Morocco: Thousands Face Needless Suffering at End of Life

(New York, February 4, 2016) – Tens of thousands of patients with terminal illnesses in Morocco needlessly suffer from debilitating pain and other symptoms, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today to coincide with World Cancer Day. The 77-page report, “‘Pain Tears Me Apart’: Challenges and Progress in Ensuring the Right to Palliative Care in Morocco,” estimates that each year, more than 62,000 Moroccans need palliative care, which focuses on improving the quality of life of people with life-limiting illnesses by treating pain and other symptoms. While the Moroccan government has taken a number of important steps to improve end-of-life care, Human Rights Watch found only two public hospitals, in Casablanca and Rabat, have specific units that offer this essential health service, and only to cancer patients. Patients suffering severe pain outside of these cities must either undergo difficult travel to these centers or do without effective pain medicine.