Cancer & the struggle for pain treatment in Senegal

Tens of thousands of patients in Senegal suffer from excruciating pain every year without relief according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.

The 85-page report, “Abandoned in Agony: Cancer and the Struggle for Pain Treatment in Senegal”, found that 70,000 Senegalese each year need what is known as palliative care to control symptoms related to chronic, life-threatening diseases. Morphine is an essential and inexpensive medication for treatment of severe pain, but Senegal only imports about one kilogram of morphine each year – enough to treat about 200 cancer patients. Human Rights Watch also found that morphine is unavailable outside of Dakar, Senegal’s capital. Frequent shortages limit access to the medication in the capital as well.

Click here to download a summary of the report and related resources including "Dying in pain - Abdoulaye's story".