Published on: April 25, 2016

Dr Stephen Connor writes from New York – the venue of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs held from 19-21 April, 2016:

“Actually, the world problem is the tragedy that 75% of the world’s population – that is, 5.58 billion people – do not have effective access to opioids for pain relief. Over 18 million people die in pain each year. I hope no one you love is among them. Yes; we have a unique problem in the US with abuse of prescription drugs and heroine use, but for us working in palliative care in low and middle income countries, the real tragedy is the millions that die in pain. Living and dying in pain: it doesn’t have to happen.”