Tea break reading: African palliative care in the news

26^th July – 1^st August 2014

News and views:

Editor’s pick:

Global: Ebola – As the Ebola crisis threatens to spread outside of West Africa, the world media responds with near 24/7 coverage. Here is a pick of what some of the world’s media has to offer on the subject:

Reuters reports that Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency.
The BBC looks to give some of those fighting the diseases in Guinea a voice as they report some first-hand experience of the virus. The BBC reports on the flight bans imposed on some West African countries. The BBC also reports on the hunt for a missing patient in Freetown Sierra Leone.
The Economist breaks down the numbers in their Daily chart section to highlight the key stats surrounding the latest outbreak.
Voice of America reports that Nigeria is trying to track 30,000 people who they deem ‘at risk’ of contracting the virus.
Uganda’s Daily Monitor and South Africa’s Times Live report that their country (like many others) are on high alert after unconfirmed suspected cases of Ebola are reported.
The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) has a stab at dispelling some of the myths surrounding Ebola.
Equally the WHO has continued to cut through the media interest by simply sending out its Q&A fact-sheet on ebola.
There have also been a series of opinion articles on the outbreak. Tom Chivers in The Telegraph writes about the curse of Ebola and the international community’s response to the crisis. The BBC asks if social media can play a role in tackling Ebola. An Natalie Bennett in The Independent asks what this latest outbreak teaches us about international aid.

Elsewhere in the news:

Global: How to tell someone they are dying – Elizabeth’s breast cancer had already spread to her bones and was now invading lymph nodes in her right armpit, causing painful swelling that kept her up at night. Today, however, as she walked into her oncologist’s office, Elizabeth felt like things were under control… The New Yorker.
Global: Children in war zones – how do we respond? – Steve Hynd and Sue Boucher write for the International Children’s edition of ehospice, raising the question: How can the palliative care community help children living in conflict areas? ehospice.
Africa: Can Village Ambulances help to deliver palliative care? ‘Pulse Village Ambulance’ already have over 200 ambulances deployed across Uganda. Steve Hynd, the editor of the Africa edition of ehospice, recently met up with their Managing Director, Dustin McBride, at the headquarters of the African Palliative Care Association to discuss how these innovative healthcare solutions could impact on palliative care service delivery. ehospice.
Nigeria: 2.6 Million living with HIV/AIDS to access services – International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has said the 2.6 million people living with HIV in Benue and Cross River States are to benefit from improved access to qualitative treatment. All Africa.
Botswana: The Botswana Hospice Palliative Care Association is launched – APCA’s Programme Officer, Berna Basemera writes about the launch of the new national association in Botswana. ehospice.
Malawi: Emanoel Lee Prize 2014 awarded for account of palliative care work placement in Malawi – Oxford University Clinical Medicine student, Rachel Carey, has been awarded the Emanoel Lee Prize 2014 for her account of three months working at the Ndi Moyo Palliative Care Centre in Salima, near Lake Malawi in Malawi. ehospice.
Kenya: The cost of maternal death in Kenya – The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) deadline of 2015 is approaching but there are concerns that Kenya will fail to achieve some of them. This includes the goal of reducing the maternal mortality rate from the current 360 deaths per 100,000 live births to the targeted 147 per 100,000 live births. All Africa.
Kenya: The birth of Eldoret Hospice – Sister Rose Abira came across a discharged cervical cancer patient writhing in pain and no signs of future support and took a step that saw the birth of Eldoret Hospice. ehospice.
South Africa: AIDS still extracting a deadly price, but SA is making progress – South Africa has more AIDS-related deaths than any country in the world, but deaths of young children have decreased more than ten-fold in the past decade and tuberculosis (TB) deaths have decreased by 6 percent. Health-e News.
South Africa: Traditional Healers vs Technology: you are never too old to learn – Technology around us is constantly changing to an extent that we have more and more access to so many things in the world- all in the palm of our hands. ehospice.

Research:

Global: Paracetamol for low back pain ‘no better than placebo’ – Paracetamol used to treat acute lower back pain is no better than a dummy pill, research in the Lancet suggests. BBC.

Because you’ve read this far…

France: French hospital opens wine bar for patients – A hospital in south-central France has come up with an unconventional (not to mention extremely French) idea to try to improve the lives of terminally ill patients. It has opened up a wine bar that will offer “medically supervised” wine tasting. The Local.

UK: Oxford boys choir raise money for children’s hospice by covering Shakira’s ‘Hip Don’t Lie’ – Shakira has praised Oxford student outfit Out of the Blue for their ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ charity single. Watch the video here >>> Gig Wise.

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: 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.
Uganda: World Palliative Care Day event – Soccer Gala – PCAU is hosting a Soccer Gala to mark the World Palliative Care Day Event. 08:00am – 14:00pm 11^th October 2014. PCAU.
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.