Lack of palliative care policy hampers service delivery, experts say

Experts said the lack of a national palliative care policy continually hampers the delivery of appropriate services to patients suffering from terminal illnesses like cancer.

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health, only 11 percent of the 500,000 Ugandans in need of palliative care can access these services.

Speaking at the commemoration of World Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) 2023 at Taibah International School on October 14, the Executive Director of the Palliative Care Association of Uganda (PCAU), Mark Donald Mwesiga, noted that policy is very important in guiding and giving direction to government and civil society while delivering the services.

Currently, when looking at the Ministry of Health’s budget, there is no budgetary component specifically for palliative care, which is crucial as the number of people who need this service increases daily , he observed.

In 2018, we proposed to the government to allocate at least Sh2.5 billion just for palliative care, but it continues to be integrated with other general primary health care. The government has provided free oral fluid in more than 300 health facilities in at least 107 of 146 districts and towns, showing that 40 districts do not have this service at all, he added.

According to experts, the government needs to invest deliberately to move services from health centers to homes, but this is not being implemented due to lack of favorable policy guidance.

The WHPCD commemoration was held under the theme: Compassionate Communities: Together for Palliative Care.

A pioneering school palliative care club in Uganda, formed by a group of 30 high school students with the aim of advocating for palliative care, raising awareness, supporting resource mobilization and providing practical assistance to improve diet and nutrition of patients and families facing health problems. -related suffering, was launched.

Rose Kiwanuka, Uganda’s first palliative care nurse, said the service continues to be needed due to the increasing number of people living with lifestyle (non-communicable diseases).

In his speech, Dr Muwanga Moses, Assistant Commissioner for Clinical Services in charge of Hospice and Palliative Care at the Ministry of Health, said the government had scaled up palliative care services in most health facilities.

We mainly connect with regional references and I want to assure you that palliative care is present in all of them. We are in 107 health facilities and we will expand to cover all, including the 40 missing, he said, adding that: We also continue to raise awareness. among people because we, the people, live lifestyles that result in non-communicable diseases such as; hypertension, diabetes, cancers, sickle cell disease, among others, thus leading to an increased need for this service.