Traveling Scholars Program Report
Frank Manase, MD
Travel date: September 17, 2019
Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: 6th International African Palliative Care Conference
Origin: Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania / Destination: Kigali, Rwanda
How was this meeting/activity helpful to you?
I never regret to be a palliative care practicing physician since the day I chose to join the discipline. In the past three years my palliative care practices focus has been on care for older people. Older people have multiple unattended health problems affecting their physical, psychological, spiritual and social wellbeing. It is during the 6th Africa Palliative Care Conference I had chance for the first time to share the experience of working for senior people and get immediate and constrictive feedback. I managed to experience huge developments made by various nations to address the palliative care needs for senior people. I learned that, senior people once their palliative care needs are met; they have a lot to offer back to the community and still they can make their last impact to the community at the same time benefit for their wellbeing. I also learned that, models of palliative care worldwide despite their difference in terms of packages, they are all patient’s needs driven models. It was such a great opportunity to connect and link with palliative care experts from all parts of the world.
How will you new knowledge & acquired skills help in furthering your work in hospice and palliative care in your program/city/ or country?
I look forward to tailor my practice with other stake holders outside health whom can be used as instruments to offer platform for the senior people to give their last impact. This include religious congregations, markets, social service providing agencies e.c.t
How IAHPC Traveling Scholars Program be improved in order to help other future traveling scholars?
I think will be useful to identify agencies working in remote areas who can assist to pick individuals doing palliative care in remote areas.
Narrative summary highlighting the needs and challanges you face
Major challenges that face palliative care practices in Tanzania include: lack of good financing mechanism where majority of older people rely on out of pocket payment for health services, delayed initiation of palliative care services for the needy, and lack of linkage between palliative care providing organizations and social services providing agencies are huge barriers of advancing palliative care I Tanzania. Delayed detection and introduction of palliative care services often cause families to go bankruptcy and the health condition of their loved deteriorate. This fact has denied many families to experience benefits of palliative care services. Unless early identification and introduction of palliative care services is done, palliative care will be considered as a last resort and a signify a sign of failure of systems. Our emphasize at CCPmedicine is to break this myth and demonstrate that palliative care can reverse wheel of suffering of an individual and add value to the life lived by ill person and their family members. Initial results from our palliative care services for senior people have shown promising results. We look forward to engage stake holders outside health to enhance our innovative palliative care idea to restore health of senior people and enable them to leave their last impact to the community. Many appreciations to the IAHPC for being generous and supportive to palliative care initiatives similar to what I lead initiated in Tanzania. Many thanks to APCA-conference organizers; they made my experience very useful and learning platform in my palliative care practices.