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Drugs in Africa
A lot of pain
Africa needs more morphine
The Economist, Sep 30th 2010 | Nairobi
For the dying, dignity and comfort often means prescribing powerful drugs. The most important is morphine, considered essential by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Since it is derived from opium, it is a controlled drug: governments have to report its usage. The supply is plentiful, but the distribution uneven...
Kenya is ahead of many African countries in palliative care, with its own hospice movement, but only seven of its 250 hospitals have ready access to morphine. Even when it is in stock, the annual supply is limited to some 1,500 patients. Yet 180,000 Kenyans die each year of AIDS and cancer alone. A 75mg daily dose of morphine would make all the difference...
Sadly, many Africans do not know that severe pain can be relieved. Among African medics a stigma attaches to morphine, which is considered addictive and likely to lead to indolence. Doctors and parents are especially loth to prescribe morphine to children, arguing that it amounts to giving up on them. Furthermore, the law in many African countries is poorly written, leaving hospitals liable for misplaced controlled drugs, a big concern when so many drugs are pilfered and are then flogged on the black market...
Full Article
A lot of pain
Africa needs more morphine
The Economist, Sep 30th 2010 | Nairobi
For the dying, dignity and comfort often means prescribing powerful drugs. The most important is morphine, considered essential by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Since it is derived from opium, it is a controlled drug: governments have to report its usage. The supply is plentiful, but the distribution uneven...
Kenya is ahead of many African countries in palliative care, with its own hospice movement, but only seven of its 250 hospitals have ready access to morphine. Even when it is in stock, the annual supply is limited to some 1,500 patients. Yet 180,000 Kenyans die each year of AIDS and cancer alone. A 75mg daily dose of morphine would make all the difference...
Sadly, many Africans do not know that severe pain can be relieved. Among African medics a stigma attaches to morphine, which is considered addictive and likely to lead to indolence. Doctors and parents are especially loth to prescribe morphine to children, arguing that it amounts to giving up on them. Furthermore, the law in many African countries is poorly written, leaving hospitals liable for misplaced controlled drugs, a big concern when so many drugs are pilfered and are then flogged on the black market...
Full Article