Tea break reading: African palliative care in the news

30^th August – 5^th September 2014

News and views:

Editor’s pick:

Africa: Revisiting life and death in Africa – An exhibition of Yunghi Kim’s photographs “The Long Road Home in Africa: Famine to Reconciliation 1992-1996”. The New York Times.
Uganda: From nun to Nobel nominee – APCA’s former Communications Manager and current member of the board at Hospice Africa Uganda, Shelley Enarson, profiles Dr Anne Merriman in an in-depth article for IASP Insight magazine.
South Africa: WATCH: South African palliative care documentary: From the Brink of Death – A new documentary broadcast by the South African Broadcasting Coperation explores why thousands of South Africans are diagnosed with life-threatening illness every year and yet most of them will experience severe pain and won’t have access to cheap and effective pain medication. SABC and Africa edition of ehospice.

Elsewhere in the news:

Global: Free access to top palliative care articles – Cambridge University Press and the editors of Palliative & Supportive Care are making available for free the journal’s top ten most cited articles until the end of September. International edition of ehospice.
West Africa: MSF on ebola outbreak in West Africa: ‘little more than palliative care is offered’ – The International President of Médecins Sans Frontières this week told UN member states that there was ‘little more than palliative care’ in response to the latest ebola crisis and that infected bodies are being left in the street to rot in Sierra Leone. Africa edition of ehospice. (More on this story also be read in the BBC, Reuters, Daily Times, Deutsche Wells, Yahoo News, and ITV News).
Kenya: How maggots can lower Kenyan hospital bills – Patients in Kenya may soon start receiving live maggots as a treatment after promising results from a pilot study using the age-old practice. BBC Health.
Uganda: Palliative care organisations work with the media in Uganda – The Palliative Care Association of Uganda (PCAU) is celebrating early successes after engaging with Ugandan media houses to create more and better coverage of palliative care issues. Africa edition of ehospice.
Uganda: Uganda’s gay rights and sex worker activists answer your questions about HIV prevention – “As HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths around the world fall, rates in Uganda have been on the rise in recent years. Part of the problem, according to many of the world’s top public health experts, is that the populations most at risk for HIV infection — including gay men and sex workers — face laws that do little but increase stigma, drive these groups underground and make them reluctant to seek life-saving diagnosis and treatment.” PBS Newshour.
South Africa: Easing the pain and fears of dying children – “Am I going to die?” The first time a child asked paediatrician Michelle Meiring this question she was shocked. TIMES Live.
South Africa: Euthanasia In Africa: Could South Africa’s constitutional court legalize it? – What constitutes human dignity when a life is near its end? It is this question that was explored by Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu in a recent letter to The Guardian. The Archbishop, now that he nears the end of his life and after watching the slow decay of Nelson Mandela’s health, has begun to think more about that final moment. – AFK Insider.

Research:

Global: Social media and palliative medicine – A retrospective 2-year analysis of global twitter data to evaluate the use of technology to communicate about issues at the end of life. BMJ.

Jobs, awards and events:

Global: 2nd Paediatric Palliative Care Congress in Rome – The 2nd Paediatric Palliative Care Congress is to take place from 19 – 21 November 2014 in Rome. 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.