The African Palliative Care Association is a recently established pan-Africa association to help advance palliative care services on the continent. Through an HIV/AIDS Twinning Center partnership, the American International Health Alliance is providing technical assistance to develop the association to support South-South partnerships between the association and national palliative care associations.
Challenges
In 2003, it was estimated that 1.84 million people were dying in pain from HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Even as treatment programs are scaled up across the continent, the need for palliative care will remain great. Antiretrovirals will not reach everyone in time, and they cannot guarantee good health.
Capacity Building Targets
The American International Health Alliance will assist the African Palliative Care Association to enhance its ability to serve as a regional resource on palliative care, both in expanding its services and in strengthening its membership across the region. Technical assistance areas are likely to include curriculum development, guidelines for integrating palliative care into HIV/AIDS care, promotional materials and information and communication technology training, among.
The emphasis on creating South-South partnerships between the association and national groups in various countries is intended to support the development and capacity of national palliative care associations. These, in turn, will support the objectives of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief at a country level through such activities as training healthcare workers to provide palliative care.
The partnership is divided into two phases, with the first phase concentrating on activities in eastern and southern Africa—including Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique—and the second phase expanding activities to Western Africa. |
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