How we can embrace community-centered palliative care that reflects African values and realities

Palliative care is specialised medical care focused on improving the quality of life for patients facing serious illnesses like cancer. In many parts of the world, palliative care is often misunderstood as end-of-life care and as a result, is underutilised. Ideally, palliative and supportive care should begin from diagnosis and continue throughout a patient’s cancer journey, says Miriam Mutebi, a Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Nairobi, Kenya. “I recall a patient sharing her deep gratitude for a friend who had made it a habit to prepare ‘chapati’ a favourite weekly meal for her kids when she didn’t have the physical strength to do so herself; a great example of what community-centred palliative care that focuses on practical support, while addressing the physical and emotional needs of patients looks like,” she writes.