Stella Mwari Rithara

Stella Mwari Rithara is an accomplished nurse, palliative care public health champion, and a leading nurse trainer in Kenya, with a strong professional focus on oncology, palliative care, and community health. She is widely recognized as a palliative care pioneer, having been acknowledged by St. Christopher’s Hospice, serving as a mentor at the Institute of Palliative Medicine in India, and currently working as the Palliative Care Coordinator for the Nursing Department at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC).

Stella’s passion for palliative care began in 2005 during her work at Nairobi Hospice. This experience inspired her to pursue advanced training, including a postgraduate degree in Palliative Care from Oxford Brookes University (UK), a fellowship in Palliative Care at the Institute of Palliative Medicine in India, and oncology nursing distance education courses from Canada. In 2012, she joined KMTC and, with support from the Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA), led the development of the Higher Diploma in Palliative Care Nursing program—the first of its kind at KMTC and within any government institution in Kenya. Her commitment to advocacy for underserved and marginalized communities is a passion she brings into her teaching and mentorship of nursing students.

Stella is deeply involved in community-based health initiatives, medical camps, and capacity building for caregivers and community health promoters. Her work emphasizes holistic, patient-centred care that integrates clinical excellence with dignity, cultural sensitivity, and strong family involvement. She is particularly committed to improving quality of life for patients while strengthening health systems through education, collaboration, and compassionate leadership.

She has made significant contributions to training, advocacy, and program development in cancer care and palliative services, with special interests in women’s health, pediatric palliative care, and public health approaches to palliative care. Stella is also engaged in developing sustainable care models that improve access to quality supportive care in underserved communities.

Ms. Rithara is the founder and co-director of the Ongata Ngong Palliative Care Community (ONPACC), a community-based organization established in 2012 to promote community health through capacity building. ONPACC’s work includes palliative care education, community health awareness, home-based care services, and outreach clinics in Kajiado County, Rift Valley, Kenya. Through grant-supported initiatives, Stella has trained community volunteers in western Kajiado to raise awareness and improve quality of life. Over the years, she has worked closely with community health volunteers to increase public literacy around life-threatening illness, death, and dying—helping to reduce stigma and cultural taboos. Quality palliative care is her mantra.

Stella has attended and presented at numerous national and international palliative care conferences. She is an active member of KEHPCA, serving as a Board Member and Executive Board Secretary; a member of the Nursing Council of Kenya; co-founder and Vice Chair of the Palliative Nurses Society of Kenya; and a member of the Advanced Breast Cancer (ABC) Global Alliance. She is also the founder of Nyoto Fitti, a breast cancer advocacy group conducting awareness campaigns among rural women, and the founder and team leader of the Mama Alice Initiative, which offers free annual medical camps in honor of her late mother.

Her contributions have been recognized through several awards, including the Africa Palliative Care Association Award for Member Recruitment and the Cynthia N. Rittenberg Nurse of the Year Travel Scholarship (2017). Stella joined the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) in June 2007 and has remained actively involved in membership recruitment, advocacy, fundraising, awareness creation, and policy engagement in palliative care.

Outside her professional work, Stella enjoys traveling, early morning walks, palliative care networking, and patient and community education.