Imagine recovering from major surgery or suffering from advanced cancer without any painkillers. That’s reality for patients in half of the world — but it’s not about money or a lack of drugs. I travelled to Uganda to find out why so many people needlessly suffer the torture of untreated pain, while colleagues of mine from UBC’s International Reporting Program visited Ukraine and India to discover the varied cultural explanations.
The resulting documentary Freedom From Pain uncovers indelible patient stories, and reveals the main impediments to a pain-free world are bureaucratic hurdles and the chilling effect of the global war on drugs. It has received widespread attention since first airing on Al Jazeera English’s program People & Power on July 20, 2011. Major medical journals like the New England Journal of Medicine and Anesthesiology News wrote stories about the report’s findings, as did mainstream publications like The Guardian, India Times, and the Utne Reader.
