Strategic Objective: To promote learning and mobilize the attitude of people and communities to participate in the collective demand for better palliative services and standards in Kenya.

Outcome: Collective community awareness and confidence to demand quality palliative care services in Kenya.

Education provides people with the knowledge to understand the end-of-life experience, pain and, symptom management, goals of care, and advanced care planning.  It is therefore important to educate people and to encourage public discussion about palliative care. Knowledge alone may be insufficient to change practice, but education and discussion could be the first steps toward better palliative care provision for all in need.

Cultural influence, personal values, and beliefs can impact a person’s ability to understand end-of-life issues.  Raising awareness has the potential to enable people to ask for palliative care and to act in their own families and communities to improve the quality of palliative care provided. Public awareness is therefore important to increase enthusiasm and support, stimulates self-mobilisation and action, and mobilise local knowledge and resources.

This strategic pillar seeks to empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health and co-participate meaningfully in the production and access to palliative care that responds to their needs. Similarly, the engagement and empowerment of diverse players (health care professionals, Families, Care Givers, Policy Makers, Influencers, Health Systems, Health facilities) who are key to the successful delivery of Palliative Care creates a society that values and upholds palliative care, advocates for the inclusion of palliative care in the health system, promotes palliative care as a discipline, contributes to policies and standards to guide the delivery of PC, thereby contributing to positive health outcomes for PLWPCN. 

Strategic Objective: To increase the availability of quality palliative care for PLWPCN and their families by advocating for accessible and affordable services.

Outcome: Available, accessible, and affordable palliative care in Kenya.

In Africa, health systems remain overburdened with an increasing disease burden, great geographical distances, late presentation of disease, limited financial resources, a lack of trained health care professionals, inadequate access to essential medicines, and palliative care services at home and in the hospital.

Just like other medical and social care professionals, palliative care practitioners need evidence to make effective and correct diagnostic and prognostic decisions for their patients. Rigorous research evidence is needed to convince policymakers of the need and benefit of palliative care, and how it can best be introduced or scaled up, on a continent where the unmet need for it is huge.

In this strategic plan period, KEHPCA will continue to partner with the MoH to integrate palliative care into the public health system with a focus on integrating palliative care into the health care system at all levels of care, improving national policies, ensuring access to essential medicines, improving education, and training, and advocating for the legal aspects of palliative care. Advocacy and awareness of health care professionals and the public is aware key. There is also a huge need for palliative care awareness among the population, including within the various ministries, politicians, and judiciaries among others to enhance continued understanding and support to the palliative care agenda.

Strategic Objective: To enable to KEHPCA achieve its mission by responding and adapting to the dynamic changes in the palliative care service delivery through strengthening its systems and structures.

Outcome: A strengthened, well-coordinated Association of Hospices and PCUs in Kenya.

Good governance and management structures are crucial in providing credibility and accountability including the efficient use of funds to provide care and potentially increased access to donor funding. KEHPCA believes that addressing financial challenges and identifying real opportunities for change will strengthen its organisational development, especially its financial sustainability. Strengthen accountability and effectiveness by promoting the implementation of key KEHPCA policy guidelines and ensuring compliance.

This pillar will primarily focus on the strategic realignment of KEHPCA’s structure and programmatic approaches for effective policy, decision making and innovations in strategy implementation. The intention is to have a KEHPCA that is a strong, effective, resilient, and sustainable association.