Caring for Africa’s Aging Nuns: A New Pact for End-of-Life Support

In Uganda, aging members of the Little Sisters of St. Francis face without adequate end‑of‑life care—scarce medical supplies, few wheelchairs, and little psychological support. A pilot program, started with the African Palliative Care Association and Irish donors, will assess about 50 retired nuns, provide hospice-style care, and train caregivers, with aims to expand to Ugandan convents by 2027 and then across Africa. The effort seeks roughly $135,000 to cover material needs and training, highlighting gendered gaps in church-backed care and the call to honor decades of service with dignified support in old age.