Life Before Death is a multi-award winning documentary about terminally ill patients, their families, and the extraordinary health care professionals fighting to change the culture of medicine to be more focused on care, rather than exclusively on cure. It is an intimate hopeful and life-affirming collection of stories about living well and dying better. The film travels to 11 countries, and through the eyes of patients and their families we discover the inherent humanity that empowers the best of us to care for those beyond cure.

The event will take place at Braeburn School, Gitanga Road, at 2.30pm. The event will also include the launch of Kenya’s World Cancer Day theme song ‘I Fight For You’ featuring Abbi Nyinza, Ilaria Della Bidia and Charlie Lustman.

The event is free to attend, and no booking is required.

The Braeburn School café will be open before and after the film screening.

World Cancer Day is an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control, with an aim to help save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about cancer, and pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the disease.

We hope you can join us!

For further information:
Call us on: 020 2729302 /  0722507219
Email: info@kehpca.org

The film is rated PG.

Parking is available at Braeburn School

Thank you to our Event Partners:

After driving up from Nairobi, we arrived in Nyeri just as activities were beginning. Two of the hospices volunteers welcomed us, and took us through to a treatment room which had been transformed into an exhibition explaining the process of hospice care – right from the moment a patient first walks through the hospice door.

Nurse Esther set the scene, talking us through a chart showing how Nyeri Hospice’s patient numbers had grown from 50 patients in 1995, to over 250 in 2011. She described the different local areas that the hospice covers, and the remoteness of some of the rural communities, highlighting that Nyeri Hospice has been instrumental in overseeing the recent establishment of three rural hospices in Murang’a, Laikipia and Nyahururu. After we’d had the opportunity to ask questions, we were taken to the next part of the display.

Nurse Esther then explained the process of registering as a patient at the hospice. The various forms were available for us to read and on display was some of the equipment which a new patient might typically require. This included walking aids, wheelchairs, and commodes, and we were informed that all the equipment was available for hire by new patients.

Hospice Nurse Lydia explained a display of treatment items which many patients require, including pressure hosiery to ease swollen limbs, TENS machines for relief of aches and pains, and a syringe driver for administering pain relieving medication. We were encouraged to handle all the items and ask questions. Many visitors hadn’t seen a TENS machine before so there was lots of interest in how it worked.

A table of colostomy bags was on display; the team highlighted that with support from the Aga Khan Hospital in 2011, the hospice is now able to provide low cost and high quality bags for patients, as opposed to very basic bags that had been available before. This has made a big difference to many of the patients’ quality of life, and CEO Saraphina explained that a new colostomy bag support group has been set up for patients to meet each Wednesday.

We were walked through a table of comfort items, and finally a range of medications which were on display. Nurse Eunice taught visitors about the range of analgesics the hospice is able to provide, and at what stage of illness each is appropriate. Morphine was displayed as a key medication to treat patients with severe pain, and the importance of Nyeri Hospice being able to provide morphine in the region was very clear.

After a short break, hospice social worker Johnson discussed with visitors the typical case issues he deals with at the hospice, including orphans, family inheritance disputes, housing problems, and the key agencies that he liaises with, including local government departments and other NGOs.

We were then taken on a tour of the hospice building and to view the Nyeri Hospice film made with the support of Safaricom.

After a fantastic and comprehensive tour, we had the opportunity to meet some of the hospice volunteers, including Samuel Ngunyi, who travels 2 ½ hours every month to support day care sessions. Samuel told us ‘I volunteer so I can help the needy who are unable to sustain themselves, so they can live a happy life and live a little longer, and to give them hope of living without much pain. God might bless me when I help his creation. I also volunteer to help create awareness of diseases like HIV. I also train others to want to help others.’ We also met Jim, who at the age of 91 is an inspiration, as he has been volunteering at Nyeri Hospice for many years, fixing the wheelchairs loaned to patients every fortnight.

All visitors were provided with lunch and an opportunity to meet some of the current patients. We met Joshua Thirteen a patient of the hospice for over 10 years; Joshua was a strong advocate for hospice care, and explained ‘When I’ve been coming here, my pain, it went away. No need to worry. Everything was good. Not thinking I am ill. I am alright!’.

