Published on: November 25, 2013

One of the most famous names among global leaders of pain management is Dr. Prithvi Raj in USA. In 1993, he founded the World Institute of Pain, which today is a major force in improving pain management globally.

The World Institute of Pain had its world symposium at Kolkata from 14^th to 17^th November 2013. One of the highlights of the meeting was the Serdar Erdine lecture by Mr. Diederik Lohman. Mr. Lohman presented the remarkable findings of the Pain Prevalence Study.

The Pain Prevalence Study, which was conducted very recently under the leadership of Mr. Diederik Lohman of Human Rights Watch in collaboration with Pallium India, MNJ Institute of Oncology and the Regional Cancer Centres at Cuttack, Ahmedabad and Kolkata, has just been completed. The findings are remarkable. While the final results are yet to be published, it will not come as a surprise to anyone that the pain burden in any Regional Cancer Centre in the country is tremendous. The audience listened, enthralled, and expressed its hope that Parliament does enact the amendment of the Narcotic Regulations of India.

Thank you, Dr. Prithvi Raj and colleagues, and thank you, Dr. Gautam Das, organizing secretary of the conference. Pallium India was privileged to be a part of it. And thank you Mr. Diederik Lohman and Human Rights Watch for all that you are doing for this country.