Palliative care is an overlooked global health priority

Background:
Worldwide, millions live and die without access to adequate pain and symptom relief. Despite a 2014 World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution calling for universal palliative care as part of health coverage, access remains profoundly inadequate—especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Aging populations and rising non-communicable disease burdens will increase the number of people dying with serious health-related suffering by an estimated 87% from 2016 to 2060.

Design and Participants:
This is a policy and perspective article, not an interventional study. The authors synthesize global epidemiologic data, review international policy (including WHA Resolution 67.19), and present recommendations drawn from their upcoming World Innovation Summit for Health 2024 report. They highlight disparities across income levels, regions, and demographic groups and review global morphine consumption and palliative care utilization statistics.

Results:

• By 2060, 48 million people annually are projected to die with serious health-related suffering; 83% will be in LMICs.
• Only 14% of those who need palliative care receive it; in children, less than 3% receive needed services.
• Opioid access is highly inequitable: 20% of the world’s population consumes 86% of the global morphine supply.
• Even within high-income countries, socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities persist.
• Palliative care research remains severely underfunded, with only 0.2% (US) and 0.3% (UK) of health research budgets allocated to it.
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• MS-Palliative Care 

Commentary:
This article underscores the global failure to integrate palliative care into health systems despite clear evidence of its benefits—improved quality of life, alignment with patient goals, and cost savings. Barriers include misconceptions about palliative care, inadequate education and training (particularly in LMICs), regulatory hurdles to opioid access, and cultural discomfort with death. The authors’ recommendations—universal core palliative education, equitable opioid availability, policy reforms, community engagement, and rigorous global monitoring—offer a roadmap for action. For palliative and hospice professionals, the paper reinforces advocacy for policy change and increased research funding as critical to reducing preventable suffering worldwide.

Bottom Line:
Global palliative care remains grossly underprioritized. Urgent, coordinated international efforts are needed to expand education, ensure opioid availability, and address systemic inequities so that no one dies in avoidable pain or distress.

Source: Peeler A, Afolabi O, Harding R. Palliative care is an overlooked global health priority. BMJ. 2024;387:q2387. doi:10.1136/bmj.q2387.

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