{
  "id": 12504397,
  "title": "South Africa: Children Are Dying in Pain Because SA's Palliative Care Is So Poor - Report",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/south-africa-children-are-dying-in-pain-because-sas-palliative-care",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-06T23:54:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AllAfrica Health",
    "slug": "allafrica-health",
    "url": "https://allafrica.com/stories/202610060620.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent damning report from the World Health Organization (WHO) exposes the abysmal state of palliative care in South Africa, highlighting the tragic deaths of children suffering in pain. In a harrowing case from Ingwavuma, a remote town in KwaZulu-Natal, a baby succumbed to the agony of terminal illness while unable to receive the prescribed morphine. Social worker Taryn Bell, who runs two children's hospices in the region, attempted to secure the life-saving medication but faced obstacles at every turn. The audit, known as imPACT Review, conducted by the WHO in May, revealed that South Africa's public health system is failing to provide adequate palliative care. With over 800,000 children in the country battling life-limiting illnesses, there are only five dedicated children's hospices. Bell, along with her doctor husband, operates two of these hospices, yet the struggle to obtain essential medications continues.",
  "summary": "[Daily Maverick] The damning report from the World Health Organization confirms what professionals already know.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "GroundUp",
        "title": "Children are dying in pain because our palliative care is so poor",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/children-are-dying-in-pain-because-our-palliative-care-is-so-poor",
        "published": "2026-10-06T07:58:17.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "AllAfrica Health",
        "title": "South Africa: Children Are Dying in Pain Because Our Palliative Care Is So Poor",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/south-africa-children-are-dying-in-pain-because-our-palliative-care",
        "published": "2026-10-06T10:36:51.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}