According to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to health includes relief from pain.1 Under this premise, 5.5 billion people are at risk of human rights violations on a daily basis.2 This staggering statistic is the result of inequitable distribution and access to treatment for moderate and severe pain across international borders. In 2008, low- and middle-income countries, comprising 83 percent of the global population, accounted for only 9 percent of the global consumption of morphine,3 a drug classified as an essential medicine by the World Health Organization (WHO). In contrast, high-income countries, representing 17 percent of the world’s population, accounted for 91 percent of morphine consumption (Figure 1). The factors that have led to this “pharmacologic disparity” are highlighted in a 2006 survey of hospice and palliative care providers from Asia, Africa and Latin America. In all three continents, similar trends...
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Committees|
May 2013
Pain Management in Developing Countries: An Update
Andres Missair, M.D., EDRA;
Andres Missair, M.D., EDRA
Committee on Global Humanitarian Outreach
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ASA Newsletter May 2013, Vol. 77, 52–54.
Citation
Andres Missair, Carlos Bollini; Pain Management in Developing Countries: An Update. ASA Newsletter 2013; 77:52–54
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