The launch of the African Palliative Care (APCA) 20th anniversary commemorations earlier this year was a lively and colourful event that brought together founding board members, management and staff of APCA, past and present in a hybrid session that profiled just how far palliative care development has come in Africa. To watch the event, follow this .
The launch event was held at the backdrop of the International Hepato-Pancreatico Biliary Association (IHPBA) congress, in Cape Town, where APCA staff, board and members used the opportunity to lobby for the recognition, integration and visibility of palliative care as a track for the first time in this fraternity. Palliative care is crucial as a component of management of hepato-pancreato biliary cancers among other life threatening conditions, and surgeons were urged to consider patient care beyond the operating table and immediate post-op care to the long term needs for support that include medical and non-medical.
This advocacy opportunity is one such example of how APCA will utilise the 20th year to promote palliative care awareness and integration into the prevention and management of a diverse range of diseases, related allied services, and in all health systems.
As a network of organisations, all of APCA’s impact is never attributed to APCA alone, but always with and through its members and partners, be it advocacy efforts that lead to the development of a national palliative care policies or inclusion of palliative care in academic curricula for health and allied professionals, or small grants that enabled grassroots palliative care service providers to demonstrate impact, build credibility and consequently attract significant support from donors and supporters to scale up access in their communities or nations. This milestone is therefore a collective celebration that will culminate at the 8th International African Palliative Care Conference in September 2025, in Gaborone, Botswana
An opportunity to share your story
What part of your organisation’s history do you recall where you collaborated or partnered with APCA, or with fellow members of APCA, for collective impact in the development of palliative care in your country or region? We want to hear that story as part and parcel of drawing on lessons learnt and sharing knowledge gained over the years.
We shall be pleased to cover the intersection your organisation or country’s work with the network. Pictures of past activities and collaborations with APCA are also very much welcome as they speak more than a thousand words, and many of us have changed significantly in 20 years!
Write to 20years@africanpalliativecare.org or contact us via WhatsApp on +256771942977 by 31 Dember 2024.Renew your APCA membership or become a new member
The APCA board and staff have been working to upgrade the value of APCA membership and we invite you to renew your membership or become a new member by visiting the revamped and interactive membership portal on our website www.africanpalliativecare.or/membership.
Prepare for the 8th International African Palliative Care and Allied Services Conference, 2025
We shall soon be launching the preparations for the 8th International African Palliative Care Conference that we are co-hosting with the Botswana Minisstry of Health, and look forward to seeing you in Gaborone, Botswana.
Les soins palliatifs en Afrique est un besoin indispensable.
Nous félicitons les initiateurs de ces soins et les encourageons de les répandre dans les coins et recoins de l’Afrique