ecancermedicalscience

Special Issue

Best practices in developing a national palliative care policy in resource limited settings: lessons from five African countries

7 Jul 2016
Emmanuel BK Luyirika, Eve Namisango, Eunice Garanganga, Lidia Monjane, Ntombi Ginindza, Gugulethu Madonsela, Fatia Kiyange

Given the high unmet need for palliative care in Africa and other resource limited settings, it is important that countries embrace the public health approach to increasing access through its integration within existing healthcare systems. To give this approach a strong foundation that would ensure sustainability, the World Health Organisation urges member states to ensure that policy environments are suitable for this intervention. The development, strengthening, and implementation of national palliative care policies is a priority. Given the lack of a critical mass of palliative care professionals in the region and deficiency in documenting and sharing best practices as part of information critical for regional development, policy development becomes a complex process. This article shares experiences with regard to best practices when advocating the national palliative care policies. It also tells about policy development process, the important considerations, and cites examples of policy content outlines in Africa.

Related Articles

María Valeria Jiménez-Báez, Sofía Concepción Thomas-Gómez, Gabriel González-Guerrero, David Rojano-Mejía, Eduardo Patricio Achurra-Godinez
Gustavo Santos Paiva Laender Moura, Laura Gonzaga de Carvalho Bonifácio, Fernando Pedreschi Bernardes, Livia Regina Gonçalves e Silva, Vivian Marques Miguel Suen, Maria Izaura Sedoguti Scudeler Agnollitto, Rosana Aparecida Spadoti Dantas, Nereida Kilza da Costa Lima, Mevhibe Banu Hocaoglu
Berthe Sabine Esson Mapoko, Etienne Atenguena, Abdel Nasser Nsangou Moun, Esther Dina Bell, Lionel Tabola, Dominique Anaba, Anne Sango, Rachel Tayou
Liudmila Castelo David, Teresa Mota Garcia, Isaulina Barreto, Esperança Carvalho, Laurinda Barreto, Clara Aleydis, Laurinda Coelho, Lúcio Lara Santos