ABSTRACT
Over one million people die each week worldwide. In North America, Western
Europe, Australia, and a few other exceptional countries, palliative care has
now become integrated to varying degrees into mainstream healthcare systems.
However, almost everywhere else, palliative care and relief from pain is still
an unrealized dream. About 80% of the world’s population lacks adequate access
to opioid medications for pain control. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the
United States, and several European countries accounted for more than 90%
of the global consumption of opioid analgesics (INCB, 2010). In the developing
world, getting any health care, let alone palliative care, is difficult and depends
mainly on whether you have financial resources; if you do, you can get treatment;
if you don’t, you likely won’t.
