Palliative Care: the World Health Organization's global perspective.

Tens of millions of people worldwide are affected by life threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, which cause them and their families great suffering and economic hardship. The majority of the cases occur in the developing world where quite often there is little accessibility to prompt and effective treatment for these diseases. The development of palliative care through effective, low cost approaches is usually the only feasible alternative to respond to the urgent needs of the sick and improve their quality of life.