Strategic objectives
The desired outcome of the Initiative is that palliative care is accepted as an essential part of, and integrated into, the care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.
In working to achieve this outcome the Palliative Care Initiative will operate at an international, regional and national level, in partnership with other donors and national and international organisations. It will use the Fund's unique name and associations to promote palliative care.
The initiative has six objectives, with planned activities for each:
Objective 1: An HIV/AIDS community and donors that has integrated palliative care into the continuum of care for people with HIV/AIDS and their families
In working towards this objective, we will:
- Advocate for the inclusion of palliative care into national and regional HIV/AIDS policies.
- Target HIV/AIDS funders and networks working in Africa and lobby them to incorporate palliative care into their strategies and service delivery.
- Support schemes integrating palliative care and anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment into home-based and hospital/clinic based care.
- Work with HIV/AIDS networks and organisations at all levels.
Objective 2: A strong palliative care sector capable of scaling up delivery and influencing health policy
In working towards this objective, we will:
- Increase the capacity of existing palliative care providers to scale up palliative care in-country and to advocate at local and national government level, focusing on organisations where the Fund's contribution will have the most effect.
- Seed-fund work in countries where there is currently little palliative care, but the prospect of scaling up.
- Work with other donors and partners for maximum impact and integration of services, using the Funders' Collaborative for Children, Malawi as one model.
- Support the development of paediatric palliative care as an essential part of the care and treatment of children.
- Work with others to advocate for the availability of morphine and other pain and symptom-controlling medicines.
Objective 3: A workforce, from medical professionals to informal carers, that is trained to ensure the delivery of high quality palliative care
In working towards this objective, we will:
- Promote the inclusion of palliative care in the curriculum for all health professionals.
- Support the development of culturally-relevant training programmes for health professionals, informal carers, communities and families.
- Ensure the dissemination of good practice regionally.
- Support the development of high-quality resources and information.
Objective 4: An increase in long-term donor funding for palliative care that makes it a sustainable intervention
In working towards this objective, we will:
- Lobby donors to include palliative care in their strategies and criteria.
- Strengthen our existing relationships with key donors and develop new ones.
- Develop an exit strategy for the Palliative Care Initiative, working with partners to ensure sustainability.
Objective 5: A strong, effective and sustainable regional organisation that effectively promotes and supports palliative care in Africa
In working towards this objective, we will:
- Support the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) in its work with its members to scale up and integrate palliative care provision and to develop capacity and standards.
- Take a public health approach to this partnership that seeks to establish a balance between coverage and quality.
Objective 6: An increased evidence base to demonstrate the effectiveness and impact of palliative care in Africa
In working towards this objective, we will:
- Fund Africa-based research that demonstrates the value of palliative care, assesses its impact and leads to improvement in service delivery and demonstrable benefits to patients and their families.
- Support, as appropriate, research partnerships between organisations and institutions in Africa and in the North.
- Encourage the development of palliative care research in academic institutions.
- Develop a robust evaluation and learning strategy for funded projects and the Palliative Care Initiative itself using, where possible, tools that have been developed and tested in Africa.
- Ensure research results and lessons learnt are disseminated widely.