Date & Time
23rd-26th September 2025
Venue
Gaborone International Convention Centre - GICC
Mode
Physical
Tracks
Innovations, Delivery Models, and Technological Interventions
- Exploring innovative models of palliative care delivery to improve access, quality, and sustainability.
- Highlighting the role of technology and Artificial Technology (AI) in enhancing diagnostics, imaging, and patient-centered care.
- Addressing...
- Exploring innovative models of
palliative care delivery to improve access, quality, and sustainability.
- Highlighting the role of technology
and Artificial Technology (AI) in enhancing diagnostics, imaging, and
patient-centered care.
- Addressing the availability,
access, and use of essential palliative care medicines, including oral liquid
morphine, and other medicines used for symptom management.
- Strategies for Integrating Palliative Care into the
health system to ensure accessibility of services e.g. Primary Health Care (PHC), community-based approaches,
developing hospital and home care teams.
- Palliative
care as a cornerstone in mainstream disease management including timely integration into the management of specific conditions
and rehabilitation, e.g.
neurologic conditions, sickle cell disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease,
etc;
- Utilising diagnostics and imaging technologies in palliative
care and allied health services.
- Strengthening and expanding the inter-disciplinary team for palliative care e.g. physiotherapy, pharmacy, traditional healers.
Strengthening Palliative Care Education, Training, Leadership and Advocacy
- Building education and training programmes to strengthen palliative care knowledge and skills among healthcare providers, policymakers, and communities.
- Establishing palliative care teaching in African universities e.g. medical and nursing schools...
- Building education and training
programmes to strengthen palliative care knowledge and skills among healthcare
providers, policymakers, and communities.
- Establishing palliative care teaching in African universities e.g. medical and nursing schools widely and stimulate research could be addressed.
- Developing, empowering and mentoring the palliative care leaders of the future.
- Strengthening advocacy strategies and communication around palliative care.
Paediatric and Adolescent Palliative Care
- Addressing the unique palliative care needs of neonates, babies, children, and adolescents and their families.
- Exploring family-centered approaches, caregiver support, and strategies to improve outcomes for paediatric patients.
- Supporting children...
- Addressing the unique palliative care needs of neonates, babies, children, and adolescents and their families.
- Exploring family-centered approaches, caregiver support, and strategies to improve outcomes for paediatric patients.
- Supporting children and adolescents through the many transitions that they experience during their life and their treatments.
Psychosocial, Spiritual, and Holistic Approaches
- Integrating spirituality, psychosocial support, mental health and creative arts into palliative care to address emotional and psychological well-being.
- Discussing approaches to support patients and families through death, dying, and bereavement,...
- Integrating spirituality, psychosocial support, mental health and creative arts into palliative care to address emotional and psychological well-being.
- Discussing approaches to support patients and families through death, dying, and bereavement, with an emphasis on cultural sensitivity and holistic care.
- Caring for the Caregiver.
Ethical, Legal, Financing and Policy Dimensions of Palliative Care
- Examining ethics, laws, and policies in palliative care, including issues related to patient autonomy, informed consent, access to essential medications.
- Addressing end-of-life care planning, decision-making, and compassionate bereavement support.
- Discussing...
- Examining ethics, laws, and policies in palliative care, including issues related to patient autonomy, informed consent, access to essential medications.
- Addressing end-of-life care planning, decision-making, and compassionate bereavement support.
- Discussing policy solutions to improve equitable access to palliative care services and essential medications.
- Financing Palliative Care and allied health services.
Palliative care in crisis: humanitarian, climate, pandemics.
- Developing strategies and policies to strengthen palliative care systems and provision in the face of humanitarian crises such as climate change, conflict, and displacement.
- Strengthening the health care in palliative...
- Developing strategies and policies to strengthen palliative care systems and provision in the face of humanitarian crises such as climate change, conflict, and displacement.
- Strengthening the health care in palliative care medicines
Deadlines
Important Deadlines
Speakers
Joan Marston
Global Ambassador for the ICPCN
Joan Marston studied Nursing, Sociology and Social Anthropology at the University of Kwazulu-Natal and has been working in palliative care since 1989 at a local, national, and international level. With a special interest in children Joan first established Sunflower Children’s Hospice in Bloemfontein in 1998, before setting up both the first national Advocacy and Paediatric Palliative Care (PPC) development programmes within HPCA (now APCC. During that time she was instrumental in developing Beacon Centres for PPC in Tanzania, Uganda and South Africa; co- founding the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) in 2005, of which she was the first Chair and CEO; developing PPC development projects across Malawi and Maharashtra, India; also supporting development and education in many countries around the world. A Canon Emeritus and Lay Minister in the Anglican church, Joan has a deep interest in children’s spirituality. Concerned about the lack of palliative care in humanitarian settings she then co- founded PallCHASE – Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid Situations and Emergencies - and is on the Executive Committee leading on Advocacy. As the Vice- President of the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation Global Joan co-facilitates the EKRF South-Asian Fellowship programme. Teaching across a number of countries; Joan is on the Advisory council of Global Partners in Care. Her PPC development support for Ukraine led to her being invited to be an honorary Consultant to the Centre of Palliative Medicine at the Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine. She continues to support her colleagues there. Joan is a Global Ambassador for the ICPCN; on the faculty of a number of international educational programmes; participates in research, was co-founder of Hospice Bloemfontein, and is still an active volunteer with Sunflower Children's Hospice. Married to Richard with two adult children, she delights in her three gorgeous grandsons.
