Kenyan children in acute and chronic pain suffer needlessly because of government policies that restrict access to inexpensive pain treatments, a lack of investment in palliative care services, and inadequately trained health workers, says a new report by Human Rights Watch.

The report found that most Kenyan children with diseases such as cancer or HIV and AIDS are unable to get palliative care or drugs for pain. Kenya’s few palliative care services provide counselling and support to families of chronically ill patients, as well as pain treatment, but lack programmes for children.

Healthcare workers lack training in pain treatment and palliative care, and even when …