4 days ago
Legacy of Uganda's end-of-life 'grandmother' lives on
Josephine Namwanjje (right), 28, prays while holding a Bible for her brother Jonathan Luzige, a colon cancer patient, at their home in Nabbingo. Hospice Africa Uganda, founded in 1993 by Dr Anne Merriman, brought holistic end-of-life care to Uganda at a time when it was offered in only three African countries
Image: Badru Katumba / AFP
In a small home in Uganda's capital, Jane Mwesige, a nurse with a hospice that has transformed African end-of-life care, breaks into a gospel song about surrendering to God, a favourite of her patient Jonathan Luzige.
These home visits, combining affordable medical care and spiritual support, are part of Mwesige's routine with Hospice Africa Uganda.
Founded in 1993 by Dr Anne Merriman, it brought holistic end-of-life care to Uganda at a time when it was offered in only three African countries.
By the time Merriman died this May, aged 90, she had treated more than 40,000 Ugandans and her model had spread to 37 countries on the continent.
In his worn-brick home, Luzige's colon cancer makes it difficult to move, but he eagerly joins in the singing.
"I feel very happy, and it made me feel stronger knowing there are people who are able to care for me," said Luzige, 30.
Jane Mwesige (Centre), a nurse at Hospice Africa Uganda, knocks the door of patient Jonathan Luzige's home while carrying morphine and other medicines for a home visit in Nabbingo.
Image: Badru Katumba / AFP
"Palliative care is all about taking care of patients," said Mwesige.
"Every one of us, or one of our relatives, may need the service."
Born in Britain to Irish parents, Merriman trained as a doctor and became a nun before leaving her order to help establish palliative care in Singapore.
When she arrived in Uganda, it was in the grips of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and she had raised only enough charitable funding for three months of work and a skeleton crew.
The famously persuasive Merriman convinced Uganda's government to allow the import of morphine powder, which she used to make an oral solution she had developed in Singapore.
Simple enough to make in a bucket over her kitchen sink, it became invaluable to thousands.
Hospice Africa Uganda, which now runs from a mix of NGO and charitable funding, distributes the solution in recycled plastic bottles for free to hospitals and clinicians.
Mary Nakaliika, 24, an adopted daughter of Dr. Anne Merriman and nurse who treated her in her last days in Kampala. By the time Merriman died in May 2025, aged 90, she had treated more than 40 000 patients in Uganda and her model had spread to 37 African countries.
Image: Badru Katumba / AFP
