Provides details of the essential package of paediatric palliative care including details on interventions, medicines, equipment and essential human resources.

The World Health Assembly has resolved that providing access to palliative care for children is an ethical responsibility of health systems and that integration of palliative care into public health care systems is essential for achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal on universal health coverage (UHC).

This guide, developed as part of a WHO series on palliative care, is relevant to anyone involved with planning, implementing or managing primary palliative care, including officials of UN agencies working with children, ministry of health officials, public health leaders, hospital managers, nongovernmental organizations, general and specialist paediatricians, surgeons, anaesthesiologists, primary care providers and palliative care providers.

It provides details of the essential package of paediatric palliative care including details on interventions, medicines, equipment and human resources. It also offers several models of palliative care delivery, training competencies/model curricula and access to essential medicines. The integration of palliative care to strengthen health systems and to promote UHC is explored and there is also a specific section on research and quality improvement in paediatric palliative care.