I am delighted and proud to receive this award on behalf of King's to mark our 20 year research partnership. We have come so far, with so many brilliant African clinicians and scholars having graduated with an MSc or PhD (or both) in palliative care from the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's and having conducted many primary research studies across child, adult and older person's care. APCA is a very important partner for us, and together we have a strong track record of impactful research.
Professor Richard Harding, Interim Executive Dean, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care
16 October 2025
Professor Richard Harding given award for 20 years' palliative care research in Africa
He was awarded at the African Palliative Care Association (APCA) conference in Gaborone, Botswana recently.
Professor Richard Harding has been honoured with an award from the APCA to celebrate the highly successful 20 years of research partnership between APCA and King's.
He was presented the award at the triennial APCA conference in Gaborone, Botswana, where APCA was celebrating 20 years of advocating for palliative care across the continent. It was attended by delegates from 40 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and also by African heads of government and health ministers.
APCA has been partnered with the Cicely Saunders Institute throughout their existence, beginning with the development of the African Palliative Outcome Scale, through the largest US government Public Health Evaluation and more recently the Global Health and Palliative Care (GHAP) project. This is an NIHR global health group focused on children's palliative care in Uganda, early integrated adult cancer palliative care in Zimbabwe and palliative rehabilitation in South Africa.
Nuhamin Gebre, a PhD student within the Faculty, was also recognised by APCA for her PhD research that developed a mobile app to support multi-disciplinary teams in the community to improve access to home-based palliative care.
Nuhamin's innovation, the DINKNESH mobile app, was among the top three in Africa at APCA's radical innovations challenge in Botswana this year.
With a population of over 132 million, Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in Africa, with 78% of the population living in rural settings. Coverage and quality care are key challenges in palliative care implementation in Ethiopia.
The DINKNESH mobile app was developed to support primary healthcare teams in Ethiopia to deliver at-home palliative care. The end-users for the app, are equipped with structured assessment and decision support tools, empowering them to become independent palliative care providers.
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Interim Executive Dean, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care at King's College London