PACAM is implementing the following projects in different parts of Malawi.
Current Projects
- * PACAM Step Up Project
- * Chifundo Project
- * PACAM COVID response – resource mobilization
Closed Projects
- * METHOD
- * NAC
- * CounterPart International Project supported by USAID
|
Name of project and Brief project description |
Location of project, sources of funding and period |
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Scaling up Palliative Care in Malawi through a partnership between PACAM and APCA – strengthen PACAM’s institutional capacity, PC policy development & advocacy, pain medications, education |
National Wide. USAID through APCA 2010-2014 |
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Children Palliative Care Scale Up. Advocacy with the Government, policy makers to develop policy and make drugs available for children with life limiting illness, capacity building for health professionals on children palliative care. Empower children to know their rights. |
Three Central hospitals in Malawi (Zomba, Kamuzu and Mzuzu) DFID through Help the Hospices 2011 -2015 |
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Integration of Legal and Human Rights in Palliative Care. To integrate legal and human rights services in palliative care service delivery to assist patients to know their Rights and legal issues affecting them. This help them from property grabbing, torcher and abuse. In 2015 PACAM submitted another proposal to request OSISA for funding amounting to USD 50,000 to build onto initial steps of integrating legal support into palliative care services. The grant specifically supported the implementation of the priority activities in the action plan which was developed by the taskforce which constitutes those who attended the sensitisation meeting. The grant period was from January to December 2016. PACAM has established systems in the targeted hospital for legal service provision and well established MoU Legal Aid Bureau. PACAM recruited a full time paralegal staff who works hand in hand with Paralegals from Legal Aid Bureau and the sites project coordinators. With this funding PACAM has produced a documentary which will be used as IEC materials in the six palliative care sites. |
Initially targeted Lighthouse, Ndimoyo Palliative care and St Gabriel hospital. Later national advocacy for morphine access Supported by Open Society Institute of Southern Africa. From 2014 - 2020 |
Current Projects
PACAM COVID response – Resource Mobilization
PACAM Donates COVID Supplies Worth MK 25 Million to MOH
SPEECH FOR HANDOVER OF COVID 19 PPE TO MOH.
PALLIATIVE CARE ASSOCIATION OF MALAWI DONATION OF COVID 19 PPEs TO THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH TO STRENGTHEN DELIVERY OF PALLIATIVE CARE SERVICES IN MALAWI.
21ST JULY 2020. MOH CONFERERENCE HALL.
SALUTATIONS:
The Minister of Health and Population, Honourable Khumbize, Kandodo Chiponda, MP.
The principle Secretary for health and Population,
The Director of Nursing Services
Members of press.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It gives me great pleasure and singular honour to stand before you today.
Allow me, at the onset, to express on behalf of the Palliative Care Association, Palliative Care providers, palliative care clients, the communities and organisations that support palliative care services, and indeed on my own behalf, our sincere gratitude, all palliative care stakeholders and definitely everyone who is here at this auspicious occasion.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, the aim of this meeting today is to hand over Protective Personal Equipments (PPEs) supplies that PACAM with support from True Colours Trust in UK has procured to support MoH to provide to all district hospitals in Malawi inorder to protect health care workers against the Pandemic COVID 19 infection.
The total cost spent for these PPEs is MK25, 870,940.00. (Twenty five million eight hundred thousand nine hundred and forty kwacha)
The need came following our visits to district hospitals and interaction with Palliative Care providers in palliative care clinics. We are aware that palliative care patients are highly on risk due to chronic illness they suffer which suppress immune system.
We feel sorry and sad that some health workers including palliative care providers are infected too. We believe that by protecting health care workers we are also protecting patients as well.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to give you a brief genesis's of palliative care in Malawi. It was started by a team of doctors, clinical officers and nurses at Queens Elizabeth central hospital in Blantyre and Lighthouse in Lilongwe in 2002.
This was followed by the formation of Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM) which was set up in September 2005 as a network of individuals and organisations working together to support and develop affordable and culturally appropriate palliative care in Malawi, with a vision to see a country where all people with life threatening illnesses are free from pain and distress.
As an association it aims to encourage the holistic care of chronically ill HIV/AIDS and cancer patients, promote the development of palliative care services, increase awareness of palliative care and establish a resource base for palliative care.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Palliative care is not just for the dying, nor is it just for cancer patients. It is a healthcare approach that serves people who have chronic illness and others who may require comprehensive care including their caregivers.
Palliative care is a holistic approach to life-threatening illness that aims to add quality of life, and provide wrap around services when patients and families are attempting curative treatments, as well as when curative treatments are no longer beneficial.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to appreciate the Government for establishing palliative care and Non Communicable diseases department within the MoH and designated full time officers, we will support the Government in the scale up of palliative care services for people with life threatening illness.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen we should know that by providing adequate PPEs resources and skills to health care workers in this critical period of COVID 19 pandemic of which statistics by Sunday 19 July was at 2,992 confirmed case, and 62 deaths can mitigate the situation and encourage health care workers to work hard.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to appreciate the Government for establishing palliative care and Non Communicable diseases department within the MoH and designated full time officers, we will support the Government in the scale up of palliative care services for people with life threatening illness.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen we should know that by providing adequate PPEs resources and skills to health care workers in this critical period of COVID 19 pandemic of which statistics by Sunday 19 July was at 2,992 confirmed case, and 62 deaths can mitigate the situation and encourage health care workers to work hard.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to appreciate the Government for establishing palliative care and Non Communicable diseases department within the MoH and designated full time officers, we will support the Government in the scale up of palliative care services for people with life threatening illness.
