Alva Review-Courier -

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 26 million people around the world die each year with serious suffering in part because of a huge gap in pain relief: The U.S. may be awash in opioid painkillers, but they're rare or unavailable in dozens of poor countries, says a new report.

The challenge is to improve palliative care in low-income countries while avoiding mistakes that led to the U.S. addiction crisis.

The report to be published Friday in The Lancet says one key is using off-patent morphine that costs pennies a dose — not profitable for drug companies that push pricier, more powerful opioids in rich...