This session brings together three different experiences of access to and use of opioids in Australia, Oceania and Asia.  

Professor Jim Cleary, with a wealth of experience in this topic, will present an introduction to access to opioids in palliative care with a brief overview of the international treaties and access discrepancies throughout the world and the Oceanic region. 

Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Kate Reed will discuss her work on Sustainable access to opioids in Australia and recently broadening this to access to essential palliative care medicines in the Western Pacific Region as part of her Masters of Law studies.  

Thi Tran Ngyuen, a post graduate student at Flinders University, will then be speaking about the results of her research study on the current issues in Vietnam for access to opioids for patients with palliative care needs.  

There will be time for questions, in which the audience will be able delve further into this contemporary equality and human rights crisis to address suffering in Australia and the region.