The MoH, distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen we should know that by providing adequate PPEs resources and skills to health care workers in this critical period of COVID 19 pandemic of which statistics by Sunday 19 July was at 2,992 confirmed case, and 62 deaths can mitigate the situation and encourage health care workers to work hard.
Thank you and God bless you all.
Professor Mercy Pindani – PACAM Vice Board Chair
PICTURES
COVID PPES handover ceremony by PACAM at MOH Capital Hill on Lilongwe on 21st July 2020
Step Up Project
The Meaning of STEP-UP is ‘Service Training Education Prescribing (STEP) Umodzi Palliative Care Model (UP)
STEP-UP is a system strengthening initiative implemented through PACAM. The STEP UP Project Started as a pilot project at QECH in 2011(Phase 1) targeting the southern region of Malawi. Then in 2013-2015 Phase 2 through PACAM. Between August 2015 and June 2017, the Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM) implemented the STEP-UP programme in the Central and Northern regions of Malawi. This followed successful implementation of the programme in the Southern region over the previous four years. From October 2017, PACAM started implementing Phase 4 of the STEP UP Project.
The STEP-UP programme aims to integrate palliative care into publicly funded health services in Malawi by raising awareness about, confidence in and access to palliative care services at district level. It involves providing resources to help district hospitals set aside a dedicated room for palliative care clinics; running awareness raising and training sessions for doctors, nurses, clinical officers, pharmacists, social workers, volunteers, religious leaders and others; facilitating clinical placements to help health workers see good palliative care in action; mentoring district hospitals to ensure their palliative care services are of good quality, and supporting districts and the Ministry of Health to collect information about the impacts of palliative care. The programme is funded by the True Colours Trust.
STEP-UP Aims
The overall goal of the STEP-UP programme is to support the provision of sustainable, accessible palliative care services for adults, children and their families through district health services.
Key Learning from STEP UP Phase 3
* Targeting senior officials and frontline teams simultaneously for awareness raising
* Advocating for senior officials to include palliative care into DIP and undertaking sensitization regularly.
* Give them evidence of why PC should be priorities.
* Providing both information and financial resources to pump prime change. Districts are more likely to contribute their own funds.
* Working with both hospitals and community teams to ensure palliative care is embedded at different levels of the health service.
* Seeing a wide range of people as members of the palliative care team, including traditional healers, religious leaders, management teams, doctors, nurses, clinical officers, social workers, health promotion and education officers, data officers and others
* Using data to help show where improvement was needed, by making good use of baseline assessments and tracking changes over time.
* Allocating team members within STEP-UP to have responsibility for collecting data to show progress and keep everyone motivated.
EXPECTED OUT COME FOR STEP UP PHASE 4
- It is anticipated that by the end of the project period, District Health Management Teams shall be committed to prioritizing palliative care services through their district implementation plan and PACAM shall only be there to provide technical support.
- Palliative care services shall be more visible and accessible than before.
- Number of service providers actively practicing palliative care shall increase.
- There shall be improved reporting and data management.
- Number of clinics with dedicated personnel to provide palliative care shall increase.
- Increase the number of children accessing palliative care services at district level.
- Increase awareness in the community about the availability of palliative care services so people start expecting and accessing these services;.
- Encourage districts to initiative follow-up activities themselves using public funding as a way of sustaining the gains made.
Chifundo Project
BACKGROUND
EMMS in partnership with Palliative Care Support Trust (PCST), PACAM, Mulanje Mission hospital and Nkhoma mission hospital implemented a three-year project called METHOD (Malawi Education and Training for HIV and Other Diseases - Palliative Care)
EMMS (Edinburgh Medical Mission Services )International is a charity based in Edinburgh, Scotland, working to improve healthcare through partners in Malawi and other Countries.
METHOD project was funded by DFID and other generous UK trusts, including the True Colours Trust.
The METHOD project implementation began in July 2015.
METHOD project:
The goal was to increase numbers of people trained and qualified in different aspects of palliative care, at different levels in the health care system and also in areas of legal, social and spiritual work.
METHOD supported College of Medicine to introduce Bachelor of Science degree program in palliative care.
The project trained 128 nurses, 34 clinical officers, 40 Medical Assistants, 39 Pharmacists, 1 doctor and 3 Physiotherapists. The project phased out in June 2018.
THE GENESIS OF CHIFUNDO PROJECT
Considering the need of the services and to sustain the gains of METHOD, anew project has substituted called Chifundo.
Chifundo is Chichewa for “Compassion”. Chifundo is intended to increase numbers of people trained in and delivering various aspects of palliative care (healthcare, social, spiritual and legal work) in hard to reach facilities in all districts of Malawi. The project is 3 years from 6th July 2018 to 30th June 2021.
CHIFUNDO PARTNERS (implementers)
There are 5 key partners (implementers)
- Palliative Care Support Trust (PCST)
- Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM),
- Mulanje Mission Hospital (MMH),
- Nkhoma Mission Hospital (NMH)
- David Gordon Memorial Hospital (DGMH). Other new Partners.
- The 3 Central hospitals. – Mzuzu, Kamuzu and Zomba
- Selected 26 hard to reach health centres through out Malawi.
Hard to reach health centres
ACTIVITIES
Baseline Survey.
CAPACITY BUILDING.
Mentorship to APCA palliative care standards level
To conduct 6 Monthly Palliative Care supervision.
To organise 6 Monthly National Palliative Care task-force.
To conduct palliative care audit using APCA standard to 27 participating sites