Build Community Give Care (BCGC) is a new non-profit organization created to address health disparities in West and sub-Saharan Africa. The right of all people living with serious illness to be free of avoidable pain and to die with dignity is widely recognized, and palliative care has been declared a universal human right. Relying on an effective altruism framework, Emily Beckman and team have created a scholarship program to increase access to palliative care education in areas where these services are desperately needed. BCGC focuses on providing community healthcare workers and nurses the opportunity to take the existing Hospice Africa Uganda (HAU) course to practice palliative care in their home countries. Founded by a team of three women, including a physician and public health scholar (Miller-Smith), a medical humanist (Beckman), and a chief strategic development officer for the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (Salzman), BCGC has partnered with HAU to increase awareness, education and access to care. Our multidisciplinary approach is creative, innovative, and directly impacts the way local providers in Africa are trained, and the way palliative care is administered. We believe this is a powerful way to reach more people in need in these rural areas where there continues to be a severe shortage of physicians. While we are still in the early stages of development, this fall we were able to provide scholarships to three nursing students enrolled in the HAU diploma course.
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