Grantee details

Traveling Scholars Program Report

Boubacar Paoulho Sow, MD

Travel date: April 25, 2016

Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: Fifth French Course on Introduction for Palliative Care

Origin: Dakar, Senegal / Destination: Kampala, Uganda


How was this meeting/activity helpful to you?

Improved knowledge in palliative care: I learned much more about morphine. Better organization in the field: operating team. How to do advocacy with the authorities and other health workers

How will you new knowledge & acquired skills help in furthering your work in hospice and palliative care in your program/city/ or country?

Commitment to convince others to prescribe oral morphine. Integration of palliative care practice in our mobile unit of gerontological home care. Arguments for advocacy with the authorities to support the beginning palliative care national policy in my country

How IAHPC Traveling Scholars Program be improved in order to help other future traveling scholars?

The travelling scholarship is very helpful. It would be better if is was given earlier so that booking a flight can be done early because prices increase as the date is close.

Narrative summary highlighting the needs and challanges you face

Myths about morphine: they are very strong in the minds particularly in health workers. Morphine is considered as “medicine of death”. Health workers fear to prescribe it. Our role is to organize awareness workshops for prescribers. We would like to make a test in one hospital for 6 months before touching other structures. Inaccessibility of oral morphine in the whole country: as a result of this awareness, it will be easier for prescribers to command enough morphine powder (for oral preparation) because it exists in the national drug distribution that has regional branches. National advocacy: The different authorities will be met according to a well-defined schedule to determine their state of knowledge about palliative care and help them improve their level of involvement in accordance with the United Nations resolution


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