Terry Magee – director of Education, Myland Hall Education Centre, St Helena Hospice, Colchester UK: interviewed by Michael Wright 25 March 2005.
Length of interview: 47 minutes.

Terry Magee tells how she became involved in palliative care education in Ghana after the African Medical Trust approached St Helena Hospice regarding the development of palliative care education in the country. Collaboration followed between the Myland Centre, Hospice Africa Uganda and interested parties in Ghana and eventually, a national education programme was developed. The initial courses were so successful that a shorter version was adapted for the 9 regions of Africa. Consequently, hospice philosophy is beginning to permeate practice in Ghana and a number of initiatives have sought to incorporate the hospice ideal. Terry Magee speaks of the challenges facing palliative care development in Ghana: an under-funded health care system, diverse traditions around death and dying; widow inheritance in a context of polygamy; lack of national statistics or a cancer registry; large distances covered by health care staff; and endemic poverty. Yet she detects discernable successes: a clear implementation of theory into practice; better care for the sick; an increasing flow of Ghanaian health professionals training in the UK; the beneficial effects of advocacy; the keeping of records and construction of databases – all of which will contribute to the development of palliative care in Ghana.

Dr Vinolia Tonugble - physician, trustee of the Cancer Society of Ghana: interviewed by David Clark, 4 June 2004.
Length of interview ( West Africa group): 40 minutes.

Vinolia Tonugble tells of her interest and involvement in charity work throughout West Africa, and details the process of registering the Cancer Society in Ghana. She describes the involvement of Hospice Africa Uganda in disseminating information about palliative care in Ghana. Current HIV programmes in the country do not incorporate palliative care. She identifies advocacy for morphine accessibility in the health system as a priority, along with palliative care training of health professionals, community health staff and volunteer community groups. To achieve this funding and commitment from the state are required. She shares her belief that the experiences of other African countries should be built upon for developing Ghanaian services. Moving on to the role of opioids she confirms the existence of a restrictive draft policy that limits use of opiate drugs. She emphasises the need to convince government about the need for pain control in order to relax these laws. She is confident that government will be sympathetic to scaling up palliative care in Ghana. When policy structures are in place she predicts a rapid rise in palliative care provision in Ghana.

Mary Opare – acting dean of the School of Nursing, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra: interviewed by David Clark, 4 June 2004.
Length of interview (West African group): 40 minutes.

Mary Opare describes how, in the absence of formal structures, individuals in Ghana have taken the initiative to incorporate palliative care principles into home based care projects with AIDS and cancer patients. She highlights the need to now engage all levels of the health sector, including hospitals, with the needs of terminally ill patients. In her capacity as Head of Nursing at the university she hopes to introduce practical palliative care into the nurse curriculum.