Global Lack of Access to Pain Medication

"Opioid medications are essential not only for drug dependence treatment but also for pain management. WHO estimates that 5 billion people live in countries with little or no access to controlled medicines that are used to treat moderate to severe pain.90 Up to 80% of the estimated 1 million patients in the end stages of AIDS are in great pain, but very few have access to pain relieving drugs91 because of insufficient knowledge among physicians, inadequate health systems, fears of addiction, antiquated laws, and unduly strict regulations.92"

Source

Jürgens, Ralf; Csete, Joanne; Amon, Joseph J.; Baral, Stefan; and Beyrer, Chris, "People who use drugs, HIV, and human rights," The Lancet (London, United Kingdom: August 7, 2010) Vol. 376, Issue 9739, pp. 478-479.
http://www.thelancet.com/jour…