Island Hospice and Healthcare (Island) was founded in 1979 and was the first hospice in Africa. Today, it provides palliative and bereavement care services including pain management, symptom control services and counselling. It also provides training to those working in the field of palliative care and works closely with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to support its integration of palliative care into the public health system.
True Colours’ work with Island in Zimbabwe began in 2017 and has seen great strides made in Ministry’s integration process. In 2024, True Colours approved a two-year grant to Island towards a project to integrate palliative care into health systems in the province of Mashonaland East in the north-east of Zimbabwe. The project saw healthcare professionals from hospitals and rural health facilities receive dedicated training in palliative care. Village health workers were in turn equipped to be able to identify and refer patients who would benefit from palliative care. In addition, health facilities were provided with data and mentorship to enable them to provide remote support to patients and healthcare professionals.
The ambition for the project was to demonstrate how palliative care can be fully integrated into healthcare systems at a provincial level. The hope was that the work would be rolled out to further provinces and in 2026 we were delighted to partner again with Island to develop the next phase of the work. Over the next three years, Island will begin work in Matabeleland North Province (in the west of Zimbabwe) and Masvingo Province (in the southeast), supporting further integration of palliative care into provincial healthcare systems. This is an exciting next phase which will build on the learning from Mashonaland East and will contribute towards Island’s overarching aim of ensuring that quality palliative care is available to all who need it.
Visit the Island Hospice and Healthcare website (opens in a new tab).
