Leave no one behind: Equity in access to palliative care

According to a report by #WHO in 2020, only about 14% of the global #palliativecare needs are being met. It would also interest you to know that some 56.8 million people are estimated to require palliative care every year with almost half of these patients in their final year of life. Palliative care essentially involves restoring dignity and quality of life for patients suffering the effects of #lifelimitingconditions using different means while ensuring that there is no heavy financial burden.?

Palliative and hospice care looks beyond the patient and extends care to their caregivers and relatives. These are also exposed to mental health concerns like depression and anxiety among others. The theme of this year's World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (9th of October) is "Healing Hearts and Communities" - a timely focus. If you could be as worked up as you probably would be if you found out that your car stopped working, maybe just imagine what these patients and their loved ones go through - for an extended period. Seeing as November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, we can expect more from stakeholders creating awareness about the importance of hospice and palliative care and how it extends to the patients and others affected by life-limiting conditions.

It is important to clear the confusion between palliative care and hospice care which often plagues caregivers and patients. While hospice care is reserved for terminally ill patients at an "end-of-life" phase, palliative care is essentially supportive treatment that should be received by patients at any stage of their condition. This confusion is often seen where children with rare diseases are concerned. The mention of "palliative care" could have parents all up in arms. We definitely need some more enlightenment before somebody's jaw is flying across the room. Palliative care includes the use of medications such as analgesics including #opioidnarcotics which provide relief from pain and respiratory distress for #cancer patients, for example. The International Narcotics Control Board found that only 13 percent of the morphine used in #painmanagement was used by 79% of the world population, pointing to issues with #accesstomedicines.

The 2022 theme of World Day, "Leave no one behind: Equity in access to palliative care" is reminiscent of the #UHC component of the United Nations #SDGs (Goal 3). Needless to say, until quality palliative care becomes a priority, UHC remains but a dream. The inequity in access to palliative care between high and low-income countries and limited training on palliative care for health professionals remains an issue to be resolved. How can patients and caregivers receive palliative care, if the care teams are not equipped to provide these? Relevant training will reduce discrimination and biases based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and age. Access to opioid analgesics, antidepressants, steroids, antiemetics, laxatives, and adjuvant medications for palliative care is also an issue of concern. #Rationalprescribing and dispensing must meet with optimized #supplychain practices that allow prompt access to medicines for those who need them.