Tea break reading: African palliative care in the news

30^th March 2014 – 12^th April 2014

News and views:

Editor’s pick:

Uganda: Uganda highlighted in Al Jazeera series on access to morphine – Access to palliative care in Uganda has been highlighted by Al Jazeera as part of their global mini-series on access to morphine. Al Jazeera English, Youtube, Africa edition of ehospice.
Uganda: BBC Africa investigation uncovers evidence that suggests it’s easy to buy a fake HIV negative result – A BBC team has uncovered disturbing evidence that shows a number of clinics accepting money for fake HIV negative certificates. The BBC’S Catherine Byaruhanga spoke to a HIV positive woman who paid five hundred dollars for a fake certificate in order to secure a job. BBC Africa (listen).
East Africa: Road to Hope Teaser – Watch the second teaser trailer of the up-coming documentary ‘Road to Hope’. Youtube.

Elsewhere in the news:

Global: This year 1.5 million children will die from preventable illnesses – Alarming numbers extracted from the WHO Immunization Data show what EurActiv calls ‘A silent cull of the world’s children.’ Africa edition of ehospice.
Africa: Helping improve palliative care in countries across Africa – Through the Health Partnerships Scheme DFID is working closely with the University of Edinburgh to improve palliative care in countries across Africa. University of Edinburgh.
Uganda: Uganda arrests U.S.-funded health project staffer over gay law – A U.S.-funded health project in Uganda has suspended operations after police arrested a staff member on suspicion of promoting homosexuality, highlighting the mounting legal risks confronting the gay community in the east African state. Reuters.
Kenya: Partnering with local media to spread palliative care messages – Coast Hospice using local media to spread palliative care messages. Kenya edition of ehospice.
Kenya: KEHPCA moves into new office – KEHPCA celebrates completion of move into new office. Kenya edition of ehospice.
South Africa: Infectious XDR-TB patients being sent home – Patients with extreme drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis are being sent home while still infectious because there are not enough beds in TB hospitals and there is a scarcity of community-based palliative care centres. IOL News.
South Africa: HPCA partners with government to improve patient care in South Africa – CaSIPO (Care and Support to Improve Patient Outcomes) was launched last month in Johannesburg. Africa edition of ehospice.
South Africa: Nurses to lead charge against DR-TB – In a country of more than 50 million people, it is hard to be a “first” but Ntombasekaya Mlandu is. She is the first nurse trained to initiate and manage multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients. Health-e News.

Research:

Global: Transforming children’s palliative care—from ideas to action: highlights from the first ICPCN conference on children’s palliative care – The International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) held its first international conference on children’s palliative care, in conjunction with Tata Memorial Centre, in Mumbai, India, from 10–12 February 2014. The theme of the conference, Transforming children’s palliative care—from ideas to action, reflected the vision of the ICPCN to live in a world where every child who needs it, can access palliative care, regardless of where they live. Ecancer.
Africa: Cost Effectiveness of Cancer Therapies in Africa – Journal of Medical Diagnostic Methods.

Jobs, awards and events:

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.
Global: African health forum – Astrategic meeting between african and international decision makers. Geneva 16-17^th May 2014. AHF.
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.
USA: 2014 New York City Fund-Raising Reception for the African Hospice Initiative – Dr. Joseph O’Neill will be the featured speaker at this year’s Reception. Please join us to welcome this pioneer of palliative care and global health. We also will hear stories from the field from Val Maasdorp, the Clinical Director of Island Hospice Service in Zimbabwe. 22^nd April 2014. AHI.