The Irish Government earlier this year announced the launch of a significant award honouring the life and legacy of the late Dr Anne Merriman, the inspirational humanitarian and Irish citizen who pioneered palliative care in Africa.
The Dr Anne Merriman Excellence in Palliative Care in Africa Award will celebrate and support outstanding contributions to palliative care across the continent. Funded by the Irish Government through Irish Aid, the award will provide €20,000 every two years to an individual or organisation demonstrating exceptional innovation, compassionate care, research, or long-standing commitment to advancing palliative care in Africa.
The award honours the remarkable achievements of Dr Merriman, who died in May 2025 at the age of 90. Dr Merriman was born in Liverpool to Irish parents and did her medical training in University College Dublin. She was a global leader in palliative care and the founder of Hospice Africa Uganda (HAU) in 1993, where her ground-breaking work has brought pain relief and dignity to more than 40,000 patients and their families.
Announcing the award on behalf of the Irish Government, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond TD, said:
“This award is a fitting tribute to Dr Merriman’s extraordinary legacy and reflects Ireland’s commitment to dignity and compassion in healthcare. Dr Merriman dedicated her life to ensuring that people with life-limiting illnesses in Africa receive care, compassion, and dignity. This award reflects her vision and ensures her legacy continues to inspire innovation and excellence in palliative care across Africa.”
Dr Emmanuel Luyirika, outgoing Executive Director of the African Palliative Care Association, said:
“Dr. Merriman left a legacy of compassion through her vital work with people with life-limiting illnesses. We are delighted to partner with Irish Aid to ensure that legacy continues and to support people or organisations delivering palliative care in Africa.”
Dr Merriman’s vision was that palliative care would be available to all in need in Africa, and HAU was the model of holistic palliative care she wanted replicated throughout the continent. Central to this model was using an affordable oral liquid morphine formula, which Dr Merriman developed when she worked in Singapore, to manage patients’ pain.
The award was officially launched at the 8th International African Palliative Care & Allied Services Conference organised by the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) and the Ministry of Health Botswana in Gaborone.
As she made the announcement at the conference, advocate for dying well and chair of the Irish Hospice Foundation, Jean Callanan, presented new research showing the significant impact of Ireland on Palliative Care in Africa since 2020. Her research revealed that at least 25 projects initiated or funded by Irish people or organisations have been behind palliative care initiatives across the continent.
The award will be administered by the African Palliative Care Association (APCA), and is a strategic fit with the APCA’s drive for innovations that help make palliative care more accessible.
The first award will be presented in late 2026.
Wow this is really a good way of honouring Dr Anne, her legacy lives on and may God help us all carry it on just like she did, compassionate care for all!
Prof. Anne Merriman’s compassion towards patients with palliative care needs using community-based approach, ignited a fire in my stomach and with gratitude to God, we have replicated the community-based palliative care model in Nigeria through an NGO known as Go-After Care Initiative. May her legacy live on!
Global icon, well deserved recognition, such life must be celebrated, just to keep the legacy going, we will keep the light burning and eventually pass it own
It is really digital legacy honoring and keeping his work continue reaching many with life threatening serious conditions in Africa. I belief with full of compassion it Worthy, and very much kind of the Irish government for taking this step creating a long term pathway honor for Dr Mirriman.
Although I do not know Dr. Merriman personally, I have read and heard a great deal about the tremendous work she has done to nurture palliative care in Africa. I am a palliative care resident in Ghana College of Nurses and Midwives with a strong commitment to ensuring that her legacy lives on.