What can be done to improve safe access to medical morphine?

12 – 14 September 2023

In June 2023, WHO published a report, Left Behind in Pain, which describes the extent and causes of global variations in access to morphine for medical use. To complement this important work, WHO is hosting three webinars to share country experiences and discuss the policy landscape for bringing about safe access to medical morphine.

On the 12th and 14th of September, WHO hosted three webinars themed on access to medical morphine. The purpose of the webinars was to facilitate discussion and reflections by leading experts on their endeavours to transform clinical services and policy landscape to ensure safe access to morphine and other strong opioids. All webinars were recorded and are accessible below.

We thank all the experts who contributed to these webinars. We also appreciate the feedback and ongoing support from the participants.

What can be done to improve safe access to medical morphine? Lessons from countries

In this webinar, the expert panel will reflect on their endeavours to transform clinical services and policy landscape to ensure safe access to morphine and other strong opioids.

Part I

Panellists' experiences shared included:

  • How to overcome cultural and service barriers
  • Local production of oral morphine
  • Safeguarding access during economic crisis
  • Recalibrating policy to ensure safe access

Panellists:

  • Emmanuel Luyirika - the African Palliative Care Association, Uganda
  • Janane Hanna - Balsam-the Lebanese Center for Palliative Care, American University of Beirut Medical Centre, Lebanon
  • Rumalie (Mae) Corvera - Asian Hospital and Medical Centre, Ruth Foundation for Palliative and Hospice Care, the Philippines
  • Suzanne Nielsen - Monash University, Australia
  • Xiaohong Ning - Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China

Webinar recording – passcode: =baj%20T (no spaces)

Webinar slides

 

Part II

Experiences shared included:

  • Decades-long work in India for opioid access
  • Advocacy and leadership in Latin America
  • Policies in Germany
  • Access abyss globally, the North American opioid crisis
  • Human-rights-centric policy

Panellists:

  • Felicia Knaul - The University of Miami, the United States of America
  • Keith Humphreys - Stanford University, the United States of America
  • Lukas Radbruch - International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and University Hospital Bonn, Germany
  • M. R. Rajagopal - WHO Collaborating Centre for Policy and Training on Access to Pain Relief, India
  • Paola Marcela Ruíz Ospina - = Latin American Association for Palliative Care, Colombia
  • Stephen Connor - Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance, United Kingdom

Webinar recording – passcode: c7cb!S!s (no spaces)

Webinar slides 

Safe access to morphine for people in need- Reflecting backwards and looking forward

In this webinar, representatives from WHO, UNODC, and Médecins sans frontières will reflect on the work programmes and challenges in ensuring safe access to morphine and other strong opioids. 

Panellists discussed

  • Findings from the WHO report- Left Behind in Pain
  • How to manage access to controlled medicines and inform drug policy through data 
  • Policies to prevent misuse and widespread availability of illicit, unregulated opioids
  • Challenges of providing access to morphine in humanitarian settings

Panellists:

  • Christa Cepuch - Médecins sans frontières
  • Elizabeth Sáenz - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
  • Gilles Forte - World Health Organization
  • Stefano Berterame - International Narcotic Control Board Secretariat (INCB), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Webinar recording – passcode: xG8+#TbD (no spaces)

Webinar slides

Watch short films that highlight some of the challenges in accessing medical morphine. #LeftBehindInPain