A global victory for palliative care

On May 23, the World Health Organization passed its first ever stand-alone palliative care resolution. It calls on all member states to integrate palliative care and pain relief into their national health systems.

What does this resolution do?

World Health Organization resolutions serve to encourage member states to make policy changes and to provide guidance on global health policy that should be implemented at the country level. This historic resolution calls on all member states to integrate palliative care and pain relief into their national health systems.

This resolution is important because it requires the WHO to develop a global implementation plan to:

• work with national governments to integrate palliative care into national health policies;

• educate and train health care professionals;

• remove legislative barriers restricting access to opioid medications for pain relief;

• ensure essential palliative care medicines are available;

• provide palliative care across all levels of care including inpatient facilities and home care.

Why is a global palliative care plan needed?

More than 6 billion people worldwide have little access to pain relieving medications for the control of pain. The WHO estimates that of the 58 million people dying annually, about 80 percent would benefit from palliative care in their final days of life.

The world is experiencing a “silver tsunami,” with a growing number of older persons and a heavy burden of noncommunicable diseases like cancer, heart disease, and neuro-degenerative diseases. The majority of people who need palliative care live in low- and middle-income countries where there is little access to even basic palliative care services. Adults and children with life-threatening illnesses require treatment and palliative care at the same time, so their pain and symptoms can be managed and they and their families can receive the psychological, social, and spiritual support they need.

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