Only one in ten cancer patients in public hospitals has access to morphine, the essential pain control drug that is recommended for patients in palliative care, a new survey by the Ministry of Health has revealed.
The Kenya Harmonised Health Facility Assessment report for 2018/19 indicates that cancer patients have to buy their own morphine or take the less effective paracetamols that are mostly available in both public and private hospitals across the country. The survey ranked the national availability of paracetamol at 77 percent compared to 10 percent for morphine.
