The article highlights the correlation between income levels and success in delivering palliative care services in an African context, and features an interactive infogram of aggregated data from the Economist’s Intelligence Unit’s Quality of Death Index.
Thirteen African countries representing North, South, East and West Africa were assessed based on: overall score, regulation and policy, human resources, affordability and quality of care.
Also highlighted are the cultural, economic, political and philanthropic factors that strengthen a country’s Quality of Death score.
Uganda, ranked second overall, is noted for its “training and skills of its medical workers to deliver end-of-life care; second in the quality of care received, and fourth in supportive policy and regulatory framework”.
APCA Executive Director, Dr Emmanuel Luyirika, was cited in the report, noting that the Government of Uganda “now supports the availability of oral morphine to anyone who needs it for free.”
Access the article and infogram here.
Last week, an op-ed by APCA’s director of programmes, Fatia Kiyange highlighted how millions globally are denied access to morphine. The article notes regulatory barriers and market forces that inhibit access to pain relief for quality palliative care services.
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