Peter Njuki, whose mother had been a patient at hospice before she sadly passed away also told us “Before we had not known that there is care of patients at a Hospice, so we were taking care of our mother with cancer at home ourselves. We had to visit Nyeri Provincial Hospital at one time, and they told us that we could be visiting the Hospice. We particularly needed to buy colostomy bags, and learned these are subsidized at Nyeri Hospice. It really helped, as the prices at the chemist in town were high. The hospice also made visits for our mother to counsel her, which made a very big difference.”

The Open Day was a great success for Nyeri Hospice, with over 80 attendees, and the team hope that it might inspire other Kenyan  hospices to hold similar events in their local communities. The day proved that for terminally ill patients in the Nyeri region, Nyeri Hospice most definitely personifies its motto: ‘comfort is there, and is there always’.

Click here to view pictures from Nyeri Hospice’s Open Day on Facebook

Pamoja, the 2011 annual KEHPCA Hospice and Palliative Care Unit newsletter brings together news from Kenya’s hospices, painting a picture of the crucial work that has taken place across the country over the past year, and the difference it has made to patients lives.

This year 16 hospices and palliative care units have shared their news and achievements. These range from stories of patients for whom palliative care has made a profound impact to their lives, to updates on impressive amounts of work undertaken by hospices across the year,to accounts of impactful World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2011 events.

KEHPCA extend its grateful thanks to all organisations for sharing their stories, and particularly to Kimbilio Hospice and Laikipia Palliative Care Centre for submitting their first annual updates, after launching to the public in 2011.

Download Pamoja, Kenya’s 2011 Hospice Newsletter here

By this Christmas, Kenyan Hospices and Palliative Care Units will have provided care and support for around 30,000 patients during 2011, including around 1,200 children. Their work changes lives, through providing effective pain relief, clinical care, subsidized or free medication, counseling and spiritual care. This year, between them, they will have to worked to fundraise a significant amount to carry on providing these crucial services.

As the National association for all hospice and palliative care service providers in KEHPCA is dedicated to supporting hospices, and to scaling up palliative care services to bridge the very significant gap between those who receive services and those in need.

By joining as a Friend of KEHPCA this Christmas, your generosity will help KEHPCA ensure more terminally ill patients in Kenya to have the opportunity to access palliative care.

Friendship is priced at just ksh1,000, and full benefits of Friendship are detailed on our website and include priority booking for all KEHPCA events and conferences, invitations to the annual fundraising event, a bi-monthly e-newsletter, and much more.

All new members joining this December will also be entered into a special Christmas draw, to win a return flight to Mombasa from Nairobi, courtesy of Flight 540!

To join as a Christmas Friend,  a downloadable Friendship form is available on our Membership page  
and email to Josphine Muya at info@kehpca.org

Joining payments can be made by bank transfer, in person at the KEHPCA office, or by MPesa on KEHPCA’s business number of 830600.

KEHPCA WISHES YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!


Supported by Flight 540

The winner of the draw for a return flight to Mombasa courtesy of Flight 540 will be announced on Friday 6 January 2012.

The facility will improve the ease for Friends of KEHPCA to renew or join as a Friend, at just the press of a button, from any location in Kenya.

Supporters of KEHPCA who wish to make a donation can also use the service, as well as KEHPCA conference or event attendees who would like a quick and easy way of making ticket payments.

KEHPCA’s business number is 830600.

Mpesa was entirely developed by Kenyans and was initially sponsored by the UK-based  Department for International Development (DFID) in 2003–2007. The continuing success of M-PESA, in Kenya, has been due to its creation as a highly popular, affordable payment service, and KEHPCA is pleased to now be a member of this network!

How to make a Friendship, Event, or Donation payment to KEHPCA via MPesa

You can make a friendship, event or donation payment* to KEHPCA via MPESA on your Safaricom mobile phone number.

