The current study by Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM) has revealed that over 3000 children across the nation are in dare need of palliative care services to ease the pain they encounter when nursing long term illness such as tumour, cancer and HIV/AIDS.
The revelation comes amid daunting reaction among stakeholders in the health sector a head of Ministry of Health taking over of Children Palliative Care (CPC) program into its system of operation which PACAM has been running it for five years .
Records show that the program has been successful since its inspection in 2010 as many children needed for palliative care services were identified and treated according though medical personnel were insufficient to accommodate the demand.
PACAM ran CPC program with funding from DFID in major referral hospitals including Kamuzu Central, Mzuzu and Queen as over 58 sites for the similar care services were opened across the nation in district hospitals.
Speaking in an interview after see off the project, Jean Tauzi, PACAM’s CPC program Team Leader, said she was optimistic that success stories the program have brought would continue in government’s hands as over 3000 children were still in dare in need of palliative care across the nation.
Tauzi said among other achievements the program has had was the significant change in understanding of the children’s rights according to International Children palliative Care Network (ICPCN) as children were able speak out on the general feeling of the challenges facing when nursing such long illness.
“This has helped other stakeholders to lobby government and advocate for children’s services which has led to full inclusion of their needs in programming. This has also resulted into the ministry’s development of the National Palliative Policy which is in place now to guide and coordinate activities of palliative care in Malawi and availability of Morphin, a drug used mainly to ease pain in patients”, lauds Tauzi.
Tauzi said though the program succeeded challenges still remain including insufficient of trained clinicians and nurses, unable to follow up of patients and awareness campaigns on palliative care services due transportation as communities were beyond reach and lack of internal and external donors to continue funding the project.
On sustainability of the CPC after PACM phasing it out on March 31, 2015, Ministry of Health’s Palliative Care Desk Officer, Immaculate Kambiya assured PACAM and other stakeholders on government readiness to take charge of the program saying resources were in place to cater palliative services.
“There shouldn’t be any worry on sustainability of the program as all facilities PACAM used to provide such services belong to the ministry. The Palliative Care Policy which is in place now will invigorate the authority to put more resources towards the welfare children’s to ease their pain”, assures Kambiya.
