Palliative care – calls for mobilization of local resources intensify

“With FCFA 1000, I took away someone’s pain [last year]. You too can!”, says Wango Barnabas, Board Member of ‘1000 Project’ – a project committed to relieving the pain of people suffering from life-limiting conditions through a donation of at least FCFA 1000 every year.

“You too can!” is a call the 1000 Project is making for a greater mobilization of funds to finance palliative care services in Cameroon – which as of now, is still an underrated service in the country’s ‘struggling’ health sector.

1000 Project was born in 2017.  Five years afterwards, the project is a panacea to those depend on medication to relieve pain. Sadly, the medications are often out of reach due to the exorbitant prices – compounded by out-of-pocket payment.

According to the project’s 2021 annual report, FCFA 1 million was raised to support the most vulnerable patients and families in need of palliative care:

“Your generous support has helped improve the quality of life of 150 patients in 4 hospitals in the North West and South West Regions,” stated the report.

From every indication, the impact of the project [donations] would have been far-reaching – touching many more lives if there were enough funds. No doubt on the 2022 World Hospices and Palliative Care Day on October 8, the project called for more donations.

Ndzi Eric is a palliative care nurse and says the need for finances in palliative care cannot be overemphasized:

“Palliative care is care offered to patients with life-limiting conditions. Once diagnosed, most patients spend most or every of their life savings to look for a cure which never comes. [Given that cure is not forthcoming and they have to live,]” says Mr Ndzi Eric.

“Pain relief medication for patients is very expensive. Oral liquid morphine is very expensive. Today the oral liquid morphine of 100ml costs FCFA 5000. For the patient I’m currently managing, that quantity can last only for four days. Imagine she has to live on that medication for a month, that would be a great investment,” he adds.

“There’s always a need for us to advocate on a special day like World Hospices and Palliative Care Day to people of goodwill, to support palliative care – so that medications can be given to patients free of charge,” reiterated Mr. Ndzi.

Besides receiving free medications, Mr. Ndzi says each donation will go a long way to “help in patient’s wound care, enable palliative care nurses to do home visits – because sometimes, they just need someone to talk to and above all, relief their caregivers of the work they do every day.

World Hospices and Palliative Care Day is an opportunity to celebrate and support hospices and palliative care globally.

The theme for the year’s World Hospices and Palliative Care Day is “Healing Hearts and Communities”.

It’s worth noting that as of 2020, the 1000 Project had contributed FCFA 2.2 million. Therefore, going by the balance sheet of 2021, the project has raised FCFA 3.2 million as its contribution to healing the hearts of those in pained communities.