Latest developments and achievements

PCAU has proved an efficient channel through which palliative care awareness can be created for large numbers of professionals as well as communities, extending palliative care services to rural areas.

To date 10 PCAU district branches have been established, and four districts are in the process of following. More than twenty hospitals have been supported to form a hospital palliative care team. PCAU is engaged in mentoring other African countries that want to start a palliative care service or Association in their own countries. It is pro-actively engaged at national palliative care level, both represented on the Country Palliative Care Team and influencing national policy through advocacy at national, local government and community levels. In addition, the Association has embarked on setting national palliative care standards to ensure quality and standardized services and training given the increased interest by private, voluntary and public organisations in providing palliative care services.

In July 2004 the statute allowing Clinical Palliative Care Nurses and Clinical Officers to prescribe morphine and other palliative care drugs was signed.

Uganda Country Palliative Care Team receiving the revised statute

Parties of the Uganda Countries Palliative Care Team

The 3rd biannual Palliative Care Association of Uganda Conference

The Palliative Care Association of Uganda is organising its 3 rd biannual conference, to be held at Hotel Africana from 1st to 3rd September 2008. The conference theme is: “Palliative care across the ages: From children to older people.”

Conference objectives:

1. To bring together all palliative care stakeholders to share experiences, so that lessons are shared to bring about the further scale up of services across the country.
2. To raise awareness of palliative care needs for all ages so that this form of care is extended to all in need while ensuring provision of quality services.
3. To enhance collaboration and networking among palliative care stakeholders in Uganda.
4. To encourage more service providers to integrate palliative care into their current services.

Expected conference participants

Palliative care teams, including practitioners / providers (i.e. doctors, nurses, social workers, community volunteers, counselors etc), Government officials and policy makers from the WHO, MOH, palliative care researchers, students,, the media, and the general public. The total number expected is 300.

The Palliative Care association of Uganda is working in partnership with the Ugandan Country Palliative Care Team and all stakeholders involved in palliative care to organise the conference.