The World Health Organization (WHO) has called upon African governments to accelerate the integration of palliative care into national health systems, emphasising the need to make such services universally accessible, affordable, and sustainable. The appeal was issued during the Fifth African Ministers of Health Session on Palliative Care, convened as part of the Eighth International African Palliative Care and Allied Services Conference held in Gaborone, Botswana, from 23 to 26 September 2025.
Fabian Ndenzako, the WHO representative to Botswana and the Southern African Development Community, underscored the continent’s disproportionate burden of life-limiting conditions, which range from advanced cancers and HIV-related illnesses to chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Despite notable progress in policy inclusion, he highlighted persistent structural barriers, particularly inadequate access to essential medicines for pain relief, due to both regulatory and logistical constraints.
Ndenzako observed that several governments across Africa have already embedded palliative care within universal health coverage frameworks and strategic health documents. He further recognised regional advances in training health professionals and the scaling up of community and home-based care initiatives, which remain vital in contexts where hospital-centred models are inaccessible to significant portions of the population.
Speaking at the session, Botswana’s acting minister of health, Lawrence Ookeditse, pointed to the country’s National Hospice and Palliative Care Policy as evidence of national commitment. However, he acknowledged that challenges remain in financing, political prioritisation, service coverage, and the reliable supply of medical commodities. Ookeditse reaffirmed Botswana’s intention to strengthen palliative care at both institutional and community levels, noting that the government aims to deepen investment, policy coherence, and advocacy for the benefit of vulnerable populations.
The WHO’s call aligns with the global recognition of palliative care as a fundamental component of universal health coverage, a principle reiterated in the 2014 World Health Assembly resolution on strengthening palliative care as part of integrated health services. Yet, across much of Africa, the availability of morphine and other essential palliative medicines remains among the lowest in the world, according to the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care. Scholars and health experts have long stressed that without meaningful investment in supply chains, community-level training, and policy alignment, the majority of patients with severe health conditions will continue to experience preventable suffering.
By situating palliative care within broader public health frameworks, the Gaborone conference highlighted the need for African-led solutions that reflect the realities of local health systems and community traditions of care. Pan-African stakeholders continue to emphasise that care for the seriously ill must not be seen as a luxury but as a central expression of health equity and dignity across the continent.
