Photo exhibition
Photo exhibition
The spirit of good palliative care in the Africa context
Celebrating our traditions, culture and values
69 photographs from APCA and True Colours Trust photography competitions, 2024 to 2026, in three themes:
A father and son share a smile
A father and son share a smile during childhood cancer care at New Hope Children's Hostel.
Photo: Hope Tayebwa and Brian Amanya · Kawempe Homecare (Uganda)
Welcoming a home visit
In Bundibugyo, a patient welcomes the home care team and enjoys talking with his visitors.
Photo: Alex Erejo and Bernadette Mandera · Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care in Africa, Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Making room for play at home
A nurse and mother make time for play during a child's home care visit.
Photo: Hope Tayebwa · Kawempe Home Care (Uganda)
An embrace during a home visit
A patient greets a social worker with an embrace during a home visit.
Photo: Ssebulonde Ismail · Rays of Hope Hospice Jinja (Uganda)
A visit that brings company
A home care visit brings company and support to a boy with cerebral palsy and his family.
Photo: Tony Mwabury · Najojo Better Living Mission Association (Lesotho)
Family laughter
A mother and son share laughter during a programme providing fortified food to families.
Photo: Yeukai Kaponda · Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Including children
Children join family care conversations, with information suited to their age.
Photo: Francisca Nagujja · Mobile Hospice Mbarara (Uganda)
Walking together
A nurse walks hand-in-hand with a child whose parent receives care.
Photo: Chantal Hathorn · Howick Hospice Association / Midlands Hospice (South Africa)
Personal care and dignity
Volunteers assist an older man with hair and nail care.
Photo: Ibrahim Mohamed and Jorge Carlos · Comboni College of Science and Technology (Sudan)
Care for a headscarf
Volunteers help an older woman tie her headscarf as part of personal care.
Photo: Esther Dina Bell · Volunteers for Palliative Care (VOPACA) (Cameroon)
Small acts of care
A nurse trims an older woman's nails during a home visit.
Photo: Tonny Mwabury · Najojo Better Living Mission Association (Lesotho)
An outing on the Nile
The hospice team accompanies a woman on her wished-for Nile outing, sharing conversation and memories.
Photo: Mira Milad and Mario Mohareb · Josaab Foundation for Social Development (Egypt)
Celebrating Mother's Day
A patient and hospice worker celebrate Mother's Day with an outing in Heliopolis, Cairo.
Photo: Tandiyar Samir Mossaad Ghattas · Josaab Foundation for Social Development (Egypt)
Outdoors with a wheelchair
A donated wheelchair helps a daughter take her mother outdoors.
Photo: Duncan Kwaitana · Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Malawi)
Everyday life continues
During a home visit, the care team meets a woman tending her sheep.
Photo: Phineas Gitonga and John Njoroge · Meru Hospice (Kenya)
Supporting a livelihood
A community-funded knitting machine supports a woman living with disability in earning a livelihood.
Photo: Asajile Sanga · Tungamalenga Lutheran Dispensary (Tanzania)
Being there at home
A home care worker visits a patient experiencing pain and distress, offering company and support.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
A patient's smile
A patient shares a smile during palliative care in Cameroon.
Photo: Mbongue Grace Elise · Volunteers for Palliative Care (VOPACA) (Cameroon)
Comfort through touch
A care team member offers massage to support a patient's comfort.
Photo: Mbongue Grace Elise · Volunteers for Palliative Care (VOPACA) (Cameroon)
Hands that hold us
Home visits bring symptom support, food parcels and a listening ear to a woman living with cancer.
Photo: Karen Gschwend · Knysna Sedgefield Hospice (South Africa)
Welcoming the hospice nurse
A woman greets her hospice nurse during a home visit for symptom support and practical care.
Photo: Karen Gschwend · Knysna Sedgefield Hospice (South Africa)
Everyday care at home
A community health worker washes a patient's feet while a family caregiver combs his hair.
