Access to pain treatment as a human right

Table 1 Morphine estimates, mortality and pain treatment need.

Country	Cancer deaths 2002 estimate	AIDS deaths 2005 estimate	No. of individuals expected to need pain treatment in 2009	Estimated total morphine need in 2009 (kg)	Estimate of morphine need provided by country to INCB for 2009 (kg)	No. of individuals estimate is sufficient for	Percentage of those needing treatment who would be covered by estimate
Countries that estimate almost no need for morphine
Benin	13490	9986	15786	96	0.5	83	0.50%
Senegal	17625	5432	16816	102	0.6	99	0.60%
Rwanda	14196	21956	22335	136	0.8	132	0.60%
Gambia	2395	1430	2631	16	0.18	31	1.20%
Bhutan	727	>10 per 100,000	582	3.5	0.08	14	2.30%
Burkina Faso	23262	13067	25143	153	0.05	8	0.03%
Eritrea	6240	5959	7972	48	0.075	12	0.15%
Gabon	2071	4457	3886	24	0.088	14	0.40%
Swaziland	1837	17577	10258	62	0.5	82	0.80%
Selected other countries
Egypt	62299	>10 per 100,000	49840	303	10	1646	3%
Philippines	78500	>10 per 100,000	62800	382	31	5103	8%
Kenya	50809	149502	115398	701	30	4938	4%
Russian Federation	217696	N/A	174157	1058	200	32922	15%
Mexico	92701	6321	77321	470	180	29630	38%

Projection for the numbers of people requiring pain treatment does not include those with acute pain or pain related to non-terminal cancer or HIV and do not include pain control medications other than morphine. The table is based on an estimate by Foley and others that 80% of terminal cancer patients and 50% of terminal AIDS patients will require an average of 90 days of pain treatment with 60 mg to 75 mg of morphine per day [16]. Country estimates were obtained from INCB website [43]; projections for annual cancer and AIDS deaths are based on the most recent cancer and AIDS mortality figures reported by the WHO [79].

ISSN: 1741-7015