Health experts discuss improving lives of terminally ill African patients

By LUCKY MKANDAWIRE

ABOUT 50 high-level representatives from African ministries of health ended their first-ever palliative care conference in South Africa on Friday, 20 September, with a call to African nations to provide people suffering from long-term chronic illnesses with adequate care.

The delegates bemoaned lack of proper access to care for people suffering from incurable and chronic diseases in the African region.

Dr Gwen Malegwala Ramokgopa, Deputy Minister of Health for South Africa, who led the adoption process for a consensus statement for palliative care integration into health systems in Africa, said it was high time African countries developed local models that would ensure swift roll out of palliative care services in their respective countries.

Malawi was represented at the weeklong conference, convened under the theme; the net effect: Spanning diseases, crossing boarders,  by Deputy Minister of Health, Agnes Mandevu-Chatipwa, who expressed Malawi Government’s commitment to accelerate access to palliative care services in the country.

The session was aimed at increasing awareness on the progress being made and the innovative approaches being used to strengthen health systems in Africa using palliative care and also increase awareness of the needs and challenges of people affected by life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses and the role that palliative care plays in alleviating related pain and human suffering.

The delegates discussed and shared their insights into palliative care development within the framework that was agreed at the UN High Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases in September 2011, and consequently the African Union’s (AU) common position on palliative care and access to pain medications.

They also discussed essential elements of a regional strategy for integrating palliative care into African health systems, reflected in a consensus statement that was adopted by the ministers and delegates attending the session.

The conference also facilitated decision making on priority actions to fully address the needs of those living with, and dying from, life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses in Africa, and the needs of their families.

And through a consensus statement, the conference articulated the essential elements of a regional strategy for increasing access to palliative care, by both adults and children living with, and dying from, life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses.

Dr Emmanuel Luyirika, Executive Director of APCA, said being the first-ever palliative care session for health ministers in Africa, it was a strategic turning point in the effort to reduce suffering among patients with life-limiting illnesses as Africa moves towards entrenching palliative care into health systems.

“Its theme reflects our drive to constantly consider the “net effect”, the ultimate impact of our work with patients in Africa. With this in mind, our conference serves as a celebratory opportunity to consider the inclusive nature of palliative care, spanning the disease spectrum – from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases and the interplay between the two.

“We are pleased to host internationally renowned experts in global health and public policy through our plenary sessions and workshops. The conference will represent a unique opportunity not only to meet the world’s leading experts in the field of global health, but also to present cutting-edge innovative research and best practice in palliative care applicable to your work.

“We know it is only by “crossing borders” between disciplines, in global sharing of best practice that we can ultimately achieve the aim of making palliative care a human right for all. Our conference serves as a lynchpin for palliative care provision and development in Africa. Bringing together the continent’s clinical practitioners and national associations; people who make decisions that affect palliative care funding, availability and teaching; supporters and donors from beyond Africa, and technical experts in fields such as advocacy, research, organisational development, humanitarian work, communications and fundraising,” said Dr Luyirika, conference co-chairperson.

The conference, attended by ministers of health or their representatives, senior policy and technical officials from ministries of health from about 40 African countries, was organised by the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) and the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa.

The conference also drew chief executive officers of palliative care organisations from within and outside Africa, international development organisations and donors, and national palliative care associations and academic institutions from across Africa. Representatives from regional networks such as the African Union (AU), and the World Health Organisation’s Africa Office were also in attendance.

The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) works collaboratively with existing and potential stakeholders of palliative care services across Africa to help expand service provision and strengthen health systems by driving palliative care policy and education integration throughout Africa. APCA also works with governments and policymakers to ensure that the optimum policy and regulatory framework exists for the development of palliative care across Africa.