Uncontrolled pain

"Every year, tens of thousands of people in Ukraine develop severe, chronic pain due to cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other health conditions. Most do not have access to adequate strong pain medications, even though morphine--the medication of choice for severe pain--is effective, safe, and inexpensive. Like Vlad Zhukovsky, many of these patients face unbearable suffering, often for extended periods of time. The World Health Organization holds that "[m]ost, if not all, pain due to cancer could be relieved if we implemented existing medical knowledge and treatments." Yet, the Ukrainian government has done little to ensure that patients who face severe pain have access to appropriate treatment, including morphine. Unnecessarily onerous drug regulations and lack of oral morphine make strong pain medications inaccessible to large swaths of the population. Even patients who can access them suffer since most doctors are not adequately trained in managing pain, and drug regulations interfere with evidence-based medical care. The lack of government action to address this situation violates the right to health and, in some cases, the prohibition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. It also causes enormous pain to patients with pain and their families. Uncontrolled Pain: Ukraine's Obligation to Ensure Palliative Care calls on Ukraine's government to take immediate steps to ensure all patients with pain can access appropriate health services."--