India’s finance minister puts on record commitment to palliative care:
At the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs at New York on 19 April 2016, Mr Arun Jaitley, India’s finance minister said:
“India is committed to ensure the availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes, while preventing their diversion, abuse and trafficking and ensure availability of drugs for palliative care, pain relief and opioid substitution therapy for cancer patients and drug abuse victims and has in May, 2015 notified uniform and simplified rules relating to ‘Essential Narcotic Drugs’ to remove regulatory barriers”.
The department of Revenue of Ministry of Finance has for the last two decades been pro-active about the principle of balance – that while preventing abuse, we also have a responsibility to make opioid medication available for those who in pain. Thank you Mr Arun Jaitley and thank you, all at department of Revenue.
Good initiative by Government.. I think it should improve further and more serious actions needed to be taken by Government for Health Care.