An innovative approach to reach our goals
A multifaceted strategy
We have a multifaceted strategy for achieving universal end-of-life care for Ghana and beyond. Our aim is to help deliver universal end-of-life care in Ghana by the end of the decade, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (No Poverty, Good Health and Wellbeing), the Government of Ghana’s national development plan, and the WHO’s objective to integrate palliative care into mainstream health care at all levels. We will work in partnership to integrate leading standards of palliative care into existing health systems using an innovative hub and spoke model that meets local needs
Regional Hubs
Our approach centres on the creation of new palliative ward hubs within the main teaching hospitals in Kumasi and Accra. These wards will serve as centres of excellence and transfer palliative skills into mainstream clinical care and training.
Mobile Clinics
We will establish small, agile Mobile Multidisciplinary Palliative Care Teams (MMPCTs) to work alongside patients and caregivers in hard-to-reach rural communities in Ghana. These will deliver the practical skills, knowledge, capability and clinical interventions needed to care for life-limiting illnesses with dignity and to empower families to provide aspects of end-of-life care within their communities. Learnings from MMPCTs will also have direct benefits for general community healthcare across all disciplines.
Investing in change
Working with our partners, we will invest in five key initiatives to accelerate the development of an effective end-of-life care ecosystem
Health and Demographic Data
Collection and analysis of public health data to track the impact of our work and build an evidence base for change.
Technology
‘Test and learn’ use of technology from health apps, facetime and digital innovations to improve reach and access for patients, families, caregivers and local agencies. Technology will also facilitate data collection to identify areas of need, lessons to be learnt and shared to maximise impact.
Research
Working with centres of excellence worldwide, we identify research opportunities for the growing cohort of end-of-life care practitioners in Ghana. We are forging links with global universities, health-tech providers and cancer and palliative care research organisations through funding, research grants, subsidies, sharing of learning and expertise, and training/education. For example, COMPASS-Ghana has strong research links with Lancaster University.
Mentoring
We will advocate for international exchange programmes that help position Ghana as a centre of excellence for end-of-life care within resource-poor communities. Underpinning this will be the careful integration of contextual, social, traditional, and cultural aspects as well as active involvement of the community in the identification of priorities and delivery of care.
Advocacy
With our partners, we are engaging with Ghana’s public and private institutions and opinion leaders to celebrate success, raise awareness, change behaviours and co-develop the enabling policies needed to ensure that all patients and caregivers have access to end-of-life care. Our ambassadors are drawn from the media and other influential industries to help drive broader perception change.
Support our work
By funding our projects, together we can create a better future for families and communities across Ghana – eliminating, step by step, a status quo in which too many are forced to confront life-limiting illness alone.