• Go to the Safaricom Menu on your phone
• select the MPESA option
• select the Pay Bill option
• enter KEHPCA’s Business number 830600
• for the account number enter the KEHPCA business number 830600 again
• enter the amount of your choice
• put in your PIN
• confirm your transaction
• wait for a confirmation message from MPESA

For any enquires on the MPESA donation or any other donation process, kindly send an email to info@kehpca.org or call us on +254 20 272 9302

If you have any questions or queries about the M-PESA service go to the M-PESA homepage on the Safaricom website.

*Please remember to also send your completed membership renewal / event registration form to info@kehpca.org

KEHPCA invited Dr Esther Munyoro, Head of the Palliative Care Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital, to make the talk, accompanied by KEHPCA’s Resource Mobiliser Julia Strong.

Dr Munyoro presented to a team of around 30 Airtel staff, and highlighted the most common forms of cancer in Kenya, described common initial symptoms to be aware of for each cancer, explained what the available treatments are, where to go to access them, and what patients can expect from the various cancer treatments.

The Airtel team were able to actively participate in the talk, raising questions on a range of cancer issues that Dr Munyoro was able to advise on.

KEHPCA’s Resource Mobiliser talked on the role of palliative care, where it can be accessed in Kenya, and how Kenyans can support the work of the country’s hospice and palliative care units.

KEHPCA Cancer awareness leaflets were distributed and the Airtel team supported KEHPCA through buying and wearing KEHPCA’s new wristbands, with KEHPCA’s vision statement Quality Palliative Care for All.

Awareness Talks
If you would be interested to hold a hospice and palliative care awareness talk at your company, community group, or faith based organization, please contact KEHPCA on info@kehpca.org / 020 272 9302. Talks last around 30 minutes and can be tailored to individual organization needs.

Dr Zipporah Ali, National Co-ordinator of KEHPCA attended to advocate for palliative care as an essential aspect of treatment for patients with Non-Communicable diseases.

In attendance from the Kenyan government were President of Kenya Mwai Kibaki and Cabinet Ministers Prof. Nyang Nyong’o, Moses Wetangula, Beth Mugo, Wycliffe Oparanya, Chirau Mwakwere, Noah Wekesa and other senior government officials.

President of Kenya Mwai Kibaki joined other World leaders to address the High Level meeting, asserting that prevention and control of non-communicable diseases must be prioritized in both national and international development agendas. The President emphasized that Non-Communicable diseases were a major public health concern in Kenya, contributing to over 50 per cent of hospital admissions and over half of all hospital deaths in the country.

President Kibaki highlighted how the Kenyan government are working to institute various preventive and curative measures as well as anchoring them on legislative frameworks, citing the National Cancer Control Strategy and the finalization of a Draft Cancer Bill to comprehensively guide the control and treatment of cancer.

Non-communicable diseases contribute to 13 per cent of overall mortality in Kenya with cancer and diabetes being responsible for 7 and 4 per cent of the deaths respectively.

Participants at the meeting adopted a declaration calling for a multi-pronged campaign by governments, industry and civil society to set up by 2013 the plans needed to curb the risk factors behind the four groups of NCDs – cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

In the official press release Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the declaration on NCDs noted that over a quarter of all people who die from NCDs succumb in the prime of their lives, the vast majority of them in developing countries.“Our collaboration is more than a public health necessity. Non-communicable diseases are a threat to development. NCDs hit the poor and vulnerable particularly hard, and drive them deeper into poverty”.

The UN made five recommendations to further progress, including a focus on palliative care through “sustained primary healthcare measures, including prioritised packages of essential interventions, along with palliative and long-term care, for those who already have noncommunicable diseases or who are at high risk of contracting them.”

This significant public-private partnership will focus on the development and implementation of a national training programme for the integration of palliative care into hospital services, the development and dissemination of comprehensive hospital palliative care guidelines, provision of technical support and mentorship for hospitals, and the measurement of the impact.


Over 220 health care professionals will be trained in palliative care throughout the programme, with eight established Kenyan hospices to mentor the newly emerging hospital palliative care units. The programme will ensure that local community healthcare professionals are aware of the new palliative care services at the hospital so that patients and families receive smooth and timely referrals.


