One of the key objectives of Hospice Africa’s mission is supporting the provision of palliative care programmes across sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, a dedicated team has been set up to focus on the international aspect of Hospice Africa’s work. This team works with projects which are receiving funding from Hospice Africa in helping to set standards; adapt palliative care to local needs using local obtainable tools; setting up evaluation tools; and training on site. To date we have worked with teams in Malawi, Cameroon and Nigeria.

For example, for several years Hospice Africa has been supporting the Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria (CPCN), a homecare team based at University College Hospital, Ibadan, (UCH). Hospice Africa has been their main donor and has supported them to sustain a small team led by Professor Olaitan Soyannwo, the professor of anaesthesia who introduced the concept of palliative care to UCH.

CPCN (now a registered charity in Nigeria) was started as a model to introduce palliative care from the point of referral in UCH to caring for the patient at home, and the set-up now consists of a small team, a daycare centre, and a van used for home visits. Several of the team were trained in Uganda and Hospice Africa held a training course for 30 Nurses in UCH in February 2008, with follow-up courses scheduled. It is hoped that the Hospice Africa-supported palliative care programme in Nigeria can become a model for West Africa.

More information on Hospice Africa’s international work can be found here.