By Dr Stephen Connor | Executive Director
Imagine living in a low or middle income country (LMIC) and you notice that you have a wound that will not heal. If you are lucky you get to see a physician a nurse or maybe there is only a community health worker or traditional healer. You are told that you have cancer and that the treatment is so expensive that it will take much more than all the money you have. You own land and sell it to pay for the radiation and chemotherapy treatment. A few months pass by and the wound returns this time bigger and more painful than before. You try using a traditional remedy like crushed black cumin and honey but the pain is getting worse and you are getting weaker. Your family cares for you but they don't know what to do to help you. There is no palliative or home care to help them with your care or to give you medicine for your pain. You get weaker and weaker and can't stand the suffering. After a few weeks you can't get out of bed and finally take your last breaths while your family helplessly witnesses your suffering and begins the grieving process.
This is the reality of what dying is like today in most of the world whether it's from cancer, HIV, heart failure, lung or kidney disease or dementia. The experience would be very different if there were a palliative care service there throughout the illlness to provide guidance. Over 80% of people needing palliative care live in LMICs and while high income counries have good access to palliative care only 4% of the need in LMICs is being met! Most cancers in LMICs are diagnosed at advanced stages when conventional treatments are unlikey to achieve a cure. Many people become impoverished paying for treatments that are non-beneficial. Simple morphine is not available in most countries and 80+% of the world's population lacks access to effective pain relief. When palliative care services are in place and access to pain relief is accessible these experiences are vastly different. Pain is controlled, families are educated about how to provide care, psychological, social, and spiritual needs are addressed and families are supported during bereavement.
WHPCA helps its organizational members all around the world to grow their palliative care services and advocates for palliaive care in the global policy arenas including the World Health Organization, the World Health Assembly, the United Nations and many other global organizations. Every country needs to have palliative care in their health care system as part of universal Health Coverage (UHC). Without palliative care there is no UHC. WHPCA is a small international NGO and depends on grants an donations to operate. WE need your support to continue to exist and to make sure that we do all we can to close the ACCESS ABYSS to palliative care and pain relief around the world.
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