KEHPCA project that the partnership will enable an additional 4,000 new adult cancer patients and 5,000 adult HIV / AIDS patients to receive high quality palliative care through the new hospital units in a period of one year. It is also projected that an additional 500 new paediatric cancer patients and 1,000 paediatric HIV / AIDS patients will receive palliative care through the new hospital units each year.

Dr. Zipporah Ali, National Coordinator of KEHPCA, explained ‘Effective palliative care results in patients spending more time at home and reduces the number of hospital inpatient days. It improves symptom management; provides patient, family and care giver satisfaction; reduces the overall cost of disease and improves quality of life of patients and family. This partnership will demonstrate and document these benefits and will highlight how palliative care can be used to strengthen the government health care system.’

Lucy Sainsbury, the Chair of True Colours Trust who are supporting the programme said ‘The Government of Kenya’s commitment to integrate palliative care into eleven public level 5 and provincial hospitals is commendable. We are delighted to be part of this partnership. It will help ensure that people with life-limiting illnesses across Kenya are able to access pain relief and symptom control.’

The Government of Kenya’s commitment to establish palliative care services in these hospitals will guarantee a more effective, efficient, and equitable health system. A working health system that includes palliative care services is vital to ensure widespread pain and symptom control and an improvement in the general care, support and quality of life for patients and families facing life-threatening illnesses in Kenya.

See the Daily Nation’s feature

The event took place at the Alliance Francaise Cultural Centre in Nairobi, with 125 guests in attendance.

Guests received a special introduction by Carole Mandi, Publisher of True Love and Drum East Africa Magazines, who shared a family experience of cancer and the importance of the hospice movement in Kenya. After the movie, Dr Zippy Ali, KEHPCA National Co-ordinator thanked guests and event partners for their support, and introduced a special short film about Hospice Care in Kenya, Frontline Palliative Care (http://kehpca.org/about/missionvision/).

After the films, all guests were invited to stay for a complimentary drinks reception, in which the raffle was also drawn. Carole Mandi picked the lucky winner of the top raffle prize – a three day holiday to Diani Beach!

The event was a great success and raised around Ksh170,000 to support KEHPCA in its mission to achieve quality palliative care for all in Kenya.

KEHPCA would like to thank all who attended the event for their support. 

Event photos can be viewed on the KEHPCA Facebook page.

Based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Margaret Edson, the film WIT features the Academy Award winning actress Emma Thompson, in a movie directed by Academy award winning director Mike Nichols. The film tells the story of Vivian Bearing (Emma Thompson), a 48-year-old university professor, who learns the importance of simple human kindness when faced with the most daunting of crises: a diagnosis of advanced cancer.

The event will take place at the Alliance Francaise, Loita Street, at 3pm, and will be introduced by special guest Carole Mandi. Carole is Editor and Publisher of True Love and Drum Magazines, and as one of Kenya’s most positive social commentators, will introduce the film and World Hospices Day 2011.

Tickets are priced at Ksh1,000 and all proceeds from the event will directly support KEHPCA in continuing its mission of supporting all Hospices and Palliative Care Units across Kenya.

A drinks reception and raffle will follow the film screening, with tickets priced at just ksh100 and prizes including a holiday to Diani Beach with two nights at Kenyaways Resort with flights courtesy of Safarilink , Dinner for Two at Carnivore Restaurant, and a case of Leleshwa Cabernet Sauvingnon wine!

The event will celebrate the achievements of palliative care service providers across Kenya, and create awareness for the need to scale up palliative care services in Kenya to bridge the very significant gap between those who receive services and those in need.

We hope you can join us!

To book tickets:
Call us on: 020 2729302 /  0722507219
Email: info@kehpca.org
In person: – At Dormans Coffee Shops in: Yaya Centre, Westgate Mall, and Junction Shopping Centre
- At KEHPCA offices: Chaka Court (next to Chaka Place), Argwings Kodhek Rd.
- At Alliance Française: Loita Street/Monrovia Street

Parking: Complimentary parking for all event ticket holders will be available at Kenindia Assurance offices, Loita Street