title: Access to controlled medicines for palliative care in India: gains and challenges.
abstract: It was in the early 1990s that an appeal was made, both in India and globally, for access to palliative care to be treated as a human rights issue. Over the past few years, India has witnessed robust advocacy efforts which push for the consideration of palliative care and pain management as a human right. Central to this paper is India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985: its genesis, its critique, and the amendments aimed at enhancing access to the NDPS for medical care and research. I refer to the advocacy efforts in India, particularly the most recent ones, which led to the amendments to the NDPS Act, 1985 in February 2014; and the contribution of the global and local human rights discourse on palliative care to these efforts. This I situate in the overall status of palliative care in India. Towards the end, I briefly set out the agenda that should be pursued in the coming years to enhance access to controlled medicines for pain management and palliative care.
authors: Bioethics and Programme Evaluation, Independent researcher in Global Health, C-5, Mantri Avenue-I, Panchavati, Pashan Rd, Pune, Maharashtra, 411 008 India.
authors: Sunita Vs
authors: SV
authors: Bandewar
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033161:Government Regulation; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D059408:Pain Management; D010166:Palliative Care; D013727:Terminal Care
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics