Ministry of Health Commends PACAM For Caring Over 3000 Children’s Through CPC Project

Jean Tauzie

The Ministry of Health has commended Palliative Care Association of Malawi (PACAM) for its several achievements made through a five year project, Children Palliative Care (CPC). The project has come to an end on 31^st March 2015 but since 2010, has reached out to over 3000 children that are suffering from life threatening illnesses (life limiting diseases) to access to a holistic care to ease their pain.

Through stakeholder’s meeting at the end of the project, several successes were revealed by the outgoing Project Coordinator Jean Tazuzie.

Tauzie said, for the past five years which DFID has been supporting the project CPC through PACAM has achieved its four objectives on advocacy, training, rights awareness and development of a policy for Children Palliative Care.

“Am happy to report that on Advocacy we have done a lot, we have made available various materials for advocacy, we met policy makers and provided an interface with children suffering from life limiting illnesses to voice out their problems.” She said

Jean Tauzie

“We have contributed in the making of the policy for Children Palliative Care (CPC), the policy is now being disseminated.  We have done rights awareness of both guardians and children themselves and we have also trained over 65 health care workers.” explained Tauzie

As the PACAM’s CPC project comes to an end, the outgoing Project Coordinator Jean Tauzie has also offered hope that PACAM is not stopping especially on conducting some of the activities that were being done in the CPC project.

“There are number of cases of chronic illnesses including sickle cell anemia, epilepsy, disability and cancer. Therefore as an organization of PACAM I understand children will never be alone. The project is phasing out yes, but PACAM is there to continue with some of the activities that we were doing in the CPC project” she assured

Jean Tauzie

With an aim of enhancing the life of children suffering from lifelong illnesses and relieve them from adverse pain, Children Palliative Care (CPC) project has been providing a range of medical services for free through three main Central Hospitals of Kamuzu, Mzuzu and Zomba. It has among others advocated for availability of medication that prevents occurrence of pain like morphine in such hospitals.

Ministry of Health Palliative Care Desk Officer Immaculate Kambiya said the ministry is impressed with tremendous achievements CPC project has made, saying the project has assisted Malawi government in helping children suffering from chronic illnesses to live a quality life.

She said as the project comes to an end, the Ministry is taking the up the role and add it in Ministry of Health Palliative care Programme so that the ministry reinvigorates such commendable achievements from where PACAM through CPC project has left.

“Ministry of Health is already implementing Palliative Care as a national programme. Since this programme is phasing out, as a ministry we will continue with the project.” Said Kambiya who assured of the continued success stories of the CPC issues as government will continue from its Central Hospitals where the PACAM’s CPC project was being implemented.

She said among the planned activities to reinvigorate the project are more trainings for the health care workers so that CPC services can be rolled out to district hospitals and be closer to the people for a wider reach as well as monitoring and evaluating what is already on the ground with the core of increasing access to CPC for all children in need of such services.

Kambiya further guaranteed that, Palliative Care initiatives have already been planned for in the Ministry of Health implementation plans and CPC was already incorporated as one of the programmes the ministry is to put into action at the national level.