emily jackson.

More than half of people around the world have virtually no access to painkillers. Millions of people suffer with end stage cancers, horrific wounds, and severe pain without the relief of morphine – the gold standard in pain treatment. Unlike so many global health problems, pain isn’t about money or shortage of drugs. Rather, the War on Drugs and outdated, inflexible bureaucracies are responsible for the suffering which some have likened to torture.

I was incredibly fortunate to be part of the UBC international reporting team that traveled to Uganda, Ukraine, and India to tell this story. Our half hour documentary, Freedom From Pain, aired on the Al Jazeera English program People & Power  at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20. Alison Lawton at the Mindset Social Innovation Foundation made our project possible.

Check it out below. And feel free to visit the International Reporting Program’s brand new website / follow us on Twitter! @IRPonline

Our team: Sarah Buell, Rebecca Cheung, Evan Duggan, Jes Abeita, Jenna Owsianik, Daniel Hallen, Niamh Scallan, Robyn Smith, Peter Klein, Trisha Doyle, Dan McKinney, Kim Frank