Africans Are Dying of AIDS Without Pain Relief

Millions of Africans are dying of AIDS without any pain relief, despite oral morphine being one of the cheapest drugs in the world, a recent conference organized by Help the Hospices and the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund was told. The conference, held in London, heard how legal obstacles make morphine difficult to get, while lack of training of health professionals prevents prescribing the drug at the community level. The demand for oral morphine and other drugs to manage pain emphasizes the need for better palliative care for nearly 30 million HIV-infected people across Africa. In South Africa alone, 5 million people are in need of palliative care, including home support and pain relief. Just 250,000 of them actually receive it, said Liz Gwyther, chief executive of St. Luke's Hospice, Cape Town.

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