African hospice partnership

Thirty years ago, the hospice movement took hold in America because people were dying alone in hospitals, anxious and afraid. They were frequently in pain, hooked up to machines and often ignored by healthcare workers.

Thankfully, things have changed here. Most Americans now have the option of hospice care, of dying at home as pain-free as possible, surrounded by their loved ones.

In sub-Saharan Africa, however, the situation is far more dire than we faced 30 years ago. With the HIV/AIDS pandemic, nearly 7,000 people are dying each day. Many are alone and in pain, in the midst of stigma, gender abuse and child neglect.

In some countries, there is no access to basic pain medication, with hunger and poverty still widespread. In the midst of this situation, African hospice and palliative care programs are heroically struggling to start and scale up services.

In support of those efforts, Hospice of the Calumet Area has partnered with Hospice East Rand. This mutually beneficial relationship fosters learning between both hospices and helps get assistance to where it’s so desperately needed.

Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA) offers a unique way for U.S. donors to help. Leadership provided by FHSSA ensures donations will benefit African hospices via a regionally coordinated program with monitoring, evaluation and a consistently high standard of care.

To donate or learn more, please go to FHSSA’s website.