Global State of Pain: Treatment Access to Palliative Care as a Human Right

In 2009 and 2010 Human Rights Watch surveyed palliative care experts in 40 countries to map the barriers that impede the availability of palliative care and pain treatment worldwide. We asked them about the situation in their country in three areas that WHO has said are critical to the development of palliative care: health policy, education of healthcare workers, and drug availability. We also analyzed publicly available data from all countries on consumption of opioid medications that can be used to treat chronic pain and compared them to cancer and AIDS mortality data to assess how well the need for pain treatment is met. This 140-page report is the result.