Jean discussing palliative care in Africa with Dr Emmanuel B.K. Luyirika and the team at African Palliative Care Assocation (APCA)
advocating for africa
Every death matters, no matter where in the world it occurs. But every death also happens in the context of culture, community and access to care – factors that vary enormously.
Listening to Dr Eve Namisango of the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) presenting her research on what is regarded as a good death in Africa a few years ago, I was struck by how similar views of a good death in Africa are to ours in Ireland, as captured by Irish Hospice Foundation’s Charter on End of Life.
APCA Research on Quality of Death and Dying in Africa (2019)
A death is good if:
- the patient has received quality care for good symptom control.
- the patient died in the presence of their loved one.
- the patient lived long enough to achieve their goals in life.
- the patient died at peace with their creator.
- the patient had a visibly peaceful transition to the next world, such as dying with their eyes closed and a peaceful expression.
- the patient's life is not prolonged by artificial means when it would lead to prolonged suffering when death is clearly imminent.
We are so similar – but the challenges we face at the end of life are markedly different.
According to the WHO, only
14%
of people at end of life who currently need palliative care receive it.
The Global Atlas of Palliative Care reports that Africa has the highest per capita need for palliative care, at least in part due to the prevalence of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has 15% of the world’s population, yet accounts for 68% of all HIV cases globally.
Palliative care isn’t expensive or complicated. In an age of remarkable medical advances, it’s unconscionable that millions face preventable suffering at life’s end. We have the tools to change this and we must.
On a home visit in the Katanga slum in Kampala to see the work of Hospice Africa Uganda first hand. With me: Hasinat (a student social worker) and Lydia (daughter of a patient, Safinat). The case, which was heavy, carried morphine supplies, other medicines and medical equipment.
Jean pictured in July 2023 with the late Dr Anne Merriman, whose pioneering work into developing palliative care in Africa has made her a legend. Jean has a personal connection with Dr Anne, as her grandmother was a novice along with Dr Anne in the 1950's in Ireland.
Current projects