Photo: Kukundakwe Patience · Mildmay Uganda (Uganda)
Learning as a family
A mother and her children revisit notes after a childhood cancer awareness session.
Photo: Yeukai Kaponda · Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe (HOSPAZ) (Zimbabwe)
A familiar song
At a patient's request, familiar songs become part of a hospice visit.
Photo: Tandiyar Samir Mossaad Ghattas · Josaab Foundation for Social Development / Hospice Egypt (Egypt)
Time to create
Art becomes part of a home visit, with more opportunities to create to look forward to.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
Painting for the first time
With the team's support, a woman tries painting for the first time and asks to do it again.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
Painting together
A mother and daughter paint together during a weekly home visit.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
Songs and play
Children play and sing together at New Hope Children's Hostel during cancer treatment.
Photo: Hope Tayebwa and Brian Amanya · Kawempe Homecare (Uganda)
Making a friendship bracelet
An older woman makes a friendship bracelet from colourful hair ties with visiting volunteers.
Photo: Esther Dina Bell · Volunteers for Palliative Care (VOPACA) (Cameroon)
Singing during a weekly visit
A weekly care visit includes singing, laughter and conversation.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
Sharing dance
The care team sings and dances with and for patients, including those unable to dance themselves.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
Time to talk
A social worker and client discuss psychological and social concerns in the Hhohho region.
Photo: Mlondi Elton Gamedze · Eswatini Hospice at Home (Eswatini)
Songs and stories
An audio Bible offers songs and stories in a local language as part of spiritual support.
Photo: Dara Vanden Bosch · Mvura Ya Upenhu Cuidados Paliativos (Mozambique)
A personal wish
The hospice team fulfils a man's wish to visit churches in Old Cairo.
Photo: Fady Magdy and Tandiyar Samir Mossaad Ghattas · Josaab Foundation for Social Development (Egypt)
Space to be heard
A counsellor listens as an older woman describes difficulty attending her faith community.
Photo: Hategekimana Anochia · Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Listening to a family
During a home visit in Dogbo, a woman shares concerns about her own and her daughter's illness.
Photo: Isaline Goubau · AfriMeDD, in collaboration with ABSP (Benin)
Sharing experiences under a tree
Older people share experiences at an outreach session, including one participant's account of pain relief.
Photo: Hategekimana Anochia · Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Care in a family's home
Family members and healthcare workers gather around an older woman receiving care at home.
Photo: Patience Kukundakwe · Mildmay Uganda (Uganda)
Understanding a child's medicines
A nurse explains a child's medicines to a parent at New Hope Children's Hostel.
Photo: Hope Tayebwa and Brian Amanya · Kawempe Homecare (Uganda)
A family memory
A photographer shares her skills with a patient's granddaughter on Palm Sunday.
Photo: Nancy Banoub · Hospice Egypt (Egypt)
Prayer together
Volunteers gather around a patient for a shared moment of prayer and spiritual support.
Photo: Esther Dina Bell · Volunteers for Palliative Care (VOPACA) (Cameroon)
Drawing during treatment
Children draw and play with materials provided during a visit to the paediatric oncology ward.
Photo: Atuhaire Aurelia Kakwara / Bruno Events · Little Heroes Cancer Initiative (Uganda)
Playing together on the ward
The care team and children share games at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.
Photo: Atuhaire Aurelia Kakwara / Bruno Events · Little Heroes Cancer Initiative (Uganda)
A conversation about support
A community meeting brings people together to offer support to a young man.
Photo: Walakira Hassan · Uganda
The journey to care
Rain-damaged roads challenge the team's journey to Bundibugyo during a field visit in October 2011.
Photo: Alex Erejo and Bernadette Mandera · Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care in Africa, Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Reaching someone alone
A home visit in Turkana highlights an older woman's isolation and limited access to support.
Photo: Sulekha Edaan · Kenya Hospice and Palliative Care Association (Kenya)
Returning to school
After losing his mother, a boy resumes school with materials provided through hospice support.
