Hospices in South Africa are being forced to retrench staff and cut back on the numbers of patients they care for as United States donor funding dries up.

Lynn Gwyther, chief executive officer at the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa, points out that the budget crunch meant that an increasing number of terminally ill people are at risk of spending their final days in pain, isolation and distress.

Gwyther further states that there is less support available for ‘very sick’ HIV and tuberculosis patients who could be restored to health in the right hands.

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