part of a global movement driven by compassion, science, and shared purpose.
From the very first session, it was clear that the programme had been designed with care and intention. The topics were comprehensive, practical, and deeply relevant to daily challenges. Being surrounded by people who carried the same passion strengthened my belief that even small efforts can spark meaningful progress. It renewed my motivation to continue building paediatric palliative care (PPC) services in Indonesia, where the field remains young and not yet fully integrated into the national healthcare system.
Clinical Horizons: Knowledge That Helps Us Move Forward
I joined several sessions under Clinical Horizons, each offering insights directly applicable to my setting. One session focused on managing distress in nonverbal children—an essential topic for home-visit care, where observing subtle cues becomes even more important. Another session on optimising pain treatment highlighted practical strategies that can be adapted even in low-resource environments.
These sessions reinforced that improving PPC is not always about sophisticated equipment. Often, it is about listening more attentively, sharpening clinical observation, and advocating for essential changes that can strengthen care at the patient’s home or bedside.
Learning from Global Milestones
Listening to the journeys of countries such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Nepal and other countries was profoundly inspiring. Many of these nations began their PPC efforts in circumstances like ours—limited resources, low awareness, and minimal policy support. Yet they slowly built systems, trained teams, engaged governments, and collaborated with communities.
Their progress helped me reflect on Indonesia’s own path. At my hospital, we are starting to establish a palliative care centre that involves community partners. Seeing how other countries built strong community networks gave me clearer ideas on how we might strengthen ours, including volunteer structures, training models, and advocacy strategies. Their stories reminded me that meaningful services can grow from small beginnings, as long as the vision remains strong.
Meeting the Giants of PPC
The panel discussions were among the most memorable parts of the conference.
The session on Milestones and Horizons brought together some of the most inspiring pioneers in the field. Listening to their journeys—filled with challenges, breakthroughs, and persistence—felt like receiving a masterclass in leadership and courage.
The session on Cultural and Compassionate Care resonated deeply, especially as home-visit work requires understanding family beliefs, cultural expectations, and community values. These discussions reminded me that technical skills alone are not enough; sensitivity and cultural humility are central to offering meaningful care.
The panel on Measuring Outcomes and Quality presented practical tools, including examples from countries that built monitoring systems from the ground up. This was valuable for our emerging palliative centre, which aims to create quality markers that match our local reality.
Finally, the Advocacy and Policy session offered powerful, memorable lines:
“Partner to become bigger. Watch the weather and go where the sun shines. Take someone else’s bus if you don’t have one.” These messages were not only inspiring—they were practical reminders that collaboration, timing, and openness to opportunity are essential for growth.
The Power of Networking
One of the greatest takeaways from ICPCN 2025 was the networking. Meeting colleagues from multiple countries allowed me to learn from their successes and challenges. Several shared how they established home-based services, how they trained community workers, and how they built trust among families. These conversations gave me ideas I can adapt as I expand our paediatric palliative home-visit programme and strengthen our hospital–community partnership model.
Networking at ICPCN was more than exchanging contacts—it felt like joining a global support system.
Miles for Millions: A Walk with Purpose
Even the morning walk through Manila was meaningful and joyful. The launch of Miles for Millions showed how advocacy can be creative and community driven. It inspired me to think about ways we could develop local fundraising and awareness activities that are accessible, fun, and engaging.
Carrying the Spirit Home
As the conference ended, I felt immense gratitude for the organisers who crafted such a thoughtful and impactful programme. Their work created a space where stories, strategies, and hope could be shared freely across borders.
I am returning to Indonesia with renewed determination—to strengthen our home-visit service, support the development of our palliative centre, collaborate closely with communities, and advocate more strategically for paediatric palliative care.
About author :
Lianda Tamara is the Head of Pediatric Palliative Care and a key leader in the development of the Jang Seng Ie Life Center, Husada Hospital Jakarta- Indonesia.
Lianda can be contacted at tamaralianda@gmail.com
Picture 1 : Miles for Millions: A Walk with Purpose
Participants join the ICPCN “Miles for Millions” morning walk through Manila to support global children’s palliative care.
Picture 2 : Indonesia Delegates with ICPCN Chief Executive
The Indonesian delegation meets Prof. Julia Downing ,Chief Executive of The International Children’s Palliative Care Network, during the conference in Manila.