Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
I would like to begin by thanking Belgium and Australia for co-sponsoring this important event.
Ensuring that essential medicines for pain relief are available and accessible to the people who need them is a critical priority in improving global responses to non-communicable diseases.
An estimated one in five persons around the world is in pain, and one in ten is suffering from chronic pain.
Opioid analgesics such as morphine are indispensable for the treatment of pain caused by cancer, HIV/ AIDS, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, serious injuries and other critical conditions.
Unfortunately, some 92 per cent of morphine prescribed for pain relief is consumed in countries in which only 17 per cent of the world's population lives, according to the International Narcotics Control Board.
Meanwhile, 75 per cent of the world's population, predominantly in lower-income countries, have limited or no access to proper pain relief.
Under-treatment, which is to say people suffering from unnecessary moderate and severe pain, is reported in more than 150 countries.
It is estimated that nearly five million people suffering from moderate to severe pain caused by cancers and that 1.4 million people with end-stage HIV do not receive relief.
Additionally, over half a million women die every year during childbirth. It is estimated that at least one-third of these deaths could have been prevented if medicines for post-partum haemorrhage, including controlled medicines, were available.
These grave disparities in availability and access are life threatening, and they must be addressed.
Opioids are controlled under the international drug conventions to ensure they are prescribed for legitimate medical purposes and that they safely reach patients through a controlled distribution chain, to combat illicit manufacture, trade and distribution.
While the rational use of opioids is essential to health, such drugs can also produce negative health consequences and serious secondary effects in cases of misuse and abuse.
I am sure you are all well aware that many countries and regions are struggling to deal with prescription drug abuse.
However, efforts to clamp down on potential abuse and diversion should not interfere with the licit use of controlled medicines, under medical supervision.
UNODC has joined forces with WHO and our civil society partner, the Union for International Cancer Control, to support countries in addressing this balance and reducing disparities.
We are engaging drug regulators, public health implementers and civil society to provide a global coordinating platform to improve access to controlled drugs for medical purposes, while controlling for abuse and diversion.
Our efforts are supported by resolutions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the World Health Assembly, and is in line with the recommendations of the UNGASS outcome document and target eight under Sustainable Development Goal three on health.
Ladies and gentlemen,
More work clearly needs to be done to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under international control for medical purposes, while preventing their diversion and abuse.
Both these goals are concerned with the protection and promotion of health and public safety. Achieving a balance between provision and control is essential.
The fulcrum of this balance is international cooperation, and I urge all countries to strengthen joint efforts to advance integrated, evidence-based responses to drug control, in line with the SDGs, the UNGASS outcome document and the 2009 Political Declaration and Joint Plan of Action.
UNODC stands ready, as ever, to work with you to ensure that essential medicines are available to the people who need them most.
Thank you.