The Irish contribution to the development of palliative care in Africa – and shared learnings

Ireland is a small country of 5million people, but we have a big commitment to palliative care in Africa, with Irish contributions into over 20 palliative care initiatives across the continent (see map above). 

However, despite the best efforts of advocates, 90% of Africans still have no access to palliative care. That’s a stark number that makes the challenge clear – but with the combined efforts of passionate advocates and the tools and techniques of the modern world, it is within our means to change this.

I was delighted to have been invited to speak at the African Palliative Care Conference in Botswana in September 2025 about Ireland’s contribution to palliative care development in Africa, because it gave me the opportunity to do a piece of research that has not been done before – to pull together a comprehensive picture of Ireland’s palliative care projects in Africa over the past 25 years.

Working on this project opened up some very interesting conversations with Irish Aid, Misean Cara, Religious Organisations working in Africa, NGO’s, Universities and Irish people from many walks of life who have volunteered or fundraised for palliative care operations in Africa.

By sharing this work widely, I hope to raise awareness, create more cooperation across advocacy organisations and gain increased priority within Irish aid funding for palliative care.

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