The Africa Small Grants Programme was founded by the True Colours Trust in 2009 to support the development of palliative care across the continent by providing small grants to local providers. The programme is administered by the African Palliative Care Association (APCA), a membership-based, pan-African Non-Governmental Organisation with headquarters in Kampala, Uganda.

Funds disbursed through the Small Grants Programme should be used for activities which increase access to palliative care, improve the standard of palliative care services and directly improve the patient and family experience. Priority is given to the following, in no particular order:

• Equipment for patients
• Palliative care for children and young people
• Palliative care medicines
• Capital improvement costs
• Increasing access to palliative care in rural areas
• Developing small palliative care projects
• Training courses for palliative care service providers held in Africa

Over the last ten years, over 160 grants have been made to palliative care service providers from 24 African countries. The grants have directly enabled more than one million children and adults to access palliative care services. The grants have also increased the knowledge base and skills of palliative care providers across the continent.

Funding is normally awarded for one-off projects and the size of grants ranges from £500 to £5,000. Projects should be implemented within one year of the receipt of a grant.

All projects which receive a grant must adhere to the World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care, which focuses on the improvement of the quality of life of patients and their families through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

Applicants must also confirm that they are operating within the WHO road map to end the Covid-19 pandemic and/or their National Guidelines regarding Covid-19.

All funding decisions are made by the Trustees of the True Colours Trust. Applications and approved grants are administered by the African Palliative Care Association which is also able to assist organisations to complete the application form and answer any questions on the process.

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