By Golden Kang'oma

Salima, April 16, Mana: A Local Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) ‘Ndi Moyo’ Palliative Care, has initiated a five-week training programme for health workers in a bid to bridge the gap in palliative care services,

The course, which has brought together 22 participants, aims to empower health workers with essential skills and knowledge in palliative care.

Speaking during the launch ceremony, Founder of Ndi Moyo Palliative Care, Lucy Kishindo Finch emphasized the significance of the training.

She said that, "We are training these health workers to be reliable providers of palliative care."

Finch highlighted that 40 percent of the population lack access to such care, citing a critical need for trained professionals.

She expressed concern over underutilization of trained initiators, and lamented that authorities often assign them tasks unrelated to their training, a move that widen the gap in care provision.

"Most health facilities lack palliative care providers, so such training initiatives will help most health centres to at least have a palliative care provider," the Founder said.

Finch urged support from stakeholders to sustain their operations as financial hiccups are affecting the organization’s daily operations.

Director of Human Resource and Administration at Salima District Council, Grace Kantande hailed the importance of the training, citing overwhelming cases requiring palliative care.

She emphasized the need to train more health workers to provide hope to patients and alleviate suffering.

Kantande assured that the District Council would provide comprehensive support to the initiators to address challenges in making palliative care accessible to all residents.

"We have had challenges in resources, mostly in human resource, so this training will give us a platform to curb some of the challenges," she said.

Director of Health and Social Services at Salima District Council, Dr. Eugine Katenga Kaunda emphasized the significance of the training in aiding patients with chronic illnesses and pledged full support to the trained health workers to ensure effective care delivery.

Palliative care is provided to the terminally ill and their families, especially that provided by an organized health service.

The initiative reflects a collaborative effort to enhance palliative care services, promising relief to patients in need.