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 31st 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.
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