Palliative care improves the quality of life of patients (through for instance a reduction in the burden of symptoms) and of their families, but also benefits health care systems by reducing unnecessary admissions to hospital and use of health care services. Most research on the impact of palliative care emanates from high-income countries, but a growing body of research is reporting similar findings, namely that palliative care, delivered in culturally appropriate models with close community involvement, can achieve similar outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.