Pain and the struggle for relief: How fear influences patient access to medical opioids

If you are in severe pain and struggling to get opioid medication in Indonesia, you are not alone. Despite the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) recognising several therapeutic opioid as essential medicines, Indonesia has one of the lowest levels of medical opioid use in the region, far below global and regional standards. Indonesia consumes only 26 opioid doses per million people per day, compared with 1,467 doses in Malaysia and 200 in Timor-Leste. The problem is not a lack of…