Physical Health Uganda Project #54999

Bringing palliative care closer to communities

by Hospice Africa Uganda

Project Report | Mar 25, 2026
Palliative care in the underserved communities

By Bruno Lubwama | Communication and Marketing Officer

Bringing palliative care closer to communities By Hospice Africa Uganda

Community Outreach Strengthens Access to Palliative Care in Kasokoso

(Reaching the hard-to-reach communities )

Hospice Africa Uganda continues to extend compassionate palliative care services to underserved communities through its regular outreach programme conducted in Kasokoso Informal Urban Settlement in Kampala, Uganda. The outreach, which takes place every last Wednesday of the month, ensures continuity of care, early identification of patients in need, and consistent follow-up to improve patient outcomes.

The outreach team, led by Nurse M J, was joined by a group of Francophone palliative care students on clinical placement, who actively participated in patient assessment, follow-up, and supportive care interventions. During this visit, the team reviewed a total of 12 patients through both roadside clinic consultations and home-based care.

At the roadside clinic held at SDA Health Center 3, several patients were assessed, reviewed, and provided with necessary medical guidance and symptom management. The roadside clinic serves as a convenient access point for patients who are able to travel short distances within the community, allowing them to receive care without needing to visit a distant health facility.

In addition to the clinic-based consultations, the team conducted home visits for patients who were unable to attend due to the severity of their conditions, mobility limitations, and general frailty. These home visits ensured that even the most vulnerable patients continued to receive clinical review, pain management, and psychosocial support within the comfort of their homes.

Among the patients followed up during the outreach was Mr. A M, a retired engineer formerly working with the National Water and Sewerage Corporation. Mr. A M has been managing hypertension and diabetes since 2023 and suffered a stroke in 2024, resulting in left-sided paralysis and swelling. With continued palliative care and follow-up, his swelling has now completely resolved, and he has shown gradual improvement in mobility through physiotherapy and guided exercises. He previously attended physiotherapy sessions at Kasangati Physiotherapy Hospital and Kibuli Hospital and had undergone Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) therapy as recommended by Dr. E, one of the Francophone students. He now continues to perform exercises with and without support and reports experiencing sharp, pin-like sensations while walking, indicating progressive nerve recovery. His next clinical review is scheduled for 11 March 2026.

The team also followed up with Mr. M C, who experienced a stroke in 2023 and continues to struggle with neuropathic pain, which he describes as a persistent cold sensation affecting his left side and leg, along with numbness in his foot and knee. During the outreach, Dr. P, another Francophone student, provided therapeutic massage to help relieve his discomfort. With continued support and regular follow-up, Mr. M C has reported gradual improvement and increased comfort in his daily activities.

Both patients expressed deep appreciation for the care received, noting that the outreach programme has made it easier for them to access consistent medical support and pain management without the burden of travelling long distances.

This monthly outreach initiative demonstrates Hospice Africa Uganda’s commitment to bringing palliative care closer to communities, especially within informal settlements where access to specialised care is often limited. By combining roadside clinics with home-based care, and by involving students in hands-on learning, the programme not only improves patient quality of life but also contributes to building future capacity in palliative care service delivery.

Attachments:

Hospice staff during the outreach in Kasokoso slum (DOCX)

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Nov 26, 2025
Finding Peace Through Palliative Care.

By Matilda Kahunde | Communications & Marketing Officer

Community-based models such as outreach clinics and home visits have proven essential in bringing palliative care to underserved and underprivileged populations. At Little Hospice Hoima (LHH), one of our three sites, the outreach clinic in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement has seen a significant rise in the number of patients in need of palliative care.

This increase is driven by the continuous influx of refugees escaping conflict, as well as growing awareness of palliative care among health professionals and the refugee community, thanks to the ongoing advocacy and health education efforts of the LHH team and our dedicated community volunteer workers.

The need for palliative care in Kyangwali is immense. Many refugees live with multiple forms of serious health-related suffering linked to conflict and displacement, physical disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, HIV from rape and defilement, cancer, hypertension, isolation, loss of social support networks, poverty, and limited access to healthcare.

Through the project “Bringing Palliative Care Closer to Communities,” we continue to extend compassionate, dignified care to both refugees and the host population in Kyangwali.

Patient X (name withheld for anonymity) arrived in Kyangwali several years ago. Once a thriving middle-class business owner, their life changed forever when armed attackers brutally murdered their spouse and six children before their eyes. Patient X survived only because a Good Samaritan carried them to safety and sought medical help.

They sustained severe injuries to the thorax (broken ribs) and spine, leaving them permanently disfigured and living with chronic urinary and faecal incontinence caused by spinal damage. Despite being resettled and remarried in Kyangwali, Patient X remains unable to work, has limited mobility, and lives with deep financial insecurity. The incontinence, in particular, caused profound emotional distress, intensified by social stigma and shame.

Before accessing palliative care at the Kyangwali outreach clinic, Patient X reported having advanced plans to end their life as an escape from unbearable suffering. However, after being enrolled into holistic, individualised palliative care with LHH, everything changed.

Through consistent pain management, emotional support, compassionate counselling, and practical care, Patient X’s suicidal thoughts resolved. They now report better control of their symptoms and greater peace of mind. With the help of the LHH team, Patient X is slowly rebuilding dignity, meaning, and hope despite living with permanent disability.

In addition to clinical care, this project has been life-changing for Patient X. The funds enable us to meet the essential needs of the most vulnerable patients. Through this support, Patient X receives a monthly supply of diapers for incontinence, food assistance, and transport support to and from the outreach clinic

These small but critical interventions have restored comfort, confidence, and stability in a life once defined by trauma and loss.

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Jun 16, 2025
A MOTHER'S LOVE DESPITE PAIN

By Chrispus Sewanyana | Project Leader

HAU team sets up for the outreach

When the Hospice Africa Uganda team first met NI, a 43-year-old mother of six battling advanced rectal cancer, she was in excruciating pain and emotionally distressed. Living in a cramped one-roomed rental in Lukuli, Makindye, NI had returned to her mother’s care after a series of painful life events; early motherhood, abandonment from her spouses, and a terminal diagnosis. Her pain, both physical and emotional, was intense. But thanks to donations raised on the GlobalGiving Platform, our team was able to begin palliative care immediately, managing her pain and helping her regain some strength and comfort.

One of NI’s greatest fears was being separated from her children. During a home visit, the team found her and the children hungry, with NI clinging to hope that they could stay together despite the pressure from her brother to send them away. With support from the comfort fund and food relief provided by the Hospice team, the family found temporary relief.

But even more important was the emotional support and follow-up: our social worker brought NI’s mother in for a counseling session, leading to a family agreement that the children would remain under her mother’s care. NI’s mother, the main caretaker lost her salon business due to unpaid rent, her home rent is also due and she struggles to find food for the children. Yet amidst the hardship, NI remains hopeful. One of her children has been sponsored for school by a family friend, and the Hospice team continues to provide critical emotional and medical care.

Hospice Africa Uganda caters to a wide range of people through outreaches in poverty-stricken areas and slums. Those that cannot move to the outreach center are visited in their homes. This is possible because of donations from kind people including those on the GlobalGiving platform.

team visits patient for refilling of medication

HAU team Patient's home for a review

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