College of Medicine houses the Palliative Care project Unit of the Centre for Palliative Care Nigeria collaborating with the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital, Ibadan. The room was allocated in June 2006.
The Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria (CPCN) is a not-for-profit sharing organization with registration number CAC/IT/19744. The organization was set up by a group of volunteers ( drawn mostly from the College of Medicine, UI and UCH) who in 1996 were deeply concerned about the pain and suffering being experienced by cancer patients and their families in the absence of opioid analgesics for effective pain relief in Nigeria.
The vision of CPCN is to become the foremost organization to champion the course of palliative care in Nigeria in order to improve the quality of life and reduce the suffering of people with serious and life-limiting illnesses. The group thus set out with advocacy for opioid availability at national level and education of health professionals, policy makers and the public on pain management and importance of pain and palliative care within the health system.
By 1998, a national Society for the Study of Pain was launched as a chapter of the International Association for the Study of pain (IASP) and in 2003, the first set of health professionals from the College of Medicine went to Hospice Africa Uganda to learn about African model of palliative care. Since then, over 1000 Nigerian health professionals (nurses, doctors, pharmacists, social works) have been trained.
The University College hospital, Ibadan in collaboration with Centre for Palliative Care, Nigeria set up the first palliative care Unit in a tertiary hospital for clinical services, training and research in 2007. The Unit achieved departmental status by 2016. Services cover co-management of in-patients, outpatient, day care and home-based care. Palliative care has been included in both undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum of medical, dental, nursing, and physiotherapy students of the University of Ibadan and these students have their clinical rotations in the UCH department.
A proposal for University of Ibadan Department of Palliative care is currently being processed through the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine. CPCN with other stakeholders formed a National Hospice and Palliative Care Association in 2007 and the Association has been having annual conferences with training activities since then. With Advocacy from CPCN and through national programs with support from International organizations (including Global Access to Pain Relief Initiative (GAPRI), American Cancer Society (ACS) and Treat pain Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Health), opioid availability in the country is better streamlined and many hospitals are now more aware of pain and palliative care service, teaching and research.
Professor Olaitan Alice Soyannwo
Professor Soyannwo qualified MBBS in 1971 from the University of Ibadan. She is a cofounder and President of the Centre for Palliative Care Nigeria and is a professor of anesthesia and consultant in anesthesia, pain and palliative care. She retired from the University of Ibadan in 2010 but continued to pioneer Pain and Palliative care service, education and research under the University College hospital and College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.
She has served as the Head of Department of Anaesthesia and Dean of Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan. She is a cofounder of the Society for the Study of Pain, Nigeria, and a past council member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). She is active in advocating effective pain management and opioid availability in developing countries and founder of Centre for Palliative care, Nigeria.
She was Vice Chairman of the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) Board and still serves on its Advisory board, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Hospice and Palliative Care Association, Nigeria (HPCAN) and Advisory Board of Global Partners in care. She is a Fellow and past council member of the West African College of Surgeons, Fellow, Nigerian Academy of science and Fellow Nigerian Academy of Medicine.