Palliative care

Palliative care improves the quality of life for people living with HIV and their families through its holistic approach, and is a human right. It addresses physical symptoms, including pain, psychological, social and spiritual needs and can be provided in any care setting, including the home. It is appropriate from diagnosis throughout the course of the disease and into bereavement as appropriate.

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Palliative care: latest news

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Palliative care in your own words

  • Losing Billy

    1980When I first met Billy, I was working behind the bar at the Euston Tavern in Kings Cross. Billy had been staring across the bar...

    From:In your own words

Palliative care news from aidsmap

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Palliative care news selected from other sources

  • NICE releases new pain relief guidelines

    Many patients with advanced cancer and other debilitating conditions are being "under-treated" for their pain, new guidance from the health watchdog says.

    23 May 2012 | BBC

  • End of life care services letting down lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people say leading charities

    Many LGB&T people do not feel that end of life care services are open to them and are concerned that they will face discrimination and a lack of understanding from health and social care providers when they are dying.

    16 March 2012 | National Council for Palliative Care

  • Nigeria to Import Morphine in Pain Relief Initiative

    Millions of poor people die in severe pain each year, usually because their countries have drug-trafficking laws that severely limit opiate imports and because doctors are not used to prescribing potentially addictive painkillers. About five billion of the world’s people live in countries without adequate access to pain relief, the initiative estimates.

    06 March 2012 | New York Times

  • South Africa: Pain - A Neglected Complication of HIV, Living With Aids

     Recent research among South Africans living with HIV shows that they often experience varying degrees of pain, yet many patients do not report it.

    01 March 2012 | AllAfrica

  • ZAMBIA: "People Are Not Dead Until They Have Died"

    "I had no power, I could not even walk. I just had to be lifted by someone. When bathing, when going to the toilet, when going anywhere," Geoffrey Mwila says in a soft voice.

    03 January 2012 | Inter Press Service

  • Zambia - Palliative care for AIDS sufferers makes inroads

    Health care providers say that 'people are not dead until they have died' Ever since the HIV epidemic rose in the early nineties throughout Africa, hospices like Mother of Mercy have been on the forefront of providing palliative care in Zambia.

    28 December 2011 | Moreover.com HIV/AIDS feed

  • Africa: Commonwealth Publication Raises Concerns Over Rights of HIV and Aids Carers

    A breakthrough research publication highlighting the need to protect the rights of unpaid HIV and AIDS carers will be launched at the Commonwealth Secretariat on 3 October 2011.

    30 September 2011 | AllAfrica

  • Africa: Caring About Palliative Care

    Dr Natalya Dinat said the need for palliative care would grow as more patients access treatment, live longer and run an increased risk of cancer. "People who are living with HIV know that pain is a very important and prevalent symptom," he said.

    18 March 2011 | IRIN Plus News

  • Many HIV/Aids patients suffer pain needlessly

    But in Kenya, as in many other countries, HIV care often neglects assessing and treating pain. Gerard was getting antiretroviral drugs, but no proper pain treatment. Unfortunately, many health care workers - and patients - consider pain unavoidable. Yet, improving a patient's quality of life by treating pain and other symptoms - called palliative care - is an essential element of comprehensive HIV care.

    15 February 2011 | Human Rights Watch HIV/TB

  • People 'denied' die at home wish

    Three in every five people in the UK would like to die at home, yet only one in five actually does, says a report from Demos on how people want to end our lives.

    14 November 2010 | BBC Health
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These pages have been developed with the support of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund.

Our information levels explained

  • Short and simple introductions to key HIV topics, sometimes illustrated with pictures.
  • Expands on the previous level, but also written in easy-to-understand plain language.
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Diana - the work continues

NAM has published a series of in-depth clinical reviews, focused on key aspects of HIV & AIDS care in resource-limited settings, incorporating and addressing palliative care.

Grants from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund enabled us to produce these reviews and we gratefully acknowledge its support.

You can read and download the clinical review collection on our HIV & AIDS Treatment in Practice pages.

See also