Small Grants Program Strengthens Critical Palliative Care Access Across Africa

The True Colours Trust Small Grants Program, launched in 2009, is a long-standing funding initiative designed to strengthen palliative care services across Africa. Administered by the African Palliative Care Association and funded by the True Colours Trust, the program issues bi-annual calls for proposals and awards modest but high-impact grants of £500 to £5,000 to eligible hospices, hospitals, NGOs and community-based organizations. Each grant supports a one-year project that directly improves service delivery, whether through purchasing essential equipment and medicines, expanding care to rural and underserved communities, enhancing pediatric palliative care, upgrading facilities or training frontline health workers. By prioritizing practical, patient-centered improvements and supporting providers that often operate with limited resources, the program has helped numerous organizations widen access to compassionate, quality palliative care across the continent.

The 31st round of the True Colours Trust-APCA Small Grants Program was recently awarded, offering a timely boost to the palliative care providers who often serve communities with the fewest resources and the greatest need. This cycle helped frontline teams access essential medicines and equipment, extend care to people in remote areas, strengthen pediatric and home-based support, and train health workers who are the backbone of palliative care. At a time when serious illness continued to push families into hardship and health systems remain stretched, these small but strategic grants make a tangible difference in how people live and die with dignity.

Spotlight on Impact: Grant Recipients by Country

This map illustrates the recipients of the Africa Small Grants – Round 31, detailing the country, the number of awardees, and the organizations:

Across Africa, small grants are making a profound difference in the lives of patients and families facing serious illness. In the remote villages of northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Aru Palliative Care Team, the only provider of palliative care in the region, has brought vital services directly to communities with little access to healthcare. With a portable ultrasound device funded by the Small Grants Programme, patients with ascites can now be diagnosed and treated at home, sparing families arduous journeys and offering comfort where it is most needed.

In Cameroon, Aide Aux Personnes Vulnerables has focused its efforts on children, the most vulnerable members of society. Through outpatient services and home visits, the organisation delivers paediatric palliative care while engaging local leaders to raise awareness and ensure communities understand and support the needs of sick children. For families often isolated by poverty or distance, this care brings reassurance and hope.

In South Africa, four hospices have used the grants to strengthen home-based palliative care, reaching patients and families in rural and underserved areas. Ladybrand Hospice improved caregiver training and upgraded medical equipment, benefiting over 124 terminally ill patients, including orphans and vulnerable children. Zululand Hospice replaced worn mattresses, upgraded staff uniforms, and maintained vehicles to reach remote households. St Bernard’s Hospice purchased syringe drivers and oxygen concentrators to offer comfort to 220 patients every month. South Coast Hospice expanded its interdisciplinary care and distributed food parcels, helping 250 palliative care patients and their households. Each initiative brings care, kindness, and the simple comfort of knowing someone is looking out for you.

At St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, grant funding has strengthened the hospital’s newly established palliative care unit. Beds, oxygen apparatus, and secure storage for medicines allow staff to provide holistic care to both inpatients and outpatients, helping patients and families navigate illness with safety and dignity.

In Malawi, the Council of Chaplaincy Ministry has integrated spiritual care into health services, providing home visits, bereavement support, and food packages to over 600 palliative care patients and their families. Each gesture, from a shared prayer to a meal delivered to a struggling family, extends compassion to those who are often invisible to the broader health system.

Tanzania has seen grants widen access through three different organisations. Marangu Lutheran Hospital has expanded essential medicines, diagnostic tools, and bereavement support for over 1,000 people. Machame Hospital procured medicines, adult diapers, PPE, mobile phones, and fuel to ensure health workers can reach patients efficiently. Tumalenga Hospital launched four mobile outreach clinics, combining home visits, medical support, and radio campaigns to raise awareness about palliative care. These initiatives bring hope and practical care directly into homes that would otherwise remain isolated.

In Uganda, Kitovu Mobile dedicated its grant to supporting families through grief. By training community health workers in bereavement care, the organisation ensures that compassion continues after a patient’s passing, helping families heal through support in a period of profound loss.

The Small Grants Program shows how even modest funding can make a real, lasting difference. The stories from DRC, Cameroon, South Africa, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda highlight how small investments can touch countless lives, giving patients and their families the care they deserve. Organizations committed to making a difference should watch for future calls, this program offers a chance to be part of a movement that is changing lives, one community at a time.