Zambia - Supporting Palliative Care Services
For people living with life-threatening illnesses in the rural
environs of Kasanka village in northern Zambia, many can now access
an enhanced palliative care service in the region.
The Return to Life Palliative Care Programme, set up in 2001 by the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, provides services for terminally-ill patients living with HIV and AIDs, cancer and associated illnesses such as TB and Kaposi’s Sarcoma. To date, the services the Sisters have provided have included basic nursing care and pain control system management via holistic palliative care. There are no other organisations in the area addressing similar needs, and the nearest Home-Based Care programme is 80 kilometers away.
In 2009 Misean Cara allocated funding for the purchase of a new programme vehicle to enable the Sisters to provide a greater outreach service to their clients. With their new resource, the Sisters now provide home visits, mobile clinics and community meetings to support families, care givers and volunteers. Their vision to travel to teach and share skills and knowledge with volunteers and family care givers can now be realised.
Each month 25 voluntary caregivers visit clients living in 27
different villages in the surrounding area. Almost 100 clients now
benefit from the care programme. By providing the correct and
appropriate care for patients, and ensuring that their pain and
symptoms are well treated, the Sisters are assisting people to
return to productive living.
The Sisters continue to work towards self-sustainability for the
programme by encouraging income-generating activities such as maize
and cassava farming, keyhole gardening and raising poultry.