2025 South African Palliative Care Conference, Durban

By Alex Daniels, Education Manager, ICPCN.

More than 330 delegates gathered at the Southern Sun Elangeni and Maharani hotels, on Durban’s magnificent beachfront,  for the 2nd South African Palliative Care conference. Most delegates came from within the country, with all 9 provinces represented. However, 4 African and 4 international countries were also represented.  Through the collaborative efforts of three organisations: Association of Palliative Care Centres (APPC), Palprac and PatchSA, a sound framework to engage with the heart of paediatric and adult palliative care was developed through the conference theme: ‘ Revolution, Evolution and Solution.’

The Pre-conference Day attracted over 170 participants and 6 short workshops were offered covering a range of topics, including practical skills in PC, the importance of language and culture in PC, integrating a PC approach across perinatal and neonatal settings and navigating difficult choices and conversations at the end of a child’s life.

 

Day 1, through the theme ‘Evolution,’ palliative care models that better serve the needs of a diverse South African population were celebrated.

• The opening ceremony commenced with a special candle lighting ritual to honour the lives of Dr Mehnaaz Ally and Dr Anne Merriman, acknowledging their immense contributions to the field on the local and global stage. The sweet harmonies that emanated from an awe-inspiring group of Open- Air School learners created a choral sound that was not only deeply touching but breathtakingly beautiful.
• Dr Busiswe Ndlovu, Director of Non-Communicable Disease from the National Dept of Health, emphasised the importance of palliative care as ‘an essential thread that must be woven through the fabric of our health system’. She also shared exciting news of the Director General’s plan to appoint a permanent person for Palliative Care within the Department of Health.
• Dr Suresh Kumar, Director of the World Health Organization’s Collaborating Centre for Building Long-Term Capacity in Palliative Care and Long-Term Care, discussed lessons learnt from an inspirational community based palliative care program in the Indian state of Kerala, where 80% of the country’s palliative care is provided.
• The opening session concluded with an informative panel discussion that provided a platform for local representatives to share their experiences of implementing community based palliative care often in very challenging circumstances, as illustrated by Mrs Galiema Isaacs, a community activist from Manenberg, Cape Town.
• Sr Kash Raghubar, from Highway Hospice in Durban, emphasised the importance of community networking with key role players to provide dignity to those in need where systems fell short.
• Erin Das, from the Global Treehouse Foundation, demonstrated how an innovative human-centred design tool may be used by teams to improve their data monitoring service.
• Nokulinda Mkhize, a local sangoma, demystified the concept of ‘Ubuntu’ in an excellent talk entitled ‘Ubuntu as a principle for informed palliative care’.
• Dr Christian Ntizimira, who joined virtually from Rwanda, proposed the concept of ‘Safari’, a word that means ‘journey’ in Swahili, as a framework for end-of-life care in Africa.
• Some of the highlights of the paediatric palliative care track presentations included:
  • learning about the profound impact of social media on families in Paediatric Palliative Care (PPC)
  • contemplating the urgent need for palliative care in humanitarian settings
  • focusing on bereavement care through an innovative bereavement model
  • interventions for parents bereaved by still birth or early neonatal death

 

On Day 2, the theme ‘Solution’ aimed to illuminate innovative problem solving within programmes that address barriers to the provision of quality palliative care for all.

• Tarryn Bell, director of Butterfly Home, delivered an inspiring plenary talk that focused on innovations from her experience of setting up a pioneering paediatric hospice in Northern Kwazulu Natal.
• Dr Barbara Matthews and Dr Craig Geoff Howes introduced ‘Clinical courage’ as a concept and shared their work on developing the Puzzle Model, as a metaphor for palliative care provision promoting telehealth to expand access to palliative care.
• Warren Oxford Huggett discussed how accreditation and standards can help palliative care organisations as they strive to provide the best care possible.
• Bonita Suckling, Mom to Jed and founder of Rainbow and Smiles, provided invaluable insights from the perspective of a parent in her talk entitled ‘Understanding parental anger in PPC: Why it is not personal’.
• In an excellent final plenary session for the day, Dr Julia Ambler, Deputy Director and Head of Clinical Services at Umduduzi Hospice Care for Children, emphasised the need for integration of personal and team strategies to overcome the devastating effects of burnout.
• The paediatric palliative care track presentations on the second day of the conference showcased a range of solutions including:
  • the integration of PPC into the health system at a regional hospital in KwaZulu Natal
  • a community based PPC model in the Northwest province
  • spiritual care as an important component of palliative care
  • and the integration of Jungian Sandplay therapy in a PPC context

 

Day 3 focused on the ‘Revolution’, calling for transformation of the existing status quo to ensure palliative care is viewed as an obligation of the healthcare system.

In paediatric palliative care track session, a range of topics were raised including:

• the integration of palliative care principles into paediatric acute peri-operative and PICU through the lens of a paediatric anaesthesiologist
• the value of using palliative chemotherapy in a South African context
• a helpful visual model that encapsulated the social determinants of health in adolescents living with HIV was shared
• webinars held by ICPCN as a means to bridge gaps to advance palliative care on the global stage were discussed
• In the final plenary session, Dr Michelle Meiring, Convener of the Post-Graduate Diploma in PPC at the University of Cape Town and founder of Paedspal, shared an interesting ethical model for PC stressing the need for solutions that stem from Africa that include 4D value-based ethics.
• Dr Aslam Dasoo, chairman of APCC, highlighted the harsh realities of the South African health system in a thought-provoking talk entitled ‘Palliative Care and Policy implications in South Africa’.
• Sr Joan Marston, a PC stalwart in the field of CPC and PC both locally and globally provided a concise summary of the conference encouraging the audience to work collaboratively to ensure palliative care for all.

A significant outcome of the conference was the development and ratification of the ‘Durban Declaration’ marking an important call to action that highlighted partnership, collaboration, knowledge, innovation, sharing and accountability as key pillars of action.

 

Conclusion

The conference presented a unique opportunity to engage with like-minded individuals. Throughout the conference, delegates were presented with opportunities to network and witnessing the buzz in the air over tea and lunch breaks as old friends reunited and new connections formed was heartwarming. The early morning wellness programme that included expressive arts and chair yoga sessions were informative and well received. The Mzansi mixer event at the end of the first day offered a fun-filled social space for vibrant exchange amidst entertaining performances, music, dancing, delicious food and drinks.

Special thanks to the Local Organising and Scientific Committees for a job exceptionally well done.  The 2nd South African Palliative Care Conference inspired and encouraged delegates to, with renewed passion, commitment and confidence, take on the challenge of building equitable palliative care services that serve the unique needs of South Africa’s diverse population.