Access to Palliative Care: A Neglected Component of the Right to Health

People facing life-threatening illnesses are deeply vulnerable: often in severe physical pain, worried about death, incapacitation, or the fate of their loved-ones. Much of this anguish is unnecessary. Palliative care effectively manages pain, treats physical symptoms, and offers psychological, social, and legal support for patients and families. Yet palliative care is often unavailable or inadequate, as policy makers and doctors prioritize prevention and curative treatment over quality-of-life care. This report summarizes a June 2011 panel discussion organized by Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Foundations about human rights mechanisms that address the lack of palliative car