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 to take place. We know that to create a sustainable palliative care service within Malawi, we need to train healthcare professionals from across the country and in different healthcare situations. 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. Each time, 20 to 25 health professionals from across Malawi stay with us in Salima for three weeks to attend lectures delivered by our team. These students then complete a two-week practical placement to gain hands-on experience in delivering palliative care and starting programmes locally. The course is accredited by Hospice Africa Uganda (a well-known training institution serving the whole of Africa) and attendance thus far has been free, with all costs covered by Ndi Moyo. To date,150 healthcare professionals have attended the course, which was suspended only during Covid.
The map below shows the different locations across Malawi from where course attendees have come. These then return to their home districts to expand palliative care provision nationally.
One student wrote:
We witnessed how palliative care is not just about managing illness. It’s about restoring hope, dignity and comfort to patients and their families.
The Initiators’ Course involves expert facilitators within a range of health disciplines who are mainly drawn from the Ministry of Health, CHAM (Christian Health Association of Malawi) and PACAM (Palliative Care Association of Malawi). Participants learn skills in delivering palliative care in a holistic way, as well as project development, running a service, teaching, advocacy, and ongoing learning.
The Future
We understand the need for supervision and mentoring, and 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. At present, we are running weekly online case conferences which allow recent students to discuss difficult management problems and receive feedback from colleagues.
This programme continues to expand and develop. It received considerable interest when presented by our staff at recent international meetings.
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