Human Rights Watch calls on the UN to help stop needless suffering by helping improve access to opioid analgesics for pain relief!

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 (From Human Rights Watch News Release: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/02/un-stop-needless-suffering)

“In the 47-page report, "‘Please, Don't Make Us Suffer Anymore...': Access to Pain Treatment as a Human Right," http://hrw.org/en/node/81080/  Human Rights Watch said that countries could significantly improve access to pain medications by addressing the causes of their poor availability.” Some of the availability issues are described as being due to a lack of a consistent supply of opioids, poor to no education of how to effectively prescribe the agents, a lack of an effective distribution system, harsh governmental regulation that could lead to prosecution of prescribers (fear of physicians) and a poor understanding by policy makers of the consequences of their inaction and the urgent need for practical solutions.

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 consequences for the sufferers are obvious – millions of people continue to live with unrelieved pain, and die needlessly with it. This summit brings together policy makers who will chart the course for the next decade. Too much attention has been paid over the years to preventing the illicit use of opioids to the exclusion of paving a way for the rational use of these medications to prevent pain and improve the quality of life of millions. It is time to do something now!

The HRW executive summary can be read at: http://www.hrw.org/en/node/81079/section/2

All sections of the report that can be accessed by using the dropdown box at the top of the following page: http://www.hrw.org/en/node/81079/section/1