A Lancaster University lecturer who was a nurse in the UK for 15 years has launched a charity in Ghana to help provide end-of-life care.
COMPASS Ghana is the brainchild of health researcher Dr Yakubu Salifu from the university's Faculty of Health and Medicine.
Dr Salifu was a registered nurse in both the UK and Ghana for 15 years.
The new charity aims to provide universal end-of-life care by the end of the decade.
In low-resource communities in Ghana, the lack of palliative care means that patients with life-limiting illnesses are too often left to die an isolated, painful and undignified death.
Dr Salifu, the Chief Executive Officer of COMPASS Ghana, said: “The demands of care can result in poor communities in a loss of income, an inability to work, and young children – often girls- withdrawn from school to care, as well as the anguish and anxiety within the home and wider community.”
Dr Salifu (pictured third from right) with the Palliative Care Team at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana
According to COMPASS Ghana:
- 86% of the Ghanaian population are without access to meaningful palliative and end-of-life care
- 63 is the average age of death
- 48% of the population have no health insurance
- 30% of the population are facing significant journeys, often on foot, to their local hospital
Dr Salifu said: “Our aim is to help deliver universal end-of-life care in Ghana by the end of the decade. Our vision is to expand our activities to other African countries as we gain traction and experience.”
Lancaster Medical School now has a COMPASS Ghana Student Society.
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