Photo: Christopher Ajuna, Mildred Kobusinge and Germans Natuhwera · Little Hospice Hoima (Uganda)
Supporting a bereaved family
Bereavement support includes discussing the children's education with their family.
Photo: Christopher Ajuna, Mildred Kobusinge and Germans Natuhwera · Little Hospice Hoima (Uganda)
The Empty Chair
A widower receives continuing support, with an empty chair and his wife's portrait nearby.
Photo: Kobus Van der Mescht · Sungardens Palliative Care (South Africa)
Still Here
A social worker offers companionship and practical support during a widower's weekly home visit.
Photo: Kobus Van der Mescht · Sungardens Palliative Care (South Africa)
A Cup of Compassion
Volunteers welcome the community with soup, bread and information about palliative care in Mamelodi.
Photo: Kobus Van der Mescht · Sungardens Palliative Care (South Africa)
Palliative Care for All
A participant shares her experience of care while holding a sign calling for palliative care for all.
Photo: Yeukai Kaponda · Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe (Zimbabwe)
Home visits continue
A palliative care team visits an older woman at home in Kipagalo Ward.
Photo: Bulongwa Lutheran Hospital Palliative Care Department · Tanzania
Care from a whole team
Nurses, a doctor, a social worker and a spiritual counsellor gather to support a patient.
Photo: Angela Frans · The Tygerberg Hospice Trust (South Africa)
Care at the clinic
A nurse examines and counsels a woman during an outpatient visit at Mobile Hospice Mbarara.
Photo: Kahunde Matilda · Mobile Hospice Mbarara / Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Learning through a home visit
Students join the hospice team on a home visit to learn about care and compassion.
Photo: Germans Natuhwera · Little Hospice Hoima / Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Care where people live
A palliative care provider visits a patient at home in Malawi.
Photo: Cosmas Wayiyatsa · Ndimoyo Palliative Care Trust (Malawi)
Practical help for daily life
Older people gather in Katosi to receive essential supplies from the palliative care team.
Photo: Hategekimana Anochia · Hospice Africa Uganda (Uganda)
Explaining pain relief at home
During a home visit in Benin, a nurse explains morphine treatment to a patient.
Photo: Isaline Goubau · AfriMeDD / Association Béninoise des Soins Palliatifs (Benin)
Understanding medicines
Nurses demonstrate morphine measurement and discuss a patient's questions about her medicines.
Photo: Phineas Gitonga and John Njoroge · Meru Hospice (Kenya)
Comfort during a consultation
A clinician examines a patient at Ndimoyo Palliative Care Trust in Malawi.
Photo: Cosmas Wayiyatsa · Ndimoyo Palliative Care Trust (Malawi)
Care beyond a consultation
A medical consultation forms part of support addressing a woman's physical, emotional and family needs.
Photo: Neima Ussene Salar and Miriam Comuana Barros · Mozambique
Helping families give care
A care provider shows family caregivers how to administer a prescribed medicine at home.
Photo: Witness Lemesi · Palliative Care Support Trust (Malawi)
Regular care at home
A care provider checks a woman's vital signs during a routine home visit.
Photo: Witness Lemesi · Palliative Care Support Trust (Malawi)
Community support grows
A mother joins community efforts to raise awareness and support families caring for children.
Photo: Stella Mwari · Ongata Ngong Palliative Care Community (Kenya)
Keeping care close
The palliative care team visits a mother at home to monitor symptoms and support her family.
Photo: Asajile Sanga · Tungamalenga Lutheran Dispensary (Tanzania)
A home visit for assessment
A mobile care team visits a woman living with breast cancer and hypertension.
Photo: Asajile Sanga · Tungamalenga Lutheran Dispensary (Tanzania)
Support for greater mobility
A woman and her family receive a wheelchair and mosquito net through coordinated community support.
Photo: Duncan Kwaitana · Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (Malawi)
Steps of courage
A woman recovering from a stroke shares a moment with her caregiver.
Photo: Karen Gschwend · Knysna Sedgefield Hospice (South Africa)
Thank you to every photographer and organisation who shared these moments of care.
