Tea break reading: African palliative care in the news

14^th June – 20^th June 2014

News and views:

Editor’s pick:

Kenya: Elijah’s story: ‘My teacher taught my class about HIV and now they play with me’ – video – On the International Day of the African Child, Elijah Zachary Lemein Simel, an 11-year-old boy living with HIV in Nairobi, Kenya, explains that he contracted the HIV virus from his mother and felt ill and unhappy until he talked to ‘teacher Stanley’ at school. The Guardian.
Uganda: Get rich or die trying: The Chinese herbal medicine “death sentence” in Uganda – 200,000 Ugandans have signed up to a company believing it will cure all their illnesses and help them make a fortune. But it is more likely to do the opposite. Think Africa Press.
South Africa: Children’s palliative care unit opens in Cape Town – Sarah Fox Children’s Hospital in the Western Cape of South Africa opened a 10 bed paediatric palliative care unit. Africa edition of ehospice.

Elsewhere in the news:

Global: The Story of Pain: From prayer to painkillers review – Joanna Bourke’s erudite and witty study – Poets and priests as well as medics are consulted in Joanna Bourke’s bold study of the human response to pain. The Guardian.
Morocco: The 4th Global Congress for Consensus in Pediatrics & Child Health to be held in Africa – The 4th Global Congress for Consensus in Pediatrics & Child Health will be held in the exotic and captivating city of Marrakech, Morocco from 19 – 22 March 2015. Africa edition of ehospice.
Central African Republic: Attacks on civilians but Malaria number one cause of death – MSF reports from the CAR that despite the large scale armed attacks on civilians Malaria remains the number one cause of death. MSF.
South Africa: Guidelines: Management of TB, HIV & STIs in correctional facilities – Released by the Department of Health, this 58-page guidelines cover the management of tuberculosis (TB), HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in South Africa’s correctional facilities. South Africa edition of ehospice.
South Africa: TB patients turn to healers – Traditional healers seem to be popular among tuberculosis sufferers, with almost half of all TB patients consulting them before getting diagnosed at clinics or hospitals. IOL News.
Uganda: Why Uganda carries heavy burden of neglected tropical diseases – Research shows that more than 11 million Ugandans are suffering from neglected diseases. In our last series on neglected tropical diseases, we look at factors that have caused these diseases to thrive. Daily Monitor.
Kenya: Palliative care in Ministry of Health budget – Health Ministry Cabinet Secretary Mr. James Macharia indicates inclusion of palliative care in government budget. Kenya edition of ehospice.

Research:

Global: Leukaemia researchers find ‘genetic switch’ to repair cancer cells in mice – Melbourne medical institute uses differentiation therapy to rehabilitate cells that have become malignant. The Guardian.
Uganda: Palliative care for people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda: investigation of patients and caregivers’ outcome and professional perspectives – The study shows the paramount importance of drawing on patients’ and carers’ experiences and concerns to shape models of African palliative care. Both palliative care staff and key informants’ perspectives highlight successes, barriers and important lessons for palliative care service delivery in Uganda. University of Nottingham.
Uganda: Ethnobotanical study of indigenous knowledge on medicinal and nutritious plants used to manage opportunistic infections associated with HIV/AIDS in western Uganda – The study revealed that folk medicine is still widely practised. Fidelity level values indicate that these plants are the most preferred species for particular ailments. The high consensus value (0.6) indicated that there was high agreement in the use of plants for respiratory ailments among others. These preferred plant species could be prioritized for conservation and subjected to chemical screening to ascertain their pharmacological activities. US National Library of Helth.
Côte d’Ivoire: Temporal Trends in Treatment Outcomes for HIV-1 and HIV-2-Infected Adults Enrolled in Côte d’Ivoire’s National Antiretroviral Therapy Program – During 2004–2007, increasing prevalence among ART enrollees of measured mortality risk factors, including weight <45 kg and ART adherence <95%, might explain increases in mortality over time. PLOS ONE.

Jobs, awards and events:

Global: 2nd Paediatric Palliative Care Congress in Rome – An announcement has been made that both the Abstract and Early Bird Registration deadlines have been extended for the 2nd Paediatric Palliative Care Congress to take place from 19 – 21 November 2014 in Rome. Both these deadlines have been extended to 15 July 2014. ehospice.
Global: #HPMGlobal twitter chat. Join Jim Cleary on twitter at 3pm (East Africa Time) every Monday to discuss the latest global palliative care issues. Twitter
Global: 20th International AIDS Conference – The conference will be held from 20-25 July 2014 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, in Melbourne, Australia and will represent a tremendous opportunity to highlight the diverse nature of the Asia Pacific region’s HIV epidemic and the unique responses to it. International AIDS Society.
Global: World Congress of Psycho-Oncology – The congress, which will be based around the theme of ‘Integrating phsycho-oncology into mainstream cancer care; from research into action’, will bring together experts from around the world to discuss new perspectives in clinical care, new data from research, innovative educational programs, advocacy, organisational issues and cancer policies. It is to beheld in Lisbon, Portugal from 20 to 24 of October 2014. International edition of ehospice.
Africa: Find all the latest jobs in palliative care and related fields – Visit ehospice’s job site to see the latest jobs in palliative care. African edition of ehospice.
South Africa: HPCA 2014 Conference – Who Cares? Improving patient outcomes – The conference will be held between the 15^th and 18^th September 2014 at the Lagood Beach Hotel in Cape Town. More details on the HPCA Conference Website.
Kenya: The 4th Kenya National Palliative Care Conference 2014 – Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA) is delighted to announce the 4th National Palliative Care Conference scheduled to take place from 12th to 14th November 2014 at Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi. KEHPCA.
Nigeria: 54th Society of Physiotherapy Annual Scientific Conference and General Meeting – the sub-theme for this year’s conference is ‘The Role of Physiotherapy in Palliative Care for Terminally ill Patients’. It will take place in Asaba, Delta State between the 20^th and 25^th October 2014. NSP.