Availability of Pain Medication for Patients in the Middle East: Status of the Problem and the Role of the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC): Implications for other Regions

Abstract

For these patients, the only realistic treatment option is pain relief and palliative care, except for Israel and Turkey, in all other Middle Eastern countries there is still a lack of governmental policies recognizing palliative care. As a result in most Middle Eastern countries the consumption of opioids is either virtually negligent or very low (Table 1). By and large, Fentanyl is currently the opioid of choice whereby its consumption comprises 60-80% of all opioids consumed, whereas that of Morphine is negligible (Table 2). While comparing the most recent data with those of a decade ago, it can be noted that there is an increase in the consumption of opioid, but it is still far behind that of those of the USA (Figure 1). It is, therefore, clear that there are large disparities in the consumption levels of opioids in Middle Eastern countries, versus developed countries.