PHA-Exch> Stop Needless Suffering from pain

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from: "[health-vn discussion group]" <health-vn at cairo.anu.edu.au>,
"[hivaids-twg]" hivaids-twg at ngocentre.org.vn
*/Summit/**/ on Drugs Should Address Obstacles to Pain Relief Medicine/*



(New York, March 3, 2009) – The UN General Assembly Special Session on
Drugs, starting March 11, 2009, should address the lack of access to
pain relief medicines in many countries, which leaves tens of millions
of people worldwide suffering from severe but treatable pain, Human
Rights Watch said in a report released today.



In the 47-page report, “‘Please, Don’t Make Us Suffer Anymore…’: Access
to Pain Treatment as a Human Right,” Human Rights Watch said that
countries could significantly improve access to pain medications by
addressing the causes of their poor availability. These often include
the failure to put in place functioning supply and distribution systems;
absence of government policies to ensure their availability;
insufficient instruction for healthcare workers; excessively strict
drug-control regulations; and fear of legal sanctions among healthcare
workers.



“Severe pain can easily be treated with inexpensive medications, so it
is inexcusable that millions of people have to live and die in agony,”
said Diederik Lohman, senior researcher in Human Rights Watch’s health
and human rights division. “The UN drugs summit provides an opportunity
for governments to give real meaning to their commitment to end this
unnecessary suffering.”



In the report, Human Rights Watch noted that international law requires
states to make narcotic drugs available for the treatment of pain while
preventing abuse, but that the strong international focus on preventing
abuse of such drugs has led many countries to neglect that obligation.
The 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs states that these drugs are
“indispensible” for the relief of pain and suffering.



“The UN drug treaties envisaged a balance between preventing abuse and
making sure narcotic drugs are available for medical purposes,” said
Lohman. “In practice, many governments have implemented strict laws and
policies that target drug abuse and ignored their obligation to ensure
legitimate access to pain relief medicines.”



As a result, almost 50 years after the agreement was adopted, adequate
availability of narcotic drugs for pain treatment remains an unfulfilled
promise. In February 2009, the World Health Organization estimated that
tens of millions of people worldwide suffer from severe pain without
access to adequate treatment, including about 5.5 million terminal
cancer patients and 1 million end-stage AIDS patients.



At the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs, on March 11 and 12
in Vienna, nations will set priorities for the coming 10 years of global
drug policy. Preliminary negotiations in advance of the meeting have
focused almost exclusively on preventing illicit use of controlled
substances while largely ignoring their poor availability for medical
purposes.



“The UN summit should set clear, measurable goals for improving access
to pain medications,” said Lohman. “Being ‘tough on drugs’ should not
mean that governments refuse to provide pain relief and ignore the
suffering of millions of people.”



* “‘Please, Don’t Make Us Suffer Anymore…’: Access to Pain Treatment as
a Human Right,” is available at:*

http://hrw.org/en/node/81080/
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