APCA is the regional voice for palliative care, speaking for the whole of Africa, and has a strategic vision to ensure access to palliative care for all on the continent. Given less than effective health delivery systems, and based around the World Health Organisation’s fundamental building blocks of a generic health system, strengthening health systems to ensure the public health delivery of palliative care underpins APCA’s strategic direction. In achieving this goal, APCA’s work is propelled by four strategic drivers:
- Strategic driver 1: Increasing knowledge and awareness of palliative care among all stakeholders;
- Strategic driver 2: Strengthening health systems by integrating palliative care at all levels;
- Strategic driver 3: Building the evidence base for palliative care in Africa, and;
- Strategic driver 4: Ensuring the economic sustainability of APCA.
The need to develop a palliative care task force is underpinned by the close alignment of APCA’s and the EAPC’s objectives of supporting the development of palliative care along the lines of the above drivers. Indeed, there a long and history of productive collaboration between palliative care specialists in Europe and Africa. This has included clinical work, education and advocacy, as well as research. However, there is ongoing concern about the imbalance of this collaboration, given the scale of resources that originates from, and the longer palliative care history of, European partners. Fostering the collaboration between services and institutions may provide mutual benefits. Indeed, a closer, more equitable collaboration between APCA and the EAPC should be beneficial to both regional associations: APCA could benefit from European experiences, such as the establishment of task forces or its vibrant research network, whereas the EAPC will find African experiences of the public health approach to palliative care, with AIDS and tuberculosis, of genuine interest.
Funding opportunities for this kind of collaboration have traditionally been scarce; though, in all likelihood, potential major funding sources have not been optimally targeted to date to support palliative care projects.
APCA and the EAPC have collaborated successfully in the past, with speakers from both continents regularly included in the major congresses of each association. The proposed members of the task force’s steering committee have been fundamental to this collaboration, combining research skills with clinical or social scientific experience.
Potential founding members of the proposed task force met at the EAPC congress held in Lisbon, Portugal, in May 2011 to discuss options for increased collaboration, and have agreed to contribute to the task force on the assumption that they will fulfil the membership criteria, which will be based around APCA’s partnership framework.