[e-drug] Palliative Care in Sub-Saharan Africa

[Essential Drugs Project <edp@gn.apc.org>]

E-drug: Palliative Care in Sub-Saharan Africa
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[Copied from ProCAARE]

Palliative Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: An appraisal was launched on 25
May 2004.  This report was commissioned by The Diana, Princess of Wales
Memorial Fund and the work carried out by Dr Richard Harding and
Professor Irene Higginson, Department of Palliative Care and Policy,
King's College London.

Despite the lack of access to effective treatment for people in the
developing world affected by HIV/AIDS and other life-limiting illnesses,
the availability of palliative care continues to be extremely limited.
Millions of people and their families suffer unnecessary pain and
distress for want of access to palliative care, a simple and affordable
approach which could so readily be incorporated into the work of every
doctor, nurse, family member or volunteer. While there is hope that
treatment for HIV/AIDS with Highly Active Anti-retroviral Therapy
(HAART) will become much more widely distributed, it is not a cure and
it may take years before it is accessible to populations in sub-Saharan
Africa. We believe palliative care is an essential component within the
continuum of managing HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

The report provides a review of:

* Existing evaluations of palliative care projects in sub-Saharan Africa
with an emphasis on isolating the factors that lead to sustainability,
local ownership and scaling up.
* The role of palliative care in the management of HIV/AIDS and how to
integrate palliative care and Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART).
* Primary health based care projects in two countries, Kenya and Malawi,
that could provide lessons for the implementation of palliative care.
* Lessons from other parallel programmes which mirror palliative care
delivery, for example, Tuberculosis programmes, and Primary care
programmes with good links to local clinics and hospitals, and community
mobilization and empowerment projects linked to health facilities.

There is now a wealth of experience in sub-Saharan Africa about the ways
in which palliative care can be delivered both affordably and
effectively. However, as this excellent report shows, there remains a
lack of properly documented evidence and research to demonstrate the
importance of this work and promote its development. If palliative care
is to grow as a widely available specialty delivered to a high standard,
then it is vital that the evidence base is increased. The report makes a
useful contribution to this effort, as well as providing a source of
reference for policy makers, practitioners, donors and researchers
interested in this vital issue.

The report can be viewed down-loaded from the Fund's website:

http://www.theworkcontinues.org/pressroom/6_3_publications.htm

Faith Mangi-Powell
Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, UK
Email: Faith.Mangi-Powell@memfund.org.uk

Cross-posted from [HIF-net at WHO]- 09/07/04

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Philippa Saunders
Essential Drugs Project
77 Lee Road
Blackheath
London SE3 9EN
UK

tel/fax   44 (0)20 8318 1419
email     edp@gn.apc.org
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