Background: The need for palliative care in cancer is highest in resource-limited settings given the high disease burden, which is projected to double by 2050, and late patient presentation. To stimulate service development and ensure care is aligned to patients’ and families’ needs, robust evidence is needed. However, Africa continues to be under-represented globally in evidence development, due to lack of a critical research mass and financial and infrastructure challenges. Despite these limitations, the region is witnessing growth in research for palliative care in cancer. This review aimed to identify models, strategies and practices for building capacity for research and creation of an evidence base for palliative care in cancer in Africa.

Approach: We reviewed grey and published literature to identify models, strategies and practices for building capacity for research and creation of an evidence base for palliative care in cancer in Africa. The findings were summarised using narrative synthesis.

Findings: Models and strategies identified, which are not mutually exclusive, include: community engagement; centres of excellence; knowledge exchange platforms; research networks; practice-based research networks; local collaboration and Global South-to-South partnerships and Global North-to-South partnerships.

Conclusion: The evidence base for palliative care in cancer in Africa is growing in Africa and identifiable models can and are steering this growth.