Why Palliative Care Training?
When the World Health Organisation outlined a strategy for the integration of palliative care into healthcare services worldwide in 2007, it identified the training of healthcare professionals in palliative care as a key pillar for this. We know that to create a sustainable palliative care service within Malawi, we need to train healthcare professionals from across the country, working across different healthcare services. To achieve this goal, Ndi Moyo developed the Palliative Care Initiators’ course in 2015.
The Palliative Care Initiators’ Course
We run our five-week course annually at Ndi Moyo in Salima. Each time, 20 to 25 health professionals from across Malawi stay in Salima for three weeks to attend lectures delivered by our team, and then these students complete a two-week practical placement to get hands-on experience in delivering palliative care and starting programmes locally. The course is accredited by Hospice Africa Uganda and attendance is free, with all costs covered by Ndi Moyo. So far, 102 healthcare professionals have attended the course.
The map below shows the different locations across Malawi where course attendees have come from. They return to their home districts to provide palliative care.
One student wrote:
“I admit that I had a knowledge gap in pinpointing the needs of our patients in the light of palliative care. But after this training, I have gained essential skills which will help me to be a more effective palliative care provider,”
Jumbo, course attendee (Clinical Officer at Kasungu District Hospital)
The Future
In 2022, Ndi Moyo started a unique palliative care online case conferencing project. The aim is to allow palliative care providers across Malawi to share their knowledge, discuss cases, and support each other.