Hospice Africa Ireland was formed from Irish supporters of HAU (Hospice Africa Uganda), many of whom had volunteered with HAU and seen at first hand the enormous suffering borne by terminally ill adults and children, and the pioneering efforts of Hospice Africa Uganda to make basic pain relief and comfort available to them. Most found their experiences unforgettable and returned with a great desire to support the ongoing work of HAU.

Most people believe that freedom from pain and suffering is a basic human right. Yet in sub-Saharan Africa most people dying from cancer, HIV and other conditions endure terrible suffering for the months/ years before they die. Only 13 out of 56 countries in Africa have access to strong pain medicine e.g. morphine, for relief of severe pain.

For 18 years Hospice Africa Uganda, founded by the remarkable Dr. Anne Merriman, has led the way in making affordable morphine, pain relief  and palliative care available to those suffering in Uganda and other sub-Saharan countries. It has made remarkable achievements for an organisation that began as a team of three people. HAU has directly treated almost 18,000 patients (mostly in their homes), trained over 7,000 health care workers in palliative care, achieved changes in Ugandan law to allow more health professionals to prescribe pain medicine, and advocated with other governments in Africa to provide pain relief and palliative care to their countries and peoples. It has recently commenced the first degree programme in palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa and with the assistance of Irish Aid and KPMG built a clinical facility-a centre of excellence for palliative care. The Irish Hospice Foundation and Tullow Oil have afforded support in past years. In a time of international recession, the funding needed to continue this work has become increasingly difficult to secure.

Hospice Africa Ireland invites all who can to help support of the work of HAU, through raising awareness and raising funds for this essential work. All contributions make a big difference. We welcome contact (by phone/via website) from all who are interested in the work and we thank all those who have generously helped us in the past.

Dr Ita Harnett

Chairperson

HAI Steering Committee