Palliative care issues in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

HIV/AIDS is unquestionably the definitive health crisis currently facing the African continent. Last year it was estimated that out of the 35 million people worldwide who are HIV positive 6 in every 10 men, 8 in every 10 women and over 9 in every 10 children live in sub-Saharan Africa (South African Department of Health, (SADoH), 1999). These staggering statistics pose an enormous challenge in that the vast majority of people infected have no access to antiretrovirals or protease inhibitors, making palliative care the only ‘treatment’ available.