Prof. Seggane Musisi
Former Head of Psychiatry at Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Prof. Seggane Musisi is the former Head of Psychiatry at Makerere University College of Health Sciences where he obtained his medical degree and then went for specialist Psychiatry training at the University of Toronto, Canada. With research interest in Psychosomatics, Liaison and Intensive Care Psychiatry, he published on Eating disorders, Depression, Sleep disorders, Tourette’s syndrome and Intensive Care Psychiatry. Upon return to Uganda, he founded the African Psycare Research Organization (APRO), to research, teach and consult on mental health problems in Africa focusing on emerging new mental health challenges. He has researched and published widely on brain degenerations in Africa, HIV mental health problems, war-related psychological trauma, severe mental illness and old age psychiatry as well as traditional healing practices connecting traditional and contemporary approaches to mental wellness, cognizant of cultural influences on African psychiatric symptom presentation and health seeking. He has written papers, books, book-chapters, editorials and has convened conferences. He sits on various boards, has been Editor-In-Chief of two scientific journals and has won grants and awards, including the Fulbright New Century Scholars award. He is a Fellow of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences (UNAS) and is the founder and CEO of Entebbe Lakeside Hospital in Entebbe, Uganda. Prof. Seggane Musisi has been the architect of general hospital psychiatry in Uganda thus championing the integration of psychiatry in general hospital medical practice in this country, thus bringing mental health care to the common person at their nearest health facility or Health Centre. He is an internationally celebrated and industrious psychiatrist, teacher, researcher, clinician and medical innovator.
Dr Nahla Gafer
Clinical Oncologist
Dr Nahla Gafer is a clinical oncologist who trained in Hospice Africa Uganda and later completed her M.Sc. in palliative care at King's College London. She started the first palliative care service in Sudan, integrating early palliative care and active oncology treatment to cancer patients. She helped train multi-disciplinary health professionals in her country and regionally. She is still supervising the team who are providing the service in several cities and remotely. She is part of and is co-ordinating the Expert Network for Palliative Care at the Eastern Mediterranean Office of WHO.
Professor Isaac Adewole
Former Minister of Health Nigeria and former Vice. Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; and former President of Africa Organization for Research and Training in Cancer.
Prof. Isaac F. Adewole is a former Minister of Health Nigeria and former Vice. Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; and former President of Africa Organization for Research and Training in Cancer. He co-founded the African Cancer Coalition and is a member of the International Taskforce on Elimination of Cervical Cancer in the Commonwealth. Prof. Adewole is a global health expert and leader committed to the health and well-being of women. He has led several research projects on cervical cancer prevention, diagnosis, and capacity building in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. He has authored more than 250 publications on topics such as cervical cancer, sexual and reproductive health and rights, abortion, HIV, and Human Papillomavirus (Total Citation 20,518; h index48; i10- index 140). As Minister of Health, he launched an ambitious program to rehabilitate 10,000 primary health care centers. He concentrated on swiftly reducing maternal mortality in Nigeria, eradicating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, enhancing capacity for cancer prevention and management, and fortifying the national public health system to tackle disease outbreaks effectively. He served as a Commissioner on the WHO High-Level Commission on NCD (2018-2019) and the Lancet Oncology Commission on Cancer Control in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also a member of the UNESCO/UNFPA-sponsored High-Level Committee on West and Central Africa (WCA), which is dedicated to educating healthy and thriving adolescents and young people. Currently, he is reviewing the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Harmonized Cancer Treatment Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa and is serving on the Lancet Commission on Cancer and Health Systems. He serves as a Patron of the Boys Brigade of Nigeria. In 2020, Emperor Naruhito awarded him the Order of Rising Star and the Gold and Silver Star of Japan in recognition of his efforts as Minister of Health and for fostering a closer Japanese-Nigerian relationship. He is the Chair of the National Taskforce on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria and a Senior Health Consultant to the African Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jean Callanan
Irish Hospice Foundation
Jean Callanan is a good death advocate. A former international business executive, she has chaired the Irish Hospice Foundation for the past five years. IHF is Ireland's leading not-for-profit on dying death and bereavement and works to ensure the best end-of-life and bereavement care, for all. From advocacy and education to vital services like Nurses for Night Care and a Bereavement Support Line, IHF believe in the importance of dying well and grieving well wherever the place. While primarily an Irish-focused organisation, the IHF has been involved, in a limited way, supporting the development of palliative care in Africa. Jean is a regular media commentator on death and is actively involved in several projects to improve palliative care in Africa.
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