Almost 26 million die suffering, many without morphine tablet

NAIROBI, KENYA: Almost half of those who die globally, nearly 26 million people, including over 2.5 million children, have serious physical or psychological suffering and need palliative care and pain relief.

Globally, some 61 million people suffer serious physical and psychological grief and pain each year. Of this total, some 83 percent live in low and middle-income countries where access to low-cost, off-patent morphine is rare or completely unavailable, even though the cost should be pennies a tablet.