The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) is proud to stand as a partner of the Rede Lusófona de Cuidados Paliativos (Lusophone Palliative Care Network), a network that brings together palliative care professionals from Portuguese-speaking countries across Africa, Europe and the Americas.
To mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on 10 October 2026, the network has released a short film about why it exists and what it hopes to achieve. Watch it below.
Narration in Portuguese. Photos: André François. Music: Famba Mamana (Emiliano Castro).
What the film says
An English translation of the narration:
In Portuguese-speaking countries, people with serious illness and their families face challenges that go beyond borders.
To help overcome them, the Lusophone Palliative Care Network was born, bringing together professionals from Africa, Europe and the Americas. Professionals who live different realities but share one conviction: every person deserves care with quality, free from suffering and with dignity.
The network exists to strengthen training, produce knowledge, promote exchange between professions and amplify our voice with the authorities, multiplying strengths, knowledge and experience to make access to palliative care universal and equitable.
Rede Lusófona de Cuidados Paliativos. One language brings us together; the commitment to care unites us.
Why it matters for Africa
Six African countries share Portuguese as an official language: Angola, Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. Working in a shared language makes it easier for health workers in these countries to learn together, exchange experience and speak with one voice to decision makers.
As a partner, APCA welcomes the network's focus on training, knowledge and advocacy, which reflects APCA's own commitment to making palliative care accessible to everyone in Africa who needs it.
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2026
This year's World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, led by the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA), focuses on pain treatment as an essential part of palliative care. Join us in calling for every person living with serious illness to have access to pain relief and compassionate care.
