Ukraine applies anti-torture standards to health care

News

Ukraine applies anti-torture standards to health care

14 September 2015
Open Society Foundations (OSF)

By Naomi Burke-Shyne

In late 2014, Kseniya Shapoval received a phone call from a young woman named Oksana in Western Ukraine. Oksana’s grandfather, suffering from terminal cancer, was discharged from the hospital three days before his death without pain medication. He died crying in agony.

Oksana wanted to make sure no one else suffered the way her grandfather did, so she contacted Shapoval after hearing about her work on palliative care with the International Renaissance Foundation, Open Society’s foundation in Ukraine.

Shapoval investigated the situation, and realized further scrutiny was required to understand why Oksana’s grandfather had inadequate access to pain medication.

Click here to read the full article.

Keep up-to-date with drug policy developments by subscribing to the IDPC Monthly Alert.