Exhibition compiled by Yutong Gao
The African Palliative Care Association (APCA), in partnership with the True Colours Trust (TCT), is pleased to announce the winners of the 3rd Annual Photography Competition.
This year, we received 80 photographs from 22 organisations. The entries featured various experiences of good palliative care, ranging from health education, emotional support, communication, home visits, family engagement and involvement to pain relief.
The photographs showcase the multi-dimensional nature of good palliative care, which is centred around person-centredness, supporting families, good pain and symptom control, easing suffering and enhancing human dignity.
The top five photographs are presented below.
Meet the five winners
First Place: Yeukai Kaponda – Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe (HOSPAZ)
Prize: 500 GBP
In this shared moment of laughter, a mother and her son remind us that palliative care is also about joy. Captured during a fortified food distribution programme, the family received nutritional support designed to improve the child's health, strengthen immunity and complement HIV treatment. For families facing serious illness, these interventions ease both physical and emotional burdens. The smile on the child's face reflects renewed hope, while the mother's expression speaks of relief and encouragement. Together, they show that quality palliative care nurtures not only the body but also the bonds that help families face each day with strength.
Second Place: Rosemary Chanetsa – Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Zimbabwe (HOSPAZ)
Prize: 300 GBP
Captured on 27 March 2026 in Raffingora, Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe, this photograph shows a mother and her children revisiting notes after participating in a childhood cancer awareness session. The session provided practical information to help families better understand childhood cancer, seek timely support, and care for affected children with confidence. By combining health education with psychosocial support, palliative care empowers families to make informed decisions while reducing fear and uncertainty. Their smiles reflect more than happiness; they represent the reassurance that knowledge inspires hope, strengthens family resilience and enables compassionate care throughout the caregiving journey.
Third Place: Cosmas Wayiyatsa – Ndimoyo Palliative Care Trust, Malawi
Prize: 250 GBP
Healing begins where people feel most at home. During a home-based palliative care visit, our healthcare provider offers more than medical treatment, bringing comfort, compassion and hope to a patient facing a life-limiting illness. Through gentle conversation, careful symptom management and a reassuring presence, care is delivered with dignity and respect. In resource-limited communities like Malawi, these home visits bridge critical gaps in healthcare, reminding patients and families that they are not alone. The image reflects the true essence of palliative care: walking alongside people with compassion, every step of the journey.
Fourth Place: Isaline Goubau – Beninese Association for Palliative Care, Benin
Prize: 200 GBP
This photo was taken on 1 July 2026 during a home visit in a village in the municipality of Djakotomey, Benin.
As part of a survey conducted by the Beninese Association for Palliative Care (ABSP) and AfriMeDD (African Medical Detection Dogs), we visited women and men living with cancer and their families.
Sidonie, a palliative care nurse from Aplahoué District Hospital, used the opportunity of our visit to prescribe morphine to her patient, Ena, and explain how to take it.
The joy and relief with which patients welcome the nurse are a testament to the importance of her home visits to them.
Fifth Place: Alex Nkulanga – Mobile Hospice Mbarara, Uganda
Prize: 150 GBP
During a home visit, a palliative care provider offers comfort, pain assessment and emotional support to a seriously ill patient while empowering family members with practical caregiving guidance. Home-based palliative care preserves dignity, relieves suffering, strengthens family resilience and enables patients to remain surrounded by the people and places they love.
Celebrating the people behind the photographs
Behind every photograph is a person who took the time to capture a moment and share a story. Through their photographs, the participants have helped show the different ways palliative care is provided and experienced across African communities.
Each winning photograph offers a glimpse into the lives of people living with serious illness and those who care for them. From a shared smile to a home visit, these moments show how compassion, knowledge and support can make a difference.
APCA and True Colours Trust congratulate Yeukai Kaponda, Rosemary Chanetsa, Cosmas Wayiyatsa, Isaline Goubau and Alex Nkulanga on their achievements.
We also thank everyone who took part in this year's competition and the organisations that shared these important stories.
