Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI): the WHO perspective

(Published on 28 Nov 2013)

A.Ullrich highlights that the ESMO-led GOPI (Global Opioid Policy Initiative) survey brings the right data at the right moment for the WHO action plan on non-communicable diseases, to catalyse the passage from pilot project to national policy in each country.

Global Health Pain Relief Initiatives

Initiatives that are already underway that could utilize the Opioid GPS platform:

• Treat the Pain: http://www.treatthepain.org/our_approach.html 

• Formed by Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to create the Global Access to Pain Relief Initiative (GAPRI)

• ESMO-led Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI)

References

A collection of some of the references we have utilized for background information:

References:

• The Global Opioid Policy Initiative (GOPI) http://www.esmo.org/Policy/Global-Opioid-Policy-Initiative
• 1. Study: http://www.esmo.org/Policy/Global-Opioid-Policy-Initiative/Research-Study
• 2. Infographics: http://www.esmo.org/Policy/Global-Opioid-Policy-Initiative/Infographics
• 3. How can journalists help raise the profile of cancer and get it on the political agenda in countries where infectious diseases get most attention, reliable data are scarce, doctors are reluctant to talk and editors prefer cheery topics? Two award-winning reporters speak of the challenges they face
• http://www.cancerworld.org/Articles/Issues/61/July--August-2014/Best-Cancer-Reporter-Award/666/Stories-that-give-witness-stories-that-save-lives-the-special-role-of-health-reporters-in-Africa.html
• 4. Fixing the holes in the opioid supply lines:
• Patients are still dying in agony despite concerned efforts over many years to change attitudes towards the use and control of opiates. Could a new initiative, which works with NGOs, governments and policy makers to address practical problems, finally hit the spot?
• http://www.cancerworld.com/Articles/Issues/48/May-June-2012/Spotlight-on/533/Fixing-the-holes-in-the-opioid-supply-lines.html
• 5. Pain in the Developing World: HOW POORER NATIONS ARE LOSING OUT ON PALLIATIVE CARE
• http://the2x2project.org/developing-palliative-care/
• 6. Freedom From Pain (documentary): http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2011/07/2011720113555645271.html
• 7. Managing Acute Pain in Developing World: http://www.iasp-pain.org/files/Content/ContentFolders/Publications2/PainClinicalUpdates/Archives/PCU_19-3_web_revised_1390260400113_4.pdf
• 8. Nickerson, Jason W., and Attaran, Amir, "The Inadequate Treatment of Pain: Collateral Damage from the War on Drugs," PLoS Medicine (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Public Library of Science, Jan. 2012) Vol. 9, Issue 1, p. 1.
• - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Pain#sthash.LNi8mtdo.dpuf
• http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=F4C8930191A3408090FCA5257695CF1C?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001153&representation=PDF
• 9. Marie-Josephine Seya, Susanne F. A. M. Gelders, Obianuju Uzoma Achara, Barbara Milani, and Willem Karel Scholten, "A First Comparison Between the Consumption of and the Need for Opioid Analgesics at Country, Regional, and Global Levels," Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy. 2011;25:6–18. ISSN: 1536-0288 print / 1536-0539 online. DOI: 10.3109/15360288.2010.536307
• http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s17976en/s17976en.pdf
• See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Pain#sthash.LNi8mtdo.dpuf
• 10. Jürgens, Ralf; Csete, Joanne; Amon, Joseph J.; Baral, Stefan; and Beyrer, Chris, "People who use drugs, HIV, and human rights," The Lancet (London, United Kingdom: August 7, 2010) Vol. 376, Issue 9739, pp. 478-479.
• See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Pain#sthash.LNi8mtdo.dpuf
• http://www.canadianharmreduction.com/sites/default/files/Ralf%20Jurgens%20-%20Using%2C%20HIV%2C%20and%20Hum%20Rts%20-%202010.pdf
• 11. Global Access to Pain Relief Initiative (GAPRI) http://www.uicc.org/programmes/gapri
• 12. American Cancer Society: http://www.treatthepain.org/
• Potential celebrity partner: New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka

*Great approach: http://www.treatthepain.org/our_approach.html

About the Team

Opioid GPS (Global Pain Solace) came to fruition out of the team formed during Stanford University's course "Mobile Health Without Borders". This team, Essentials in Supportive Care Oncology (ESCO), was created and led by Chris Ralph, a clinical pharmacist who specializes in cancer pain and symptom management and palliative care. Other team members bring a wide range of valuable expertise:

• Chris Ralph, Team Leader: @ChrisRalphYQ & @ChrisRalphRx
• Steven Woolf: @A2Woolf
• Utkarsh Garg: @UtkarshGarg17
• Gabie Noack

The ESCO team has a multitude of interests including providing optimal supportive care to cancer patients. Given the global health nature of the course, the project the team decided to embark on was tackling and bring attention to the fact that cancer (and other palliative) patients in developing nations often have lack of availability of pain (opioid) medications.