Ddungu Henry
Kampala and the African Palliative Care Association, Uganda Cancer Institute, Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.
Br J Haematol. 2011 Sep;154(6):728-35. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2011.08764.x. Epub 2011 Jun 28.
The enormous burden of life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, human immunodeficiency virus infection, and others, such as sickle cell disease, associated with physical and psychosocial suffering explains the illustrious need for palliative care in developing countries. Despite the demonstrated need, current provision of palliative care in Africa is at best limited, and at worst non-existent. Access to essential pain medicines, particularly oral morphine, for control of pain is extremely limited and far below the global mean. There is a general lack of government policies that recognize palliative care as an essential component of health care and there is inadequate training for both health care professionals and the general public about palliative care. A public health strategy, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), offers the best approach for translating knowledge and skills into evidence-based, cost-effective interventions that can reach everyone in need of palliative care in developing countries.
包括癌症、人类免疫缺陷病毒感染以及镰状细胞病等其他疾病在内的危及生命的疾病所带来的巨大负担，伴随着身体和心理社会痛苦，这说明了发展中国家对姑息治疗有着迫切需求。尽管有明确需求，但目前非洲的姑息治疗服务充其量有限，最坏的情况则是根本不存在。用于控制疼痛的基本止痛药物，尤其是口服吗啡的可及性极其有限，远低于全球平均水平。普遍缺乏将姑息治疗视为医疗保健重要组成部分的政府政策，而且医疗保健专业人员和普通公众接受的姑息治疗培训都不足。正如世界卫生组织（WHO）所建议的，公共卫生战略为将知识和技能转化为基于证据、具有成本效益的干预措施提供了最佳途径，这些干预措施能够惠及发展中国家每一位需要姑息治疗的人。
