The original though of initiating the East African Palliative Care Congress was pioneered by the Dr. Frank Manase; a Public Health Palliative Care Physician and Dr. Christina Malichewe an oncologist-palliative care physician.
Our practices as medical doctors for over two decades has always being dedicated to enhance the growth of palliative care initiatives in Tanzania. Following series of meetings in trying to find ways to scale up palliative care practices national wide. Lack of evidence known by the public on the wonders of palliative care in solving multiple and complex health problems was our major concern. Although unpublished, multiples of profound palliative care practices exists in every corner of our nation.
Comprehensive care and control of pain is the biggest challenge facing care givers, health care providers, patients and their families. Patients who are found with life threatening health problems and those who require long term care do suffer the most. For example, people who are found with cancers, renal diseases, Diabetes, Asthma, HIV, Stroke and those experience loss of their loved ones do suffers the most.
Life threating health problems require continuum of care from a household level to primary secondary and tertiary health facility level. The burden of non-communicable diseases “NCDs” continues to grow relentlessly something that escalate the number of people who live with and die with unattended excruciating pain. While the major focus of the current practices is on curative services, treatments that intend to improve quality of life for those who are found with late stage of life threatening health problems has never being a priority. The need for integrated continuum of care from preventive, curative and long term care and support is a critical need.
Also, it is a normal practice that majority of sick people spend more time hanging in places that offer spiritual, traditional healing, and social support services. Mechanism to harmonize and synergize these practices with medical practices and academics is also a paramount. It is though Palliative Medicine, this harmonization will be feasible.
The 1st EAPCON, OCT 2022 will offer an optimal benchmark and a sustainable stage to bring in board all actors that protect and promote health within and outside